They are the yin and the yang of the state in terms of Division I men's basketball. Wisconsin offers an array of talented post players, balanced out by a point guard who leads the team in scoring. Marquette puts forth a collection of talented guards, balanced out by a post player who secures the team's frontcourt.

Fresh off its most complete performance of the season, the Marquette men's basketball team will square off against Wisconsin—a legitimate rival—Saturday at the Kohl Center in Madison.

A year ago, the Badgers claimed a 70-66 win over the Golden Eagles at the Bradley Center, largely via the efforts of Alando Tucker, a slashing small forward, and Kammron Taylor, a run-and-gun point guard.

This time around, Wisconsin will unfold a game plan centered on using its height to its advantage. The Badgers start four players who are 6-foot-7 or taller, two of which are listed at 6-foot-11.

Marquette head coach Tom Crean spoke to reporters earlier this week about Wisconsin's "very tall" lineup and said he believes the Badgers will try to "high-low us to death."

"They make it very tough to get inside the lane," Crean said. "We've got to be able to withstand the bumps and the pressure and keep moving the ball and play our game."

When the Golden Eagles aren't concerned with maneuvering throughout the lane, they also will be allotting a fair share of their attention to confining Wisconsin point guard Trevon Hughes.

Last season, Hughes averaged 7.7 minutes per game as a freshman and the most points he scored in a single contest all year was eight against Southern University. Hughes logged a season-high 18 minutes against the Golden Eagles, recording five rebounds, two assists and three steals.

This year, Hughes has emerged as Wisconsin's go-to scorer. He has started all seven games for the 6-1 Badgers and is averaging 30.1 minutes and 16.7 points per game.

"He's very confident with the ball," Crean said of Hughes. "He's plaing with a ton of confidence, and he's got a green light, so he'll be a handful; there's no doubt about it."

Marquette will offer a handful of its own in terms of guard play. The junior trio of Dominic James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal has been solid, as expected, and sophomore David Cubillan is averaging 10.0 points per game of his own.

However, it is the play of sophomore forward Lazar Hayward that is drawing the most attention among the players and coaches these days. Hayward recorded the first double-double of his collegiate career Friday in a 100-65 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee when he scored 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

"It's important that he can play inside-out (against Wisconsin)," Crean said of Hayward, who is averaging 12.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season. "Very importantly, he's got to be able to get to the rim, post up to the basket and hold his own (in) rebounding."

James acknowledged Hayward could not shoulder the load on his own against Wisconsin's numerous post players.

Marquette's guards will "try to make their big men work, get them out away from the basket and make them defend us on the perimeter," James said. "Obviously, our strength is on the perimeter, so we want to take advantage of that in any way that we can."

As opposed to the week before when the team was preparing to face UWM, Crean and his players displayed a sense of enthusiasm toward playing the Badgers, a team Marquette has not beaten since the 2004-05 season.

"Of course, it's Wisconsin," Matthews said. So you know we're going to be excited about that."