Lucas’ 3-Pointers: Wisconsin at Marquette
December 04, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas
Three things to know before the I-94 rivalry
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — The Badgers travel down I-94 to play in-state rival Marquette on Friday evening at Fiserv Forum. Here are three things to know:
1. Minnesotans Making their Mark
Ben Carlson and Steven Crowl should have a good scouting report on Marquette's Dawson Garcia. And vice versa. All three played together on D1 Minnesota's AAU team. The 6-foot-9, 218-pound Carlson is from East Ridge High School and Woodbury, Minn.; the 7-foot, 217-pound Crowl is from Eastview High School and Eagan; and the 6-11, 235-pound Garcia is from Prior Lake. Garcia, a McDonald's All-American and the Big East's preseason Freshman of the Year, has been starting and averaging 13 points and five rebounds. Carlson and Crowl have been coming off the bench with the former averaging 16 minutes and seven points as part of the nine-man rotation including fellow freshman Johnny Davis. Three other UW players are alums of DI Minnesota: Nate Reuvers, Tyler Wahl and Walt McGrory (who has been sidelined indefinitely after hip surgery). Whether it's the returnees (Wahl and Trevor Anderson) or the newcomers (Carlson and Davis), the Badgers have gotten a boost from their subs. Assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft outlined the objectives — "We're not asking them to be superheroes, we don't ask that of anybody. Do your job. Do it to the best of your ability." — while underlining the need to be the "best version of themselves." So far, so good.
Carlson: "The biggest thing is doing the little things consistently. Like the hustle plays, the rebounds, setting good screens. Most of the stuff that doesn't show up in the stat books. Just doing those little things every day, even in practice, that's what makes a good team a great team … A big part of it is trying to be prepared each game … This team has great senior leadership … Coming into a team that has that great leadership already setup makes it that much easier to get out there and just play with confidence and be comfortable."
2. Jolt of Juice
When head coach Greg Gard substituted Wahl into the Green Bay game, he did so with implicit directions, "Bring the energy." Those words resonated with Wahl — "Kind of my goal was to get my nose dirty and once that started to happen my confidence grew" — despite a couple of early traveling violations. After collecting just one rebound in the first two games combined, Wahl had a career-high 15 boards to go along with 11 points for his first double-double. It definitely got the attention of senior Brad Davison — "He's a great option for us off the bench to give us that little jolt in the arm that we needed" — but it also underlined the necessity for everybody, not just the subs, to bring the energy in these all but empty arenas. Many subscribe to Micah Potter's rationale — "Honestly, I don't know if there will be much of a home-court advantage this year besides the comfortability of shooting in your own gym" — and recognize that gaining any edge will be incumbent on self-motivation.
Davison: "It comes with the territory. If you're a veteran guy or you're a young guy, if you're on the floor that's your responsibility to bring energy. So, if the team is lacking in certain areas, you've got to pick it up and you've got to pick up one another and have each other's back. It's one thing to pick it up in games, but that's got to be an everyday thing in practice, too. Practices are very similar to games these days. We're in the Kohl Center and there's nobody there, there's no fans, and we still have to generate that same energy in practice. Whether it's a game or practice, you always have to be on alert and on the lookout for those opportunities to create energy and get your team going."
3. Zero turnovers once, twice, Trice
D'Mitrik Trice's assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5) was tied for second best in the Big Ten last season and has steadily improved since his freshman year (1.7) when he was utilized primarily off the bench. During the eight-game winning streak, Trice had 46 assists to 14 turnovers for a 3.3 ratio. He also averaged 10.4 points and shot 46 percent from the 3-point arc. Through the first three games this season, Trice has 13 assists and zero turnovers in 71 minutes. In addition, he scored 11 against Eastern Illinois and 15 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Now that Marquette's all-time leading scorer Markus Howard — who ended up with 2,761 career points after leading the nation with a 27.8 average as a senior — has moved on to the Denver Nuggets as an undrafted free agent, Trice's defensive assignment will be a little different than it has been in this series. Last season, the Badgers routed the Golden Eagles, 77-61, at the Kohl Center by putting six players in double-figures, including Brevin Pritzl who had a double-double (15 points, 13 rebounds). Howard was "limited' to 18 points (6-of-21 FG). In 2018, Marquette overcame Ethan Happ (34 points, 11 rebounds) to slip past the Badgers, 74-69, in overtime at Fiserv Forum. Howard had 27 points (7-of-29 FG, 12-15 FT). The old state rivals, the series dates back to 1917, have split the last 10 meetings.
Davison: "There's something about the Big Ten rivalries. In those games, you're competing for a championship, you're competing in the Big Ten race, you're competing for a seed, you're competing for a Big Ten title. That's not necessarily what the mindset is for this game (against Marquette). This is kind of an opportunity to get better and to measure up and see where you're at with other teams across the country. But especially this early in the year, it's an opportunity for us to get better than we were the day before."
