Marquette Faces No. 12/16 Wisconsin Saturday at 4 p.m. CT

The Marquette University men's basketball team (7-2, 0-0 BIG EAST) continues its homestand on Saturday, Dec. 8 when the squad hosts rival Wisconsin (8-1, 2-0 Big Ten) at 4 p.m. CT in Fiserv Forum. FOX will feature the national television broadcast, with Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Stephen Bardo (analyst) and Evan Daniels (reporter) calling the action. Following Saturday's game, the Golden Eagles will have over a week off to focus on first semester finals.

MU Defending Home Court At High Level

The Golden Eagles spent a majority of the offseason focusing on the team's efforts at the defensive end of the court and that work has paid dividends early in 2018-19.

Through games of Dec. 5, Marquette ranks first in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage defense (.386 - 47th in nation), first in defensive rebounds per game (29.6) and is second in blocked shots (4.3 bpg.). MU has held its opponent under 40.0 percent shooting from the field (only four times total in 2017-18) in five of the team's seven victories.

Marquette's defensive success has been especially evident in the squad's six outings thus far at Fiserv Forum. Opponents have combined to shoot just 34.0 percent from the floor in the new arena and just 29.0 percent from behind the 3-point line.

Last season, MU allowed 78.5 points per game and through the first nine games in 2018-19, opponents are collecting just 66.4 points per contest.

Lots Of Connections Between In-State Rivals

The annual series between Marquette and Wisconsin allows the programs to remain very familiar with each other, but a number of relationships developed at the high school level.

MU's Sam and Joey Hauser were prep teammates with UW's Trevor Anderson at Stevens Point Area Senior High and Theo John has been playing with and against Brad Davison in the greater Minneapolis area since grade school.

Forward Ed Morrow played against the Badgers for two years at Nebraska (2015-17), highlighted by a 13-rebound effort as a sophomore in 2016-17.

All-Time Series Dates Back To 1917

Marquette's all-time series with Wisconsin dates back to 1917, with the first meeting coming in just MU's second season of competition.

Wisconsin owns a 67-57 edge in the previous matchups, with each squad enjoying an extended run of success at various points in the series. Marquette's best streak came between 1969 and 1984 when the team claimed 15-straight wins and 19-of-21 overall.

MU has met Wisconsin more times (124) than any other opponent in program history. Notre Dame and Marquette have met on 118 occasions dating back to 1920, the second-most matchups against any single opponent in the record book.

The road team has been victorious in each of the last four outings. Marquette claimed an 82-63 decision last year in the Kohl Center, thanks to 24 points from guard Andrew Rowsey and 23 points from guard Markus Howard. The Badgers posted a 93-84 win at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Dec. 10, 2016 in the most recent meeting in Milwaukee.

The Golden Eagles haven't defeated the Badgers at home since earning a 60-50 decision on Dec. 8, 2012.

Anim Picks Up Production In Recent Outings

Through the first seven games of the 2018-19 campaign, junior forward Sacar Anim had chipped in a total of just 33 points (4.7 ppg.).

In the last two outings he has averaged 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest while combining to shoot 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the floor. He followed up his 16-point effort versus Kansas State with a 14-point, four-rebound performance against UTEP.

In Anim's 61-game career, he has posted back-to-back double-figure games on just four occasions, including three-straight outings (at Creighton, vs. St. John's, at DePaul) when he went 26-11-10.