The Badgers slowed the game's pace, forcing Marquette to become a halfcourt team. Sophomore Dominic James scored only two points in the first half in large part to junior Michael Flowers' ability to cut off James' penetration.,”The Marquette men's basketball team was the victim of Wisconsin's outstanding execution Saturday at the Bradley Center.

The Badgers slowed the game's pace, forcing Marquette to become a halfcourt team. Sophomore Dominic James scored only two points in the first half in large part to junior Michael Flowers' ability to cut off James' penetration. James recovered late, finishing with a team-high 19 points, but the effort was not enough.

When Marquette's guards beat defenders off the dribble, Wisconsin's big men contested shots as a second line of defense. The Golden Eagles rarely executed a comfortable halfcourt set in the first half, shooting 31.4 percent in the first frame. The team did not quicken the tempo until late in the second half. The surge fell short, and Marquette never came closer than a four-point deficit.

"We didn't do a good job of swinging the ball as much as we wanted to," said sophomore Jerel McNeal, who led the late surge before fouling out in the closing seconds.

McNeal finished with 16 points, 14 of which came after the 7:04 mark in the second half.

Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan pointed out how important help defense was in containing James. Marquette's leading scorer struggled for every shot and finished 7-of-19 from the field.

"The teammates were there for (Flowers)," Ryan said. "If you don't have that kind of effort, you're not going to stop a team like Marquette."

James was forced into taking lower percentage shots than usual, and the team's other perimeter players did little to relax the pressure on him. The Golden Eagles shot 3-of-18 from beyond the arc. That puts Marquette at 32.2 percent from three-point range this season, while Marquette's opponents are connecting 39.4 percent of the time from outside. Marquette's opponents will no doubt attempt to expose this weakness as the season progresses.

One possible solution could be freshman forward Lazar Hayward. He was 0-of-4 from outside Saturday, but not because he was forcing bad shots. His good looks from long range simply did not fall. Hayward has shown a smooth outside stroke in the past, even on his misses. Had his open looks dropped Saturday, Marquette may have been in a position to steal a win despite being outplayed.

Such was not the case.

"Our execution lacked on both ends of the floor, and their execution was very good," Marquette head coach Tom Crean said.

Crean said he would like the team to get freshman David Cubillan the ball in a position to shoot three-pointers more often. Cubillan leads the team with a 48.8 percent three-point field goal percentage after making 1-of-2 from long range Saturday, finishing with three points.

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