Marquette had a rocky start but is currently riding a six-game winning streak. Following back-to-back Final Four trips, Wisconsin has been uneven and is coming off its first loss to UW-Milwaukee in 22 years.
None of that will matter when the two in-state rivals take the floor at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Kohl Center in a nationally-televised game on ESPN2.
"Any time you have a rivalry like this you can throw what happened yesterday out the window," Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski said.
"It's going to be an intense game. Both programs are going to play with a great deal of pride and urgency, and those types of efforts usually produce high-level games.