State title: Gasser reflects on rivalry with Marquette
December 07, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas
‘Passion and the energy of the fan bases’ makes match-up special
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — This may be hard to swallow for Wisconsin fans who are obsessed over the rivalry with that school to the East. But the career leader in starts (144) and minutes played (4,774), the first player with a triple-double in UW history, the consummate team leader and blue-collar captain has a confession.
"I grew up a Marquette fan," Josh Gasser said softly.
Say it ain't so Josh.
"My mom was a big Al McGuire, Marquette Warriors fan," explained Gasser who's from Port Washington, a 30-minute drive from Milwaukee. "Through middle school and high school, my favorite player was Jerel McNeal. I loved that team with McNeal, Dominic James and Wesley Matthews."
McNeal, MU's all-time leading scorer, James and Matthews last played nearly a decade ago.
"One of my fondest memories," said Gasser, jogging his memory further, "was when Marquette made it to the Final Four (in 2003) with Dwyane Wade – beating Kentucky in the Elite Eight. He had a triple-double (29 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists). I will always remember that, too."
It wasn't until Gasser started playing AAU ball that his allegiance shifted to the Badgers. Lightly recruited by both in-state rivals, he was leaning towards Northwestern before a scholarship opened up and he signed with Wisconsin, a decision that altered his path and the program's.
In retrospect, Gasser said, "Marquette was my favorite team to play against."
With conviction, he added, "I had inner motivation every time we played them."
On Saturday, the 26-year-old Gasser will be at the sparkling new Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee to watch another chapter in the state-bragging-rights-series between Wisconsin and Marquette; an annual matchup that never fails to spike the emotion and rhetoric from the fans.
"It has been a fun in-state rivalry with what seems to be two contrasting styles of play," Gasser said. "Marquette was typically the athletic, attacking team with quick guards and long athletes who liked to play up-tempo. Wisconsin was more the fundamental, half-court, play-well-together team."
There are personnel changes from year-to-year to go along with the different coaching personalities on the benches. The constant? "I just loved the passion and the energy of the fan bases," Gasser said. "The players understand it, and that makes for a really competitive game."
Here's a look at a handful of those games through Gasser's eyes.
🏀 Wisconsin at Marquette
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) December 6, 2018
📍 Saturday, 4pm at Fiserv Forum
The road team has won six of the last eight games in this series. What's in store this weekend?#OnWisconsin https://t.co/yCWqclAdcR
Wisconsin 69, Marquette 64
December 11, 2010
Bradley Center
"I remember that game very fondly," said Gasser, the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state as a prep senior at Port Washington. "Vander Blue was a freshman and I was a freshman. And we were guarding each other for a chunk of the game. I think both of us scored the first baskets for our teams."
Originally, Blue had verbally committed to Wisconsin, his home town program. As a senior, the 6-4 shooting guard helped lead Madison Memorial High School to the WIAA Division I state championship and his decommitment was internet fodder. Especially after landing at Marquette.
Neither had a big influence on the outcome. Blue had seven points and Gasser had four as the Badgers posted their second-straight win over the Golden Eagles by cleaning the glass with 15 offensive rebounds (21-9 second chance points) offsetting their poor second half shooting percentage (.394).
Jordan Taylor led all scorers with 21 points. Jon Leuer had 17 and Keaton Nankivil had 12.
Marquette had only two players in double-figures: Jimmy Butler (15) and Dwight Buycks (13). The latter was involved in a critical late game possession after Jae Crowder scored on a put-back with nine seconds remaining to pull the Golden Eagles within two points, 66-64.
Marquette fouled Taylor who made the first free throw and missed the second leaving the door open. But as Buycks was attempting a handoff to Darius Johnson-Odom, Taylor and Gasser switched on a screen and Gasser deflected the ball off Buycks' leg and out of bounds.
Marquette was forced to foul Taylor again and he sealed the victory at the stripe.
"That was a fun moment to be at the free throw line when time was stopped, and the fans were screaming at us and we were kind of giving it back to the fans," Gasser said. "It was an awesome environment. Their fans bring it. That's why it's more fun to go there and quiet them down."
#TBT
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) December 6, 2018
Waaaay back.
🔴 vs. 🔵
🗓 Dec. 30, 1930 pic.twitter.com/tljBburB8J
Marquette 61, Wisconsin 54
December 3, 2011
Kohl Center
"I went 3-1 against Marquette and that one stands out the most," Gasser said of the disappointing loss. "I remember Jordan Taylor got into foul trouble in the second half – he was our leader and best player – and he wasn't able to play much. And we didn't respond. We didn't play well."
The Badgers had won 23 consecutive home games, 10 straight against ranked opponents. But they were completely bottled up on offense – shooting just 32 percent from the field, including 5-of-19 from the 3-point arc. The No. 16 Golden Eagles didn't shoot much better (.383).
Trailing by as many as 13 points, Gasser hit a triple culminating an 11-0 run that drew the Badgers within one, 41-40, midway through the second half. But that's as close as they got. Marquette was led by Johnson-Odom (17 points) and Todd Mayo (14) though both made just 6-of-15 shots.
Taylor, who picked up his fourth foul with 13:29 left in the game and sat for a long stretch, was the only player in double-figures for Wisconsin. He had 13.
"They were a team that drove hard, and they were super athletic," said Gasser, who logged 37 minutes. "And we didn't stop the ball. Their guards would attack all the time and we just didn't do a great job against them. For them to beat us like that on our home court was a tough one to swallow."
What's better than an alley-oop?
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) December 6, 2018
Back-to-back alley-oops#tbt to 2013 when @FSKPart3 and @dekker went back to back#OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/niUR7hzSBx
Marquette 60, Wisconsin 50
December 8, 2012
Bradley Center
"The score made it seem closer than it really was," said Gasser who was mindful the Badgers trailed 34-20 at halftime. "I felt like they were in control for most of the game. It was really tough to see us get beat pretty handily. I sat on the bench for that game and not playing was really tough."
In late October, Gasser tore his ACL during practice and was sidelined for the season.
Without Gasser, an All-Big Ten defensive guard, the Badgers struggled to stop dribble penetration by the Golden Eagles, who outscored the Badgers, 36-10, in the paint while leading from wire to wire. Junior Cadougan had 18 points (7-of-10) and Blue had 17 (7-of-14).
The Badgers didn't have anybody in double-digits. Although they got a spark from Frank Kaminsky coming off the bench – he played nine minutes and had seven points – they didn't help themselves with sloppy ball-handling (14 turnovers) and erratic free throwing shooting (9-of-23).
As a spectator, Gasser had a different perspective, a helpless one, at that.
"I was definitely looking around at the crowd more seeing how hyped they were the entire game," he said. "Being injured that year, you couldn't help on the court and that was a tough feeling. Throughout my rehab process that was a big motivating factor for me.
"Just seeing games like that when we went into those tough environments and we just didn't have enough to win, I wanted to be a part of helping us get over the hump."
Wisconsin 70, Marquette 64
December 7, 2013
Kohl Center
"I was very, very excited for this game – just a few games into my comeback from the injury," Gasser said. "We were pretty good that year. We didn't know that we were Final Four good. But we knew we were good. After losing to them two years in a row, this was a statement game."
Three weeks earlier, Kaminsky made his own statement by setting the single-game school scoring record with 43 points in a 103-85 rout of North Dakota. Now, it was Sam Dekker's turn to state his case with a double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds) punctuated by some rim-rattling dunks.
For the fourth time in 10 games, the unbeaten Badgers had five players score 10 or more points, including Kaminsky (11), Gasser (10), Ben Brust (13) and Traevon Jackson (12). Marquette's Jamil Wilson led all scorers with 22, while Davante Gardner had 16 and Chris Otule had 11.
Near the end of the game, Dekker threw down a dunk in transition and got fouled.
"I remember sprinting the full court and hugging him because that was the final piece to the win," Gasser said. "That's the game I wanted to win. That was the game our team wanted to win with a bunch of Wisconsin guys. It was just a great feeling."
The Golden Eagles had trouble matching up with the backcourt trio of Gasser, Brust and Jackson. During his postgame press conference, coach Bo Ryan was asked about Gasser's overall impact and what it meant to have him back in the lineup after getting along without him the year before.
Known for his long-winded responses, Ryan threw a change-up. First, he prefaced his comment by conceding, "It's the shortest answer I've ever given in the history of questions." And, then, he paid Gasser a short but sweet compliment, "He's a leader."
Wisconsin 49, Marquette 38
December 6, 2014
Bradley Center
"Marquette was pretty down that year and we were a Top Five team in the country," Gasser said. "They played a 2-3 zone and wanted us to shoot 3's. They slowed down the tempo and made it a low possession game. They wanted to get Sam, Frank and Nigel (Hayes) away from the basket.
"They kind of did what we did to a lot of teams. They made it ugly."
Marquette didn't have a starter taller than 6-7 and got pounded on the boards, 41-28, while making just 13 of 45 field goal attempts (.289). Wisconsin "raced" to a 25-15 halftime lead and wound up holding the Golden Eagles to the fewest points (34) by either team in the series since 1948.
Kaminsky had 15 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Gasser was the only other UW player in double-figures with 12 points on the strength of a career-high four 3-pointers in his final appearance against Marquette. Gasser also had three assists and zero turnovers in 31 minutes.
"We took a lot of 3's (30) and we missed a lot of them (22), but we were able to hit just enough of them (8) to win," Gasser said. "It was an ugly game. But against Marquette, you take it anyway you can get it. Whether you win 2-0, or you win 98 to 30, you'll take it."
