[media-credit name=’DEREK MONTGOMERY/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]Marquette came into the Kohl Center hoping to leave with a victory, but senior Ray Nixon prevented that from happening.

Nixon saved his most impressive performance in the two schools' battles for last, as he helped the men's basketball team cruise to a 77-63 victory over Marquette Saturday.

The 6-foot-7 guard, who had been scoreless during his first three appearances against Marquette, notched a career-high in points (15) and steals (three).

"I don't think he scored a point against us in the last few years and today he gets 15. A lot of credit to Ray, he has made himself a better player," Marquette head coach Tom Crean said.

"I think it was just a great opportunity," Nixon said. "My teammates found me early in the game and I just took what the defense game me … Marquette is a very aggressive team."

Wisconsin (7-1) has won six of its last eight games against Marquette (6-3), including four straight at the Kohl Center.

Junior guard Kammron Taylor led all scorers with 18 points. Taylor shot 6-for-17 on the night, including three 3-pointers.

Nixon and Taylor also aided in the defensive effort, as Marquette turned the ball over 16 times, six of those times coming within the first 10 minutes.

"We did a good job of taking away transition. Our seniors do a good job of that," UW head coach Bo Ryan said. "Once our players have a good understanding of our philosophy and what we are trying to get done on every trip, then we are playing how we want to. This is a game that we were pretty good with that, the key is it has to happen in the next game."

Swingman Alando Tucker, who has been on a roll as of late leading all scorers in the last four games, was held to eight points, 10 fewer than last game.

Tucker did manage to improve his free-throw shooting, as he went three-for-four from the charity stripe.

The 6-foot-6 junior finally seemed to be adjusting to his face mask that he has been wearing for the last two weeks.

100 for Ryan, nine for Matthews: The win Saturday marked the 100th victory of Ryan's career at Wisconsin. There was not a party or celebration after he earned the century mark, instead Ryan was more pleased with the group of skillful players that he has gotten to coach over the years.

"He has earned it, he has worked his way up," Taylor said. "It is a great thing playing for a coach like that and being able to celebrate with him. I didn't even know until after the game, so that lets you know that he didn't care about getting the 100th win. He is more concerned about the game itself."

Since his arrival at UW, the men's basketball team has had an impressive 62-3 record at the Kohl Center and has won 24 straight games against non-conference opponents.

The Kohl Center has proved to be an intimidating place to play, due in large part to the fans. Madison native Wesley Matthews found out just how aggressive the Kohl Center can be, after the crowd of 17,142 booed him during the pregame starting lineup announcements.

The 6-foot-5 freshman was held to just 2-for-12 shooting and nine points, slightly under his season average of 9.1 points per game.

"I think [Matthews] heard a lot from the fans, and that really bothered him," Tucker said.

One more game: UW will go for its 25th-consecutive non-conference victory at the Kohl Center tonight when it faces UNC-Wilmington.

The Seahawks (7-1) have been on an eight-day break from competition, as they prepared for exams last week. It has been nine years since they have returned to Madison. The Seahawks' last visit to Madison came in November 1996. The game was played at the Field House and the Badgers dominated the contest, winning 68-35.

This year, the Seahawks are off to their best start in 13 years and have held their opponents to 56 points per game.

The Seahawks have also been hot from the free throw line. In their last three games, they have shot 31-for-40 from the charity stripe.

"[The Seahawks] are aggressive," Tucker said. "Every position, they are going to be very aggressive and that is the one thing that we are going to defensively stick together. They are going to try and force us to have a better game and that is where we are going to have to stay patient and make sure we are running our offense.