No. 11 Wisconsin basketball is suddenly on a two-game losing skid. After starting the 2024-25 college basketball season with eight wins in a row, the Wisconsin Badgers suffered a 67-64 loss to the Michigan Wolverines in Madison last Tuesday then went down in an 88-74 defeat at the hands of the No. 5 Marquette Golden Eagles at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Saturday.
A chief reason for the Badgers’ loss to Marquette was their ineffectiveness against Golden Eagles star Kam Jones. The senior guard went off for 32 points on 12-for-21 shooting from the field versus Wisconsin.
He hit three 3-pointers on seven attempts from behind the arc, dished out six assists, recorded four steals and had two rebounds in 32 minutes. Despite his heavy usage, Jones committed just a total of two turnovers, which also says a lot about how soft Wisconsin’s defense was.
After the game, Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard revealed what he told Jones when he met the player in the hallway following the contest.
Via Jack Albright:
Greg Gard said he talked to Kam Jones after the game in the hallway. Told him he “played like an old man” in that he has a lot of maturity and experience and it shows.
“I’m not surprised by anything. Exactly what I saw today live is what I watched on film.”
Wisconsin basketball loses steam in the second half vs. Marquette
Wisconsin had a two-point lead at halftime, but Jones and the Golden Eagles took over in the final 20 minutes of the contest. Jones’ consecutive baskets with a little over 15 minutes left in regulation broke a 47-47 deadlock which also turned out to be the game’s turning point, as the Golden Eagles never looked back after that.
Max Klesmit led the Badgers with 22 points on 6-for-12 shooting while John Blackwell produced 17 points for Wisconsin, which dropped to 8-2 overall. Gard’s team has another tough assignment ahead with a date with a matchup versus the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center
in Champaign on Tuesday.
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