MADISON — Saturday was a perfect storm for Adrien Stevens.
The Marquette men’s basketball guard made his first career start in his first true road game that happened to coincide with, of all matchups, the Golden Eagles’ biannual trip to the haunting Kohl Center to face in-state rivals Wisconsin.
How did the first-year fare in this uber-important game chock-full of new experiences? Oh, well, he led Marquette in scoring (15 points), baskets made (6) and 3-pointers nailed (3) — and continued to look like a mainstay in the Golden Eagles’ ever-changing rotation.
While the scoreboard at the end was anything but ideal for the blue & gold — 96-76 Wisconsin — Stevens’ 27 minutes were the only potential bright spot on an almost entirely dim day in what continues to become an ever-dimmer year.
“I was trying to do what I can to help the team win,” Stevens said. “Wasn’t going to try to make it bigger than it was. It’s just a basketball game.”
Before his career day in his inaugural start, Stevens turned to someone who found himself in his shoes one month ago for advice. With tip-off ticking ever closer, Stevens talked to his roommate and fellow first-year Nigel James Jr. — who was about to start his seventh straight game — for advice.
“It was good to know that someone else is feeling the same way,” Stevens said. “I was nervous. But we got it out in the first [media timeout].”
Hours after his roommate pep talk, he made his first-ever walk down the pregame line of teammates as his name got announced to the mostly antagonistic 16,838 fans in attendance.
“To be able to start in an environment like that is crazy,” he said.
It took Stevens a little while to get going, but once he nailed a 3-pointer at the end of the first half, he kept making positive impacts — despite the Badgers’ dominant advantage. Stevens scored 12 of his 15 points in the final 20 minutes, with his most eye-opening sequence coming in the dying embers.
Marquette had already lost a chance at winning far before, but with 2:52 remaining, the 6-foot-4 guard caught the ball just outside the arc, took one dribble and leapt to the basket for a one-hand slam over 6-foot-10 Badger Aleksas Bieliauskas that sent the Golden Eagles’ bench into a frenzy.
It came in a blowout loss to a state rival amidst a bleak start to the season for Marquette.
But, man, Adrien Stevens provided a glimmer of hope with his play for #mubb, especially this hammer: pic.twitter.com/GyUgHOxkDE
— Ben Steele (@BenSteeleMJS) December 7, 2025
On the next possession, Stevens nailed his third and final 3-pointer of the game.
“The one before, it was a wide open one, I kind of laid it up,” Stevens said of the dunk. “And then the next one, I saw him coming over. So I was like, ‘I have to dunk this.’”
Along with his team-high 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, Stevens grabbed five rebounds and dished four assists.
“I’m really just trying to focus on this stuff that I can control,” he said. “Starting with defensively, trying to be a really high-level defensive player. And I feel like that allows everything else to open up for me offensively. Trying to get out on fast breaks, make open shots, and try to get my teammates involved.
“Just trying to be a guy that can do everything.”
Marquette head coach Shaka Smart made the decision to start Stevens in Zaide Lowery’s place after his plays down the stretch helped spur the Golden Eagles to a 75-72 overtime nail-biting win against Valparaiso last Tuesday. That night, he tied his then-career-high nine points — on 100% shooting — in a career-most 30 minutes.
It was, at the time, Stevens’ latest showing in what has been a largely meaningful first season of Division I college basketball, punctuated by Saturday. As Smart is still ironing out his rotations, Stevens has played at least 15 minutes in every game since the season-opener (in which he played 14) and, through 10 matches, is averaging 6.3 points per game.
“He really cares,” Smart said. “He really has a competitive desire to him. With him and with [James Jr.], if we’re going to play them significant minutes like we are, then we have to live with some freshman stuff.
“The good thing about those guys is they’re only going to get better.”
This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at jack.albright@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @JackAlbrightMU.