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Wisconsin Basketball vs. Marquette: 2017-18 game preview, TV, prediction

By Lukas Harkins

ALBUQUERQUE, NM - MARCH 15: The Wisconsin Badgers mascot 'Bucky Badger' performs during the second half of the game against the Montana Grizzlies during the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at The Pit on March 15, 2012 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ALBUQUERQUE, NM - MARCH 15: The Wisconsin Badgers mascot 'Bucky Badger' performs during the second half of the game against the Montana Grizzlies during the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at The Pit on March 15, 2012 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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OMAHA, NE – JANUARY 21: Howard (Photo by Eric Francis/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE – JANUARY 21: Howard (Photo by Eric Francis/Getty Images) /

Can Wisconsin stop Marquette’s guards on the perimeter?

On the other side of the ball, Marquette’s Andrew Rowsey and Markus Howard make up one of the best backcourts in the country. The leaders of this offensive juggernaut, Rowsey and Howard are both averaging more than 20 points per game and are elite shooters. In fact, they are combining to shoot 18.4 3-pointers per game this season while knocking down 40.6% of those shots.

These two players more than struggle on the defensive end of the floor but they are nearly impossible to defend when they have the rock. This will be Wisconsin’s No. 1 priority on the defensive end of the floor in this one. In order to slow down Rowsey and Howard, the Badgers will need to deploy each and every one of their guards.

It will be expected that Brad Davison, D’Mitrik Trice, Aleem Ford, Brevin Pritzl, and Kobe King will all see plenty of minutes in this game as fresh legs to cover Marquette’s scorers. The problem with this use of multiple guards is that several of them are either injured or sick. In fact, three of the five players mentioned above either missed or were limited in practice on Thursday.

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