The Big East-Big 12 Battle returns to Milwaukee for the second straight season, as the No. 8 Marquette Golden Eagles (6-2) host the No. 12 Texas Longhorns (6-1) Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum.

This will be Marquette head coach Shaka Smart’s first time facing his former team. Smart was the head coach at Texas for six seasons.

Here is a look at the Top 25 matchup:

Looking at the Longhorns

This will be Texas’ first true road game of the season, as it has had five home games and two neutral games thus far. Its one loss came at the Madison Square Garden to the then–No. 5 UConn Huskies.

In their two games away from the Moody Center, the Longhorns have shot 45.7% from the field and 21.5% from three. They are shooting 52.4% from the field at home and 41.5% from deep.

Head coach Rodney Terry is in his first full season at Texas after being named the interim head coach in January.

Players to Watch

• Senior forward Oso Ighodaro has been non-existent for the Golden Eagles in their last two games. After making the Maui Invitational All-Tournament team while averaging 17 points and six rebounds per game, he has averaged 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game over Marquette’s last two games. The Golden Eagles will need their forward to step up in this Top 25 matchup.
• Tyler Kolek has to continue to play like an All-American for Marquette to be successful. Marquette’s offense revolves around Kolek being able to balance his passing and scoring, and in order for Marquette to control the tempo of the game, his role is crucial.
• Graduate student guard Max Abmas transferred from Oral Roberts to Texas and is leads the Longhorns with 16.7 points per game while shooting 44.8% from the field.
• Forward Kadin Shedrick — the second graduate student transfer on Texas — averages 14.2 points per game and 5.3 rebounds.

Keys to the Game

• Texas: Win on the glass. Marquette is coming off a game where they gave up 15 offensive rebounds and was out rebounded 38-23. Texas is 98th in the country in rebound margin at 4.9, according to the NCAA, compared to Marquette at 306th and -4.0. It also has an offensive rebound rate of 33.3% according to kenpom.com. Keeping possessions alive and winning on the boards can keep Texas in control of the game on the road. 
• Marquette: Texas doesn’t shoot particularly well away from home, especially from beyond the arc. In its win over Southern, Marquette did a good job defensively of not letting Southern drive to the basket, and forcing them to take poor shots outside the arc.

How to Follow

• Watch: FS1 — Tip-off is 7 p.m. CST.
• Listen: Trevor Hilson and Jack Lewandowski on Marquette University Radio.
• Live Updates: Follow @JackAlbrightMU and @KaylynnWrightMU on Twitter/X.

This story is written by Trevor Hilson. He can be reached at [email protected] or @hilsontrevor on Twitter/X.