MILWAUKEE — Inside an electric atmosphere at the Fiserv Forum on Saturday afternoon, the Wisconsin Badgers received ample opportunities to pull off a road win but ultimately fell to the Marquette Golden Eagles in a 74–69 loss.
Wisconsin shot 50 percent from the field overall, but made only five of 24 from three-point range and 10 of 21 free throws in the loss. UW (8–2, 2–0 Big Ten) also committed 13 turnovers after coming into the in-state contest averaging 8.8 per game, the fourth-lowest total in the country.
Redshirt senior forward Ethan Happ scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while sophomore forward Nate Reuvers tallied 11 points and four rebounds.
D’Mitrik Trice was the only other Badger scoring in double-digits with 10 points, though he only shot 1-of-6 from three-point range. The redshirt sophomore guard contributed seven rebounds and five assists as well.
Wisconsin held Marquette (8–2) to only 35.4 percent shooting on the day (23 of 65)—its worst shooting performance of the season so far—and only 6-of-18 from three-point range. However, the Golden Eagles out-rebounded the Badgers 41–36 and also made 22 of 34 free throws.
Guard Markus Howard scored 27 points, though he shot only 7-of-29 and 1-of-7 from three-point range. He hurt the Badgers at the charity stripe, however, making 12 of 15 free throws.
Forward Sam Hauser recorded 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while younger brother Joey scored 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
It was the first home win for Marquette against Wisconsin since 2012.
UW forged a 33–32 lead heading into halftime thanks to shooting 53.8 percent from the field (14 of 26) that helped overcome a sluggish start including turnovers on four of its first five possessions.
UW committed seven turnovers in the first 20 minutes, four by senior forward Khalil Iverson. Marquette, however, only shot 35.5 percent from the field (11 of 31) in that first half. Though Howard tallied a then-game-high 15 points, he only made four of 13 from the field in that period.
Happ scored 12 points in the first half on 6-of-8 shooting with three rebounds and three assists. Reuvers and Ford each tallied nine points.
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Wisconsin led by as many as six points at the 14:16 mark of the second half. However, the Badgers would suffer a nearly five-minute scoring drought that allowed Marquette to creep back in. The Golden Eagles took a one-point lead thanks to a Theo John layup to make it 52–51 with under six minutes to play.
After sophomore guard Brad Davison—who came into the game shooting 90.5 percent from the charity stripe—missed two free throws, Happ answered back with a steal and proceeded to connect on a three-point play to help Wisconsin regain the lead at 54–52.
In those final 20 minutes, Wisconsin hit only five of 12 free-throw attempts while Marquette hit nine of 14. For that matter, foul trouble also crept up again for the Badgers as the Golden Eagles were in the bonus with about 12 minutes left in the game.
The teams would keep it close until the end of regulation, and Howard missed a close jumper as seconds ticked off that led to overtime. With opportunities on both sides, the teams did not score for the final 1:49.
The teams traded baskets on the first two possessions of overtime, but Happ missed the free throw on an and-one opportunity. Howard hit a clutch basket to give the Golden Eagles a lead they would not relinquish.
A flagrant foul called on Davison allowed Hauser to connect on two free throws with 3:35 remaining in overtime, which extended the lead to four at 67–63. Iverson, who finished the game with four points and seven rebounds, connected on two free throws to cut the deficit to two points at the 2:46 mark, but that would be the closest Wisconsin would get to tying the game.
At one point in the overtime, Marquette missed six straight free-throw attempts during the final 41 seconds, but Wisconsin could not claw back.
Wisconsin returns to the court on Thursday against Savannah State.