Wisconsin's stereotypically low-scoring ways were nowhere to be found Saturday in Milwaukee.
The Badgers were red hot in the second half of a rivalry showdown with Marquette, scoring 58 points on 64.3-percent shooting after halftime en route to a 93-84 win over their in-state foes.
Wisconsin trailed at halftime, 40-35, after Marquette's Katin Reinhardt scored 13 first-half points with four made 3-pointers. The Eagles went on a 24-12 run over the final nine-and-change minutes of the first half to build that advantage before the break. Both teams shot great in the first half, Marquette at 48.3 percent and Wisconsin at an even better 51.9 percent.
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But the Badgers blew that mark — and simultaneously their opponents — out of the water over the final 20 minutes. Buoyed by the second-half return of big man Ethan Happ, who missed almost the entirety of the first half after picking up two fouls in the first two minutes of the game, Wisconsin erased the gap in a hurry and sprinted off on a 16-0 run over an approximately five-and-a-half-minute stretch. That was part of an even bigger 24-5 run that gave the Badgers their biggest lead of the game at 18 with under seven minutes to play. Happ and Nigel Hayes combined for 11 of those 24 points during that stretch.
Marquette chipped Wisconsin's lead back to eight multiple times over the final minutes but never got any closer.
The Badgers were a remarkable 18-for-28 from the floor in the second half, going 5-for-8 as a team from 3-point range. Nineteen of their 33 rebounds also came after halftime and only two of their nine turnovers.
On the game, Wisconsin shot a scorching 58.2 percent from the field and scored 22 points off 12 Marquette turnovers. The Badgers had 42 points in the paint and assisted on 20 of their 32 made field goals.
Big Ten
Bronson Koenig finished as the high man with 18 points, 12 of them coming on four made triples. But there were plenty of high scorers for the Badgers, who were just seven points away from hitting the century mark. Hayes had 17 points and nine rebounds. Khalil Iverson had 16 points off the bench. Vitto Brown finished with 15 points, and Happ and Zak Showalter each scored 11 points.
The win boosted Wisconsin to 9-2 on the season, the only losses coming against top-10 North Carolina and Creighton teams. The Badgers have won five in a row, that streak including wins over name opponents Syracuse, Oklahoma and Marquette. Wisconsin has two more games before the start of non-conference play.