Marquette vs Wisconsin Odds, Pick for Saturday

Below, we have Marquette vs. Wisconsin odds and a pick for Saturday.

Marquette is off to a 6-1 start this season and already boasts one of the best resumes in the country. In the Maui Invitational, it picked up wins over UCLA and then-No. 1 Kansas before falling to the new No. 1 team — Purdue — in the championship game.

It also already has a win over a Big Ten foe, with a road victory over Illinois a few weeks ago. The Golden Eagles are up to No. 3 in the AP Top 25, and they'll hit the road 79 miles up I-94 to battle rival Wisconsin on Saturday.

After losing to Tennessee and Providence in its first three games, Wisconsin is now 5-2 after four straight victories. That includes wins over Virginia and SMU in the Fort-Myers Tip-Off. However, the Badgers already have a chance to add a ton of juice to their resume by knocking off a top-five team.

Marquette vs. Wisconsin has become an annual matchup since the 1958-59 season. Wisconsin holds a 70-59 lead in the all-time series and won 80-77 in overtime in Milwaukee last season.

Marquette will look to return the favor as a short road favorite in this year's matchup.

Marquette wants to play fast, as it has the eighth-shortest average possession length offensively.

However, it hasn't sacrificed efficiency for tempo thus far. The Golden Eagles are seventh in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency and 12th in turnover percentage.

Having Tyler Kolek to run the show certainly helps. The senior point guard is averaging nearly 14 points, five rebounds and five assists per game while shooting 54.4% from the field, 52.4% from 3 and 85.7% from the free throw line.

However, guard Kam Jones leads the team in scoring at 16 points per game. He's also been efficient this season, shooting 50% from the field and 42% from 3.

Marquette is 260th in offensive rebounding percentage. That's a concern, but perhaps not a big one, considering it hasn't missed often this season. The Golden Eagles are making over 60% of their 2-point field goal attempts.

Forward Oso Ighodaro leads the way in that regard, as he's shooting 67.2% from the field while averaging 13.7 points per game. He also serves as the anchor of their defense. He's averaging 6.6 rebounds and over a steal and a block per game.

Marquette is 14th in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency this season. The Golden Eagles are allowing 65.9 points per game, which includes holding Kansas to just 59 points.

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Wisconsin has had a top-35 defense in each of the past five years. Through seven games this season, it's trending in that direction once again. Wisconsin is 32nd in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency, and it's allowing 64 points per game.

The Badgers are allowing 14.6 turnovers per game, but less than half of them have come from steals.

The Badgers are also strong on the glass on both ends. They're only allowing 28.4 rebounds per game, fifth-fewest in the country.

One area of weakness for Wisconsin defensively is its 3-point defense. It's allowing opponent to shoot 36% beyond the arc, which is 272nd nationally. It's also not a great shooting team itself, as it's shooting 31% from 3 (242nd nationally).

However, Wisconsin is shooting 54.1% from inside the arc. It protects the ball well — averaging just 10 turnovers — and it's also averaging nearly 12 offensive rebounds per game. The Badgers are 23rd in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency.

They have four players averaging in double figures. St. John's transfer AJ Storr is averaging 13.3 points per game to lead the group.

Marquette has already proven it can play with the nation's best after a double-digit victory over Kansas, a road win victory over Illinois and a narrow loss to Purdue. It has another tough assignment in this one, especially given that this is a rivalry.

However, in Kolek and Jones, Marquette will have the two best players on the floor. In a game that figures to be highly competitive, they'll be the difference.

In particular, Kolek is one of the best decision makers in the country. That will pay dividends for Marquette if the game is tight down the stretch.

These teams have split the last eight meetings, both outright and against the spread. I like the Golden Eagles to break the tie this season on the strength of their backcourt.

Pick: Marquette -2.5

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