So....What are we ranked on Monday - 1/6/2025?

[Galway Eagle]

Per his podcast this week, why does Gary Parrish "hate us"?  Did he graduate from a tech school from the greater Michiana area?

I could be wrong but I think it's a call back to us being a fanbase that calls every pundit who's ever undervalued us or been lackadaisical in ranking us a "hater"

[JakeBarnes]

I could be wrong but I think it's a call back to us being a fanbase that calls every pundit who's ever undervalued us or been lackadaisical in ranking us a "hater"

Not sure where this comes from. Marquette fans--and scoop in general-- have never had anything less than rational, well-measured takes on the program.

[Shooter McGavin]

I think if we win we are ranked.

I feel good about the effort this team puts out, not so sure on the execution against a slow paced team.  Watching film on UW over the past few days I wonder how teams don't just run them out of the gym.  Like a few have posted on here, they do not look good.  They just find a way and they are really good at that.  If I knew nothing about either team and saw them play, I'd probably tell you Marquette should win easily.  Knowing what we know this will probably be close down to the final minutes and added in the rivalry aspect it could come down to the final shot.

I hope that Marquette is able to impose its will like they did with Baylor and show that Tuesday wasn't an outlier performance.

UW-Madison still has to dribble it up the court to score, no matter how slow they play.  MU guards will be all over them.  They also don't have Davis this year to bail them out with circus shots at the end of the clock.  If MU plays with their characteristic D and hits a few uncontested three point shots, they win relatively easily for this type of matchup.

[GoldenEagles03]

UW-Madison still has to dribble it up the court to score, no matter how slow they play.  MU guards will be all over them.  They also don't have Davis this year to bail them out with circus shots at the end of the clock.  If MU plays with their characteristic D and hits a few uncontested three point shots, they win relatively easily for this type of matchup.

I agree with all of that.  If the UW players had on any other jersey I may think differently about the "closeness" of the result, but knowing what we know about them I'm sure they will make it a battle.

If we cruise to a win I will feel pretty good about this team.

[JakeBarnes]

I agree with all of that.  If the UW players had on any other jersey I may think differently about the "closeness" of the result, but knowing what we know about them I'm sure they will make it a battle.

If we cruise to a win I will feel pretty good about this team.

It is, as you all know, their Super Bowl.

[Goose]

Shooter

I think they come out with the same intensity they on did and get out of the blocks quickly. Bucky is not going to know what them. I just hope we do not get too far ahead early and fans leave early again and I have to read about that after the game.

[Shooter McGavin]

Shooter

I think they come out with the same intensity they on did and get out of the blocks quickly. Bucky is not going to know what them. I just hope we do not get too far ahead early and fans leave early again and I have to read about that after the game.

Agreed.  And I know you are kidding about leaving early.  But this is a game I hope MU fans will stay til the end and revel in if all goes according to plan. 

[MU82]

They just find a way

Except for Tuesday, when they didn't.

And except for 4 times in 7 meetings against the brilliant Wojo.

Sometimes, it turns out, they find ways to lose.

[GoldenEagles03]

Except for Tuesday, when they didn't.

And except for 4 times in 7 meetings against the brilliant Wojo.

Sometimes, it turns out, they find ways to lose.

Again, it comes down to making games close with a chance to win late which ends up being a coin flip a lot of the times.  I'd prefer to avoid a coinflip and win convincingly.

Both of UW's losses have been 1 possession losses to pretty quality opponents. They find a way to make it ugly and make it close is all.

[Hards Alumni]

Checking the Kenpom Adjusted Tempo rankings should tell you all you need to know about the game.

Fast ball?  MU wins

Slow ball?  UW wins

Subject to change, of course. YMMV.  I'm not a financial advisor... yadda yadda.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Both of UW's losses have been 1 possession losses to pretty quality opponents. They find a way to make it ugly and make it close is all.

Kansas on a neutral court? High quality opponent.

Wake Forest at home? Not a quality opponent.

I guess they balance out to two pretty quality opponents

[goldeneagle91114]

UW's best win is Dayton (KenPom #55). Outside of the Baylor Win Marquette's best win is Georgia Tech (KenPom #123). Both team are in BIG need of a quality non-con win to boost their NCAA Resume.

[MuggsyB]

Wahl is a difficult match-up if he's getting to the rim as he did vs Kansas.  O-Max I would think will have the primary responsibility.  The main questions are can we get this game at our tempo and score in the half-court?  I believe this is a Wisky team that you can turn over but it will still boil down to execution in the half-court.  I have no doubt we can get quality shots consistently on Saturday, it's about knocking them down. 

I feel strongly if we play a solid basketball game the result will be joy and a victory.  Smother their one spot shooter and Hepburn.  Rotate quickly if you need to double in the post.  Attack with precision, no need to be Speedy Gonzales.  Move the basketball,, use the entire floor, and take high quality shots.  Tues was a thing of beauty.  Play with that kind of confidence, take no prisoners, and dominate from start to finish. 

[real chili 83]

If we score more points than them, high likelihood of victory.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Per his podcast this week, why does Gary Parrish "hate us"?  Did he graduate from a tech school from the greater Michiana area?

I came across that podcast last night.  Was a solid listen.  Sounds like both Parrish and Norlander aren't the biggest MU guys, at least historically.

Btw - does Norlander always look and sound like he'd spent the last 45 minutes hitting a bong on that podcast?

[wadesworld]

I came across that podcast last night.  Was a solid listen.  Sounds like both Parrish and Norlander aren't the biggest MU guys, at least historically.

Btw - does Norlander always look and sound like he'd spent the last 45 minutes hitting a bong on that podcast?

**Marquette fans THINK Parrish and Norlander aren't the biggest MU guys, so they have to constantly hear about it because anybody who doesn't bow at the feet of Al McGuire will certainly hear it from the MU fanbase.  So then they mock the MU fanbase about it when they do talk about Marquette.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

**Marquette fans THINK Parrish and Norlander aren't the biggest MU guys, so they have to constantly hear about it because anybody who doesn't bow at the feet of Al McGuire will certainly hear it from the MU fanbase.  So then they mock the MU fanbase about it when they do talk about Marquette.

Ahh, fair enough.  Point well taken.  I didn't pick up on the inside joke nature of the comment. 

[wadesworld]

Ahh, fair enough.  Point well taken.  I didn't pick up on the inside joke nature of the comment.

Yeah both them and Titus & Tate make the same jokes about how they hate Marquette because the MU fanbase is all over them complaining that they hate Marquette.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Wahl is a difficult match-up if he's getting to the rim as he did vs Kansas.  O-Max I would think will have the primary responsibility.  The main questions are can we get this game at our tempo and score in the half-court?  I believe this is a Wisky team that you can turn over but it will still boil down to execution in the half-court.  I have no doubt we can get quality shots consistently on Saturday, it's about knocking them down. 

I feel strongly if we play a solid basketball game the result will be joy and a victory.  Smother their one spot shooter and Hepburn.  Rotate quickly if you need to double in the post.  Attack with precision, no need to be Speedy Gonzales.  Move the basketball,, use the entire floor, and take high quality shots.  Tues was a thing of beauty.  Play with that kind of confidence, take no prisoners, and dominate from start to finish.

I think Stevie/Sean will be able to shut down Hepburn and O-Max should be able to handle Wahl. Klesmit and Essegian just need to be run off the 3 point line. Any of our guards or wings can handle Davis. Crowl is the only one that I'm mildly concerned about. I think our defense works best when Oso can roam near the paint and Crowl can stretch the floor. He's had a very mild start from three (30% on about 3.5 attempts a game) but if he suddenly catches fire it could open things up for them.

We should be able to handle them on defense. Challenge will be the offensive end. If Wisconsin wins this game it will be because they eke out a 52-50 type victory. They don't turn it over so we will need to execute in the half court. Personally, I think their defense is a bit of a mirage. It ranks highly because they have a top 10 3pt defense with opponents only hitting 25% of their threes against them. Three point defense of course matters but there's always an element of luck to it. There's also the fact that they haven't exactly faced any skilled marksmen this season. Their opponents rank the following in 3P% on the season:
South Dakota 266th
Stanford 325th
Green Bay 345th
Dayton 346th
Kansas 111th
USC 205th
Wake Forest 75th

So they have lost their only two games against team that rank in the top half of 3P%. For reference Marquette ranks 171st which is just inside the top half.

Ran any semblance of a successful offense on Saturday and we should win.

[Jay Bee]

^^^ agreed. Completely unimpressed by their roster.

If they knock down a lot more triples than us, game on. Otherwise I think we'll be good.

[Shooter McGavin]

TAMU and Jay Bee,

Yep, yep.

[MuggsyB]

I think Stevie/Sean will be able to shut down Hepburn and O-Max should be able to handle Wahl. Klesmit and Essegian just need to be run off the 3 point line. Any of our guards or wings can handle Davis. Crowl is the only one that I'm mildly concerned about. I think our defense works best when Oso can roam near the paint and Crowl can stretch the floor. He's had a very mild start from three (30% on about 3.5 attempts a game) but if he suddenly catches fire it could open things up for them.

We should be able to handle them on defense. Challenge will be the offensive end. If Wisconsin wins this game it will be because they eke out a 52-50 type victory. They don't turn it over so we will need to execute in the half court. Personally, I think their defense is a bit of a mirage. It ranks highly because they have a top 10 3pt defense with opponents only hitting 25% of their threes against them. Three point defense of course matters but there's always an element of luck to it. There's also the fact that they haven't exactly faced any skilled marksmen this season. Their opponents rank the following in 3P% on the season:
South Dakota 266th
Stanford 325th
Green Bay 345th
Dayton 346th
Kansas 111th
USC 205th
Wake Forest 75th

So they have lost their only two games against team that rank in the top half of 3P%. For reference Marquette ranks 171st which is just inside the top half.

Ran any semblance of a successful offense on Saturday and we should win.

I'm with you here and your analysis of the teams.  This is a vitally important game far beyond the rivalry.  I have some anxiety because of our performance vs Miss St.  but do think we clearly have a better roster and should prevail. 

[CountryRoads]

I'm with you here and your analysis of the teams.  This is a vitally important game far beyond the rivalry.  I have some anxiety because of our performance vs Miss St.  but do think we clearly have a better roster and should prevail.

Same that was a good breakdown. I'm not really one to make predications but I'd give the badgers a ton of credit if they came into Fiserv and got the win. It's their first road game this year and they just aren't that good imo. I'd be somewhat surprised if the Badgers keep it within 10, but anything can happen.

Also, agree with you that this is a massive game for our program and not just for the rivalry aspect. Need to continue turning the corner and not take one step forward and two steps back like we've done the past decade.

[Hards Alumni]

I'm with you here and your analysis of the teams.  This is a vitally important game far beyond the rivalry.  I have some anxiety because of our performance vs Miss St.  but do think we clearly have a better roster and should prevail.

You have anxiety?

[Newsdreams]

If we score more points than them, high likelihood of victory.

I would go 100% victory