SPORTS

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL FINDING MISSING PIECE IN WINNING FORMULA

SPORTS, 13

The MarqueTTe Tribune sPORTs

Tuesday, deceMber 6, 2022

PAGE 16

O-so close

Photo by Alex DeBuhr alexander.debuhr@marquette.edu Forward Oso Ighodaro (13) boxes out a Badgers forward Steven Crowl in Marquette men’s basketball’s 80-77 overtime loss to Wisconsin Dec. 3.

Smart’s squad falls short to Wisconsin despite comeback

By John Leuzzi

john.leuzzi@marquette.edu

That notable second statement win of the non-conference schedule was right there for the Marquette men’s basketball team.

Instead, the Golden Eagles (63) are going home without that win after back-to-back turn-

Really dissapointed “ locker room in there.”

Shaka Smart

Marquette Head Coach overs on inbound passes in the winding seconds of overtime that handed Marquette an 80-77 loss to in-state rival Wisconsin (6-2) Saturday afternoon at Fiserv Forum.

“Really disappointed locker room in there,” Marquette head coach Shaka Smart said. “We’ve been in a few close games here where we’re one foot away from winning, but Wisconsin deserves a lot of credit.”

The Badgers, who won their fi rst game in Milwaukee since 2016, snap a 13-game home win streak for the Golden Eagles.

“Heck of a college basketball game and really at the root of why these two institutions continue to do this (rivalry) is that right there,” Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said. “It’s a

VOLLEYBALL

great win all around. I was really proud of our guys.”

Wisconsin began the extra period of action with a 5-0 run on junior guard Jordan Davis 3-pointer and a layup from senior guard Tyler Wahl, which forced Smart to call a timeout.

Out of the timeout, junior forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper hit two free throws, and sophomore guard Kam Jones sunk a step-back 3-pointer to tie the game at 77-77 with 32 seconds left.

Then with 3.5 seconds left,

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THIS WEEK: LEUZZI ON MUWBB

Let’s get this out of the way: This year’s Marquette women’s basketball team is certainly exceeding preseason expectations. But that should come to no surprise to anyone who has paid attention to these last three seasons.

At 7-2, Marquette is off to its best start since the 200809 season. The Golden Eagles were in just their second season competing in the Big East back then.

Now in year four of the Megan Duffy Era, the Golden Eagles have looked the best they have in that span.

But again, that style of play and team mentality is not something that should be looked at as “new” about the Golden Eagles per say. Instead there are three things that have factored into this, two of which have been consistent factors since Duffy took over the program.

From day one in 2019, a big pillar in the Golden Eagles’ culture and DNA has been the bluecollar mentality Duffy’s teams embody. This is pretty evident through Marquette’s style of play when one sees the Golden Eagles fi ght for a rebound or dive for a loose ball.

After all, when it comes to Marquette, its defense has always led to its offense under Duffy.

Consistency from the point guard position is another factor

See MUWBB page 14

Volleyball rivalry heads to Fiserv in 2023

Theis looking to break NCAA attendence record against Badgers

By Jackson Gross

jackson.gross@marquette.edu

During the under-four media timeout in the fi rst half of Saturday’s men’s basketball game, Marquette Athletics announced that the Marquette Volleyball team will take on in-state rival Wisconsin at Fiserv Forum Sept. 13, 2023.

It will be the fi rst NCAA Division I Volleyball game to be played at Fiserv Forum, the home of Marquette men’s basketball and the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.

“We like the home-and-home with Wisconsin and they did Kohl Center this year with a Florida match, we’ve been dying to try to pull something like this off,” Marquette head coach Ryan Theis said. “We’ve sold out last time we were at our place (Al McGuire Center), we’ve been excited trying to make it happen and we found a date that would work.”

Marquette made the announcement one day after the Golden Eagles advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament for the second time in program history.

“What better way to highlight the incredible volleyball being played in this state than by packing Fiserv Forum,” Marquette Vice President and Director of Athletics Bill Scholl said in a statement. “We are excited for the opportunity to showcase two elite NCAA Division I programs with some of the best volleyball players from the state of Wisconsin. Volleyball has seen a remarkable rise in youth participation and broadcast ratings in recent years and we expect a great turnout and tremendous atmosphere at Fiserv Forum.”

Tickets will go on sale later this summer.

Fiserv Forum’s seating capacity is 17,385 for basketball, 15,178 for hockey and 18,000 for concerts.

Theis said he hopes to beat the NCAA attendance record of 16,833 fans inside the Kohl Center back on Sept. 16 when Wisconsin hosted Florida.

“I’m from here, I’m Madison born and I went to UWMilwaukee, I never thought I’d coach a volleyball match in front of 17,000 people, so for me, it means a lot,” Theis said.