The college basketball season is now in full effect and now fans have a good idea of the teams that will thrive this year. The two Wisconsin teams in particular have stood out. Marquette and Wisconsin both are heavy favorites to make a deep run in the final tournament in March.
Marquette is the number 9 seed with a 9-2 record, where they started very hot this season but took a shocking loss to the University of Dayton 71-63.
Another team that started the season off hot was the Wisconsin Badgers who also just came off a tough loss to Illinois 86-80, dropping their overall record to 9-3 and knocking them just outside of the top 25.
These two teams from Wisconsin have a long lasting hatred for each other that midwesterns love to see. Going into every matchup they have there is no clear pick of who is going to win. Wisconsin is winning the all time series where they have met 131 times and Wisconsin holds the lead with a record of 71 wins and 60 losses against Marquette.
“They are the top two teams in the state with a pretty even fan base proportion. They both have great programs which makes both teams fun to watch each year,” senior Cooper Smith said. “
“Both of these teams are from the same state and fans hate each other which makes this rivalry so good,” sophomore Wesley Van Lith said.
Looking back to the recent matchup that just occurred, there was pure dominance by Marquette. Kam Jones had 32 points during the game with 19 of those points happening in the second half. He also tallied six steals and had a career tying four steals as well. Marquette held a solid lead a lot of the game which they ended with a score of 88-74.
“Marquette just played better and had more energy but had home court advantage,” senior Luke Mattes said.
Marquette and Wisconsin both have had hot starts to their seasons which makes their fans wonder how they will do in the tournament. Neither team has won a national championship in over 50 years which makes fans eager to make it happen.
“Marquette will make it farther because they have more depth and got some experienced guys that get stuff done,” senior Sawyer Hakow said.
Smith agrees,“Marquette will go farther because they are older and experienced with great relationships with each other so when you combine that with a ton of talent and athleticism, they are going to exceed expectations,” he said.
