MILWAUKEE — For as long as senior point guard Kam Jones has been at Marquette, the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers (8-2, 0-1) have had reign over the I-94 Rivalry.
However, with Saturday's in-state rivalry being his last, the No. 5 Golden Eagles (9-1) snapped the Badgers' three-year streak with an 88-74 victory.
"The seniors — we came together — and last night was just like, not tomorrow," Jones said post-game. "Not tomorrow afternoon. We made sure our younger guys were ready to attack and ready to just go out there and win.”
Jones finished with a game-high 32 points shooting 12-of-21 (57.1%) from the floor. He also tallied six assists, four steals, and two rebounds.
There were 19 lead changes in today's in-state rivalry with #5 Marquette dropping #11 Wisconsin, 88-74.
— Ashley Washburn (@ashleyjwashburn) December 8, 2024
The breakthrough for Marquette? Kam Jones and a havoc-wreaking defense.
A recap from Fiserv Forum ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/iKTPRkOuYT
Most of Saturday's game stayed a one-possession game until Badgers graduate transfer John Tonje earned his third personal foul with 17:23 remaining in regulation.
With the Badgers' leading scorer off the floor, Marquette took advantage rattling off a 13-5 run which put the Golden Eagles in front for good.
"It was the stretch from about the 15-minute mark to the 8-minute mark of that second half where there were 14 possessions and we were up one at that point," Badgers head coach Greg Gard explained. "We turned it over seven times in those 14 possessions, and that allowed them to go from down one to up six. What it did is create an avalanche.”
Not having John Tonje out on the floor has HURT Wisconsin.
— Ashley Washburn (@ashleyjwashburn) December 7, 2024
Since being pulled at the 17:23 mark, Marquette has outscored the Badgers 17-8.
Golden Eagles lead 61-53 with 11:18 remaining. Greg Gard is subbing Tonje back in after the media timeout.
Wisconsin turned the ball over a season-high 16 times. In what was a 14-point loss on Saturday, Marquette scored 18 points off turnovers.
“We're going to pressure you," Jones warned. "We're going to have a lot of energy. When we are in the zone man, it can be like we've got six guys guarding them. That's with any team. All we want to do no matter the opponent is we want to be disruptive. We want to make it tough for them. We want to be a hard team to play against them both ends.”
Check out: Behind Kam Jones' 32 points, No. 5 Marquette defeats No. 11 Wisconsin 88-74
While Jones looked dominant during Saturday's 32-point performance, Marquette head coach Shaka Smart said the senior guard has battled an ankle injury the last two games.
Jones limped up to the podium post-game, but he'll have a full week to recover before Marquette's last non-conference game on Saturday at Dayton (8-2).
Wisconsin returns to action on Tuesday at No. 19 Illinois.
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