Marquette vs. Wisconsin: Key storylines for the 2018 rivalry matchup
By TJ Miller
Marquette and Wisconsin are right up there with the best college basketball rivalries. Here are some intriguing storylines for this season’s matchup.
There’s nothing quite like in-state showdowns.
These two schools separated between I-94 have built one heck of a rivalry through the years. It started over a hundred years ago and basketball fans across the state get the treat of seeing these schools face off each year.
In recent years there is a unique trend in the visiting school having success. In fact, the road team has won each of the past four meetings and six of the last eight. Although all bets are off in some regards with rivalry games, it is certainly odd to see home court advantage not prevail with much frequency.
After each team uncharacteristically missed the NCAA Tournament last season, it feels like there’s more at stake in this year’s tilt.
Marquette is on a four-game winning streak which included a massive 83-71 win over a solid Kansas State team. The Golden Eagles also grabbed an overtime victory over Louisville back in November in the NIT Season Tip-off and are finding more defensive consistency to go with an explosive offensive attack.
Wisconsin’s only loss of the season came against Virginia at a neutral site. Its eight wins include victories over Xavier, Oklahoma, and NC State and Coach Greg Gard has to be happy with a 2-0 start to conference play with wins over Iowa and Rutgers.
A win for either group will obviously be huge in and of itself, but also will mean another solid non-conference win. Let’s take a look at a few storylines going into the matchup.