UW-MU: A Tale of Two Halves
The annual UW-MU rivalry has come and gone, and I wonder what we can take from it. The first half was really quite ugly. All I could think of was how neither team really appeared to justify their ranking. However, the second half proved very entertaining. Wisconsin really held Marquette at bay for the entire second half. It made me realize that the Badgers really have a strength in their size. They may not be the prettiest team out there, but there are not many teams that will match up favorably against them. The other thing I took from the game was how Marquette will struggle when they can’t hit their outside shots. Unlike Wisconsin, Marquette just doesn’t have a whole lot in the paint, especially when Barro is on the bench in foul trouble. Jerel McNeal did some nice things for them down the stretch, but Dominic James didn’t quite play the game that they needed him to.
The only thing that kind of stinks about the outcome of this game is that Marquette will probably fall out of the rankings. It is really a shame too, because that will be more the function of losing to North Dakota State than to the Badgers. Still, it is early in the season, and the rankings really don’t mean much at this point. Marquette will have a plethora of opportunities to prove themselves throughout the Big East season. For the remainder of the calendar year, the Warriors finish the their non-conference, delicious cupcake-filled schedule.
On the UW side, Alando Tucker continues to impress me with his sheer ability to score from anywhere and against anyone. Every time I see this kind of performance from him it really makes me wonder how far that 2004 team could have gone had he not needed to take a medical redshirt after this rivalry game. In any case, he has developed into one of the best pure scorers UW has ever had. Kammaron Taylor proved once again, that when he can hit the three, the offense flows much better. Michael Flowers has become more than just an average contributor, hitting a key three, and playing some very solid defense. I love what I am seeing from Marcus Landry! This guy has returned to the team in a big way. Greg Stiemsma also helps out in the paint quite a bit, but needs to keep those elbows in check. I am definitely looking forward to the UW Pittsbugh game this weekend. This is one of those “statement” games, if the Badgers can pull it out. They are playing in Madison this year, and we all know how UW performs at home, especially against non-conference opponents. Unless, of course, that opponent is the aforementioned North Dakota State.
UPDATE: Marquette stays in BOTH polls…20th in AP, 22nd in Coaches’ Wisconsin is 7th in both!