Wisconsin Badgers at Marquette Golden Eagles

Happ helps No. 17 Wisconsin pull away, beat Marquette 93-84

A well-rested Happ helped the 17th-ranked Badgers brush past in-state rival Marquette for a 93-84 victory Saturday.

Happ scored all 11 of his points after halftime and Bronson Koenig had 18 to help the Badgers win their fifth straight game.

"I told everyone in the locker room at the same time, `Ethan, you got a lot of rest, so you've got to come out and play well for us," Hayes (17 points, nine rebounds) said about encouraging Happ at halftime. "So I think he took it personally."

The return of Happ gave Wisconsin a presence in the post to balance the offense. Marquette didn't have an answer for Happ on both ends of the court in the second half.

The nimble, 6-foot-10 Happ added five rebounds and negated the inside play of Marquette's 6-11 center Luke Fischer, who had nine of his 11 points in the first half.

"Better position defense, better help ... and he didn't foul," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said about Happ. "That's what got him in trouble in the first half."

Wisconsin (9-2) went on a 16-0 run in the second half to help build an 18-point lead with 6:44 left. Marquette (7-3) got within eight with 2:22 left but never seriously threatened the rest of the way.

Marquette's Katin Reinhardt (16 points) hit his first four 3s before missing his last two from behind the arc. Markus Howard led Marquette with 22 points.

The Golden Eagles just didn't have an answer for Happ after halftime.

"Our coach told us he was the heart of their team," Howard said. "We knew that when he was coming back in the game in the second half that they were going to be a different team, they were going to have a lot more energy. "

Wisconsin is 67-56 in the rivalry that dates to 1917.

THE BIG PICTURE

Wisconsin: Badgers fans don't seem to view the in-state rivalry with as much intensity as Marquette's vocal backers. A healthy smattering of fans wearing Wisconsin red at the Bradley Center watched Happ pick up two fouls guarding Fischer less than 2 minutes into the game. Vitto Brown (15 points) did an admirable job defending Fischer despite giving up 3 inches. But Brown had a careless foul on Andrew Rowsey from 3-point range off an inbounds play with 2.6 seconds left in the first half. Wisconsin trailed 40-35 at halftime after Rowsey hit all three free throws.

Marquette: The program held a halftime ceremony honoring the team coached by the late Al McGuire that won the 1977 national championship. This year's bunch put on a show after shooting 48 percent in the first half. At their best, the Golden Eagles are hitting from the outside while Fischer cleans up in the lane, and that's what exactly what happened early. But Happ proved to be too tough a matchup in the second half, even for Fischer, a seasoned senior.

SECOND HALF SLUMP

Marquette gave up at least 53 points in a second half for a second straight game, a trend that coach Steve Wojciechowski would like to end.

"For whatever reason, and I have to figure it out, our starts to second halves have been really poor," he said. "We allow a team to get so much momentum."

STAT LINE

Sophomore Khalil Iverson gave Wisconsin a spark off the bench with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting, along with five rebounds and two blocks.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Wisconsin could move up a spot or two in the next poll on Monday after a win in front of a crowd filled with mainly emotional Marquette fans.

UP NEXT

Wisconsin: Plays the back end of consecutive games against in-state rivals by hosting Green Bay on Dec. 14.

Marquette: Gets a week off for finals before returning on Dec. 19 to host St. Francis (Pa.)

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