Sure, when the Golden Eagles establish a transition game, they can speed past some of the best teams in the country.

But when trapped in a halfcourt tempo, Marquette is stuck in the mud.,”Dreams of the Marquette men's basketball team entering Big East play undefeated and with a top-10 ranking have been exposed as delusions.

Sure, when the Golden Eagles establish a transition game, they can speed past some of the best teams in the country.

But when trapped in a halfcourt tempo, Marquette is stuck in the mud.

The No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers quieted the gold sections of a raucous Bradley Center crowd Saturday behind sound halfcourt execution and Alando Tucker's game-high 28 points, defeating No. 17 Marquette 70-66.

"The coaches kept pounding it in our heads to keep our composure," said Tucker, who went 13-of-22 from the field. "Marquette wanted us to get into an up-and-down game with them, and that's how the crowd stays in the game. But if you can slow the game down… the crowd has been silenced. That's one of the things you have to do when you come into an environment like this: make sure you stick to your game plan and dictate how the other team is going to play."

The Badgers (9-1) had 17 assists as a team to the Golden Eagles' eight, illustrating the disparity in the teams' halfcourt execution. Of course, it's easy to rack up assists when Tucker, the Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, plays this well.

"We just kept feeding the ball to Tucker because he had the hot hand," said Wisconsin guard Kammron Taylor, who had 13 points and four assists.

When Marquette (9-2) threatened late, Tucker protected the Badgers' lead with momentum-killing baskets.

"I was going to make them foul me, or I was going to score," Tucker said. "If you play timid with the ball, that's how teams can get a couple of steals and get back in the game."

Marquette guard Jerel McNeal, who finished with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, ignited a rally by scoring eight straight points for his team, cutting a 60-50 deficit to 62-58 on a steal and run-out dunk with 1:43 left.

On the next possession, though, Tucker beat Marquette sophomore Wesley Matthews off the dribble for an easy layup.

"I just didn't do my job," said Matthews, who guarded Tucker for most of the game. "He hurt me. He hurt the team. He had a great night."

Tucker made another backbreaking shot off the dribble to put Wisconsin up 66-59 with 1:02 left.

"Where he really hurt us was on his drives," Marquette coach Tom Crean said. "Our help defense could have been better; our on-ball defense could have been better; our communication could have been better. He made big plays."

Marquette's primary playmaker, sophomore guard Dominic James, led the team with 19 points but struggled from the field, shooting 7-of-19, and had just one assist.

James and McNeal both were cold in the first half, going a combined 2-of-13 and scoring two points apiece. Wisconsin could have established a larger halftime lead than 28-25 if it had taken better care of the ball, but a 13-6 run to start the second half gave the Badgers breathing room until the Golden Eagles' late push.

"Even though we made some bad decisions, we didn't get our heads down and just kept bouncing back," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said.

Although Marquette forced 22 turnovers, it converted just 13 fast-break points.

"I didn't think we pushed it like we could have," Crean said.

When Marquette has failed to establish its transition style this season, its halfcourt offense has suffered. The Golden Eagles shot 39.4 percent Saturday and made just 3-of-18 three-point attempts.

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