Few teams have played a schedule as daunting as the Wisconsin Badgers have to start the season. Rather than fill up on a bunch of soft non-conference creampuffs, the Badgers have taken on a litany of solid teams and this team is now one of the most battle tested in the country. However, they have only played one real road game thus far, and lost that one by double digits. Wisconsin will head on the road once more and hope for a different result when it faces the Marquette Golden Eagles on Saturday afternoon.
At 2 p.m. ET, turn the dial to FS1 for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, December 10, 2016, at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
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The Badgers have already claimed some big scalps this season. Wisconsin has defeated Tennessee, Georgetown, Syracuse, and Oklahoma and covered against all those teams except Tennessee. Greg Gard’s Badgers have been putting up impressive point totals over the last three games, averaging 87.3 PPG in that stretch.
Marquette has had some trouble with the big boys on its schedule, but has also picked up some quality wins of its own. The Golden Eagles dismantled Vanderbilt in their season opener and have also knocked off Georgia on the road. This has been one of the more prolific offense in the country and they are averaging 93.6 PPG over their last five games.
Last Year’s Meeting
When these teams met last season, it was a grind of a game from the beginning to the end. Marquette emerged with a 57-55 win over its rivals in Madison thanks to its superior shooting effort but the box score is a little befuddling.
The Badgers ended the day with 20 more field goal attempts than the Golden Eagles did, but couldn’t take advantage of this huge disparity. Wisconsin sank just 36.4 percent of its field goals and that doomed the Badgers to a defeat. Wisky wasn’t even able to get to the free-throw line that often, making just four trips to the charity stripe all game.
This year’s meeting should be much more explosive. Both of these teams have taken the shackles off their offense at least in some capacity and are more willing to spread the floor and run.
Matchup to Watch
Wisconsin is one of the most seasoned teams in the country with four experienced seniors in its starting line-up. Very few teams have this type of experience in its starting line-up and fewer still have a core group that is as talented as this one. Those veterans have teamed up with younger talents like Ethan Happ, D’Mitrik Trice, and Khalil Iverson to make one of the strongest line-ups of any team in the country.
The Golden Eagles don’t have the experience to match the Badgers. Outside of Jajuan Johnson and Luke Fischer, this is a pretty young team and although there is talent, it is still developing. Haanif Cheatham is continuing to blossom in his sophomore season and although there is another senior in the starting line-up in Katin Reinhardt, he is on his third team in four years and is still learning how to play with this team. If the game is close down the stretch, we know Wisconsin knows how to play in the moment, but does Marquette?
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Wisconsin has been the best team in the country at preventing opponents from snaring rebounds. The Badgers have allowed opponents to grab just 23.2 rebounds per game, a surprising feat considering the quality of competition they have faced thus far. If they can do the same against Marquette they are likely to get a win.
Check the odds on BookMaker.eu prior to placing a wager in this one, but it should be a very narrow spread. Take the Badgers to win outright if they are an underdog or to cover if they are a short favorite.
College Basketball Odds: Wisconsin 83, Marquette 73
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