No. 12 Texas will learn a lot about itself by playing at No. 8 Marquette
There will be plenty of familiarity and a whole lot to play for when No. 12 Texas travels north to Milwaukee to square off against No. 8 Marquette on Wednesday as part of the Big EAST-Big 12 Battle that is an important game for both teams.
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The Longhorns (6-1) have bounced back nicely, if perhaps a little squirrely, from their lone setback, a shorthanded, 10-point loss to defending national champ Connecticut in New York City in the Empire Classic. Since then Texas has romped past Wyoming and played around with Texas State before winning by 19 points.
But a trip to Wisconsin to battle the Shaka Smart-coached Golden Eagles (6-2) is a return to a higher weight class for Texas, and a chance to earn a win that will likely bolster its NCAA Tournament resume come March.
“These are the types of games you really use to build a lot of chemistry,” Texas coach Rodney Terry said Monday. “You get a chance to go into a hostile environment to against one of the top teams in the country on their home court. It’s gonna prepare us for Big 12 play because the conference is going to be like this every night. Shaka’s team is playing really well right now and at a very high level.”
Smart compiled a 109-86 record in six seasons (2015-21) in Austin, leading the Longhorns to three March Madness appearances but failing to win a single NCAA Tournament game. Six other members of Marquette’s coaching staff also spent time on the 40 Acres.
But only one players on Texas’ current roster – sixth-year graduate forward Brock Cunningham – was coached by Smart.
Longhorns guard Tyrese Hunter is from Racine, Wisc., about 31 miles from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, so he will be familiar with Marquette’s home arena. Hunter was also part of the Iowa State team in 2022 that won two games in the NCAA Tournament in that arena to reach the Sweet 16. Hunter scored 23 points against LSU in the Cyclones’ first-round win.
“It’s exciting and I’m grateful for my family to be that close be able to see me but same goal as every other game whether we’re not back at home,” Hunter said. “Just go out there and win and you know play the best basketball I can for my team.”
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Hunter will likely get the defensive assignment of guarding Marquette star point guard Tyler Kolek, who is the Golden Eagles’ second leading scorer (13.5 points per game) and leads the team in 3-point shooting percentage (46.2 percent) and total assist (42 in eight games).
“Tyler’s a good point guard,” Hunter said. “I kind of played with him a little bit this summer and a couple open runs. Oh, we got to go at it. So I’m looking forward to that. But you know, it’s a five on five game. We got a game plan. They got a game plan. We’ve all got to be confident and go out there and play.”
The Golden Eagles have dropped two of their past three games by a combined total of 14 points. Most recently Marquette lost at cross-state rival Wisconsin 75-64 on Saturday.
“It’s time to be a big boy and step forward,” Smart said Tuesday. “And that goes for every one of us.”
Wednesday’s contest marks just the second meeting between Texas and Marquette and first since the 1977-78 season. In the only previous matchup, then-No. 5 Marquette claimed a 65-56 home victory in the championship game of the Milwaukee Classic on Dec. 27, 1977.
