Marquette Golden Eagles
December 23, 1998

12/24 Update: I attended the Badger/Marquette game last night, and here are my observations:

1.) Marquette is really really bad, or Wisconsin really made them look pathetic, or maybe a bit of both. Despite very poor shooting in the first 10 minutes, Wisconsin controlled the game throughout. Watching Marquette attempt to execute as compared to Wisconsin was like night and day.

2.) It is nice to see when Mason and Calderwood are off (as they were), the team can get offense from Vershaw, Bryant, and Kelley (in this case) to offset this.

3.) This team simply knows how to play basketball. What do I mean by this seemingly ridiculous statement? Well, they just have a lot of guys that have outstanding basketball sense. Almost all members of this team understand the flow on the court, see the floor, and can execute within the constraints that an oppenent may present. When Marquette made their mini run, I was impressed with how easily the Badgers countered by getting numerous layups in their set offense. Marquette really was puzzled as to how to defend this team. Where was the ball going to go? Wherever they took away, the Badgers would take advantage by shifting to another option.

4.) Jon Bryant really moved well without the ball and hunted for his shot. So far, he is quite the different player on the road.

5.) The crowd was the deadest I have ever seen for a Marquette/Wisconsin game. The Marquette crowd is always pretty lame in my estimation, and even the Wisconsin crowd had a hard time getting into the game due to the methodical dismantling of the Eagles.

6.) Beers are way too expensive. $4.50 each??? That sucked.

7.) I waited in the will-call line next to Julian Swartz. He certainly looked a legit 6-5, 6-6. Other than that, I tried to think of what I might look for that would be interesting, but came up with a blank. I wasn't close enough to him to chat with him (I tried to weasel my way up, but couldn't quite do it). Dave Mader was also at the game, though he was a ways away from me.

8.) Mike Kelley continues to be my favorite player on this year's team. As usual, I spent much of the game watching him off the ball. Wonderful, wonderful player. Intense yet smooth.

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