Michigan State Outslugs Wisconsin

The game was pretty easy to figure out: the home team won. Or to put it slightly less vaguely: two teams played good defense and shot poorly. The more aggressive team emerged victorious.

Michigan State is most comfortable in the aggressor's role and Wisconsin never forced the Spartans out of that position. Two obvious examples are rebounding and free throw shooting.

For starters, the Spartans were allowed to crash the boards unhindered in most cases, out rebounding the Badgers 28-23 overall. It was frustrating to see MSU get second chances all the time (10 offensive rebs), just by being hungrier for the ball and having the skill to acquire it. Wisconsin's big men have a ways to go collectively. Secondly, while both teams shot the same percentage on freebies, MSU outscored UW by 12 points by stepping to the free throw line 30 times. [box score]

It was a tough, hard-fought battle between the Badgers and Spartans. Both teams were held far below their average efficiency numbers on offensive. For this I applaud the defense on each side more than I care to insult the shooters.

Though Michigan State managed to still be more efficient than the average Badger opponent, Wisconsin was less efficient that the average Spartan opponent so far this year. It was easily the least efficient offensive performance of the year for UW, surpassed by only the Xavier and Duke losses in the previous two seasons. To compound matters, the Wisconsin's shot selection (21.7% on 23 3-pointers) played right into Michigan State's hands. So it seems Bucky brought out the best in Michigan State defensively.

I was impressed by Michigan State's big sophomore Draymond Green, and also junior Chris Allen, who had a rock solid game for Tom Izzo. On Wisconsin's side, Jon Leuer proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is for real with those 18 second-half points. Also, based on the replays I feel like Trevon Hughes' ankle should be good to go next game. I don't think the ankle injury had a whole lot to do with this particular loss.

Another Brick In The Wall

My dream will have to wait another year. Not only did the ACC display its superiority again, but Duke emerged unscathed. The Big Ten improved overall to five wins this year, but eight of the 12 ACC teams still have a .500 or better record in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Now, sure most of the games were close and there were positive moments. Unfortunately, the marquee teams from the ACC lambasted the "best" teams from the Big Ten. Purdue laid an absolute egg. That performance will have people drooling over Duke for weeks, fair or not. Kyle Singler is very good though and he shut down Robbie Hummel.

Top-ranked North Carolina sealed the deal by running away from Michigan State. Will a home team win at Ford Field at all this year?! The game was entertaining at the start, however, the Spartans simply do not stack up inside -- especially without Goran Suton. I am still waiting to be impressed by Raymar Morgan with my own two eyes.

Other thoughts, with the help of the Big Ten blogosphere:
Minnesota looked very aggressive Tuesday and could definitely be a player in the Big Ten. The Gophers have been trained to hound the perimeter and try to swat every shot attempt. This enabled them to control the tempo. Two players stood out. Damian Johnson is long and athletic. Freshman Colton Iverson is not a looker but looks real good in the post. Iverson is a player I imagine most Badger fans can respect. If you were looking for the next big man in the conference to worry about, see this kid in two years. Minnesota should be scary at that point with Royce White and Rodney Williams also on the roster.

Obviously, Ohio State benefited from the ejection of Jack McClinton and thus, turned the tables on Miami in the second half. McClinton made his first four 3-pointers before he got the boot with about 10 minutes left int he first half. Ho hum, another road win, one of six in the challenge.

After seeing the pathetic finishes by Illinois and Iowa, all you could do was vomit. For the Illini to not get a shot off is unforgivable and the Hawkeye freshman missing (badly) on the front end of a bonus situation is pure heartbreak. If either of those finishes flipped, the Big Ten would have a big smile on its face right now. Penn State added another very weak finish on Wednesday but still managed to escape Atlanta with a nice win over Georgia Tech. The Nittany Lions made some minor mistakes in press break mode, like passing up an easy basket that would have put them up six points, and looked terrible form the charity stripe. Part of the problem was failing to get the ball to their best free throw shooters each time.

The fans back in State College probably chewed their nails off, but they have a reason to be optimistic about their backcourt. I really like is PSU's sophomore point guard Talor Battle, who teams with senior Stanley Pringle to form a quick, offensive-minded pair. Former Badger recruiting target Iman Shumpert posted a nice line as well.

In other Wednesday action, Indiana lost big to Wake Forest as expected, and Michigan proved me wrong by getting shell shocked to the tune of 46 points in the second half. Luckily, Northwestern picked up the slack with a convincing romp over Florida State. Could that be a spark towards something more for the Wildcats?

That put me at a paltry 5-5 on my predictions. There's always next year ... for me and for the Big Ten.

Paradise Jam Continues

Wisconsin survived some choppy waters this weekend, but is on course to win another Paradise Jam tournament title. The team's reward for winning two straight on the island is a game with #2 Connecticut on Monday night.

The quest began with a knock down, drag out nail biter on Friday night when UW barely escaped the matchbox gym with a 60-58 overtime win against Iona. The Badgers were lucky to survive their 19 turnovers, but were never able to get into a good flow due to tons of physical defense by the Gaels and terribly inconsistent officiating. Winning a game like that has to give you faith in UW's ability to close out games under adversity. [box score]

Tonight, Wisconsin toppled San Diego, 64-49. Topping the Toreros seemed easier thanks to much better Badger shooting (48.8%). Without DirectTV's Sports Pack, I followed the game via Patrick Herb's live blog at uwbadgers.com. Herb's blogging during the Iona game also probably was the best source of info on the opening round action too, where UW shot only 27.3% in the second half.

Trevon Hughes has been the engine for Wisconsin so far in the Virgin Islands. He led all scorers with 21 points against Iona, hitting 11-of-12 free throws. Against San Diego, he again paced both sides with 22 points (8-11 FGs, 2-4 3s). [box score]

The tourney appears to be a coming out party for Tim Jarmusz. Foul trouble plagued Jon Leuer and Marcus Landry on Friday, but Jarmusz put in 30 minutes of great work. His best attributes continue to be hitting timely 3-pointers, drawing fouls and diving for loose balls -- which provides UW with some very important extra possessions. It is uncanny how Jarmusz is always "mixing it up." It was good to see Keaton Nankivil bust loose a little with 8 rebounds in the first game and 10 points tonight.

There were a few concerns, of course. The statistics do not really reflect the struggles at the charity stripe, as several different players missed front ends of bonus opportunities. Jason Bohannon has really struggled with his shot, shooting a combined 5-of-22 so far. And as a team, the threes are not dropping: 5-of-21 vs. Iona, 5-of-16 vs. San Diego = 27%.

Landry bounced back to lead the team in rebounds (7), assists (6), and blocked shots (5) versus the Toreros.

Moving on, the championship should be a great game to watch. This will be the fourth time under Bo Ryan that the Badgers have faced a team ranked second in the AP poll. My expectations are lower than the ones I had for last year's Duke game, but now that the match up is set I am definitely stoked. The Huskies have a phenomenal freshman point guard, Kemba Walker, to add to senior A.J. Price this year. Even though Pop is hot right now, he will need a lot of help.

I love the matchup between Jeff Adrien and Landry, but am not sure how we will play Hasheem Thabeet. The guy's offense is spotty, but he will be altering every shot in sight. Thabeet already has 12 blocks down there in two games! Bo could try giving some meaningful minutes to one of his own aircraft carriers, like J.P. Gavinski or Ian Markolf, but it probably wouldn't be pretty. I think Leuer is the key offensively and containing UConn's guards a must on defense.

Landry's block count: 8 + 2 (Iona) + 5 (S.D.) = 15 total/79 career*
*Moves into 9th all-time, passing Michael Finley

Swept By The Boilers

Purdue won the game. And Wisconsin also lost it.

Turnovers like losing the dribble out of bounds without being touched by a defender and passing up an open layup to throw the ball into the first row of seats are not signs of a great team. Wisconsin is not a great team. It is a good team capable of playing great defense. Falling out of the Top Ten this week will not bother me. I knew this team was slightly overrated, but I'm happy for the team to get the publicity and media name-drops that come with the high ranking whenever possible. I'd rather my favorite team be overrated than an afterthought, at least now that I've realized Wisconsin won't sneak up on anyone again.

But as far as Saturday night's game goes, I think Joe Krabbenhoft put it best after the game:

"We care deeply about how this team performs. Wins and losses, they say a lot, but we didn't think we gave our best effort tonight, and I think we're more disappointed in that than the loss. We got away from some things that we can do a lot better, and we'll get back to them as soon as possible."

The Badgers seemed to clamp down (somewhat) in the second half, after Purdue's final two 3-pointers in the opening three minutes. They never made the Boilermakers pay on the other end. Balance is great, but the lack of a go-to player is detrimental in such scenarios.

Wisconsin's most talented player is a gimpy, inconsistent sophomore point guard. The team's most consistent scorer and rebounder is a weak, slow-footed fifth-year senior. Marcus Landry disappeared. If you looked up the term "garbage hoop" in the college basketball dictionary, Krabbenhoft's face would be right there.

When the team absolutely needed a bucket at the end of the first half, Krabby drove right in to the hole and took it. Now let me ask you: where was that determination, that will, to score the other 39 minutes of the game? All the team needs is the consistent threat of that play to keep the engine purring. Not to mention someone posting up and calling for the ball. Hughes' biggest fault during the game might have been his inability to see his big men off of the screen and deliver the ball off the roll. Too much dribbling Trevon!

The Boilermakers hit on an incredible 53.1% of their shots, over 20 percentage points higher (and 61.5% better) than the Badgers (32.7%). On the other hand, Wisconsin dominated the stat sheet in important categories like rebounding (43-21) and free throws (30-of-33 v.s 12-of-22). But the Boilers never needed second-chance points or freebies while shooting over 60 percent en route to a 10-point halftime lead. It made for a few exciting minutes in the, but the freebies were the only reason the Badgers were even in the game. Frankly, one of UW's finest nights ever at the charity stripe was ultimately wasted thanks to its cold shooting and 18 stupid turnovers.

Purdue has brought in some talented players who know how to shoot and have learned to play defense. All of Purdue's perimeter players have the ability to breakdown Wisconsin's defenders off the dribble and the lateral quickness to prevent the same thing on the other end.

On the recruiting issue, however, I've always fallen on the side of a Bo Ryan critic. Certain things you cannot teach. Height and natural athletic ability are two of them. Why would a teacher like Bo not want to mold the best clay? Some clay is harder to mold of course, which is probably the biggest factor in the coaching staff recruiting the kids they do. Until Wisconsin brings in some more shooters that aren't afraid to take big shots, though, the Badgers will be prone to offensive doldrums. And until Wisconsin gets better athletes at the wing positions, Badger fans will have to endure some tense mismatches against teams like the Boilers, Devils and Eagles.

Kammron the Coronary

Watching Kam Taylor struggle and consequently catch fire puts me into cardiac arrest. So I guess it's a good thing that I had to follow UW's first-round game via the Yahoo scoreboard. Only now, 24 hours later, have I finally exhaled from that near disaster.

Who could have predicted the Badgers' free-throw shooting would save them?! Led by Alando Tucker's 9-of-10 shooting, Wisconsin shot a robust 83% from the charity stripe in the amazing comeback. Meanwhile, neither Flowers nor Landry stepped up, resulting in an ugly first half. I cannot say enough about Taylor's second half in which he scored all of his game-high 24 points and willed the team to victory. My sheer relief precludes me from writing any more on this topic.

On to today's games ...

I'm giddily (I think that's a word) watching my most anticipated match-up of the tournament: Texas A&M versus Louisville. Both these teams are proving to have the talent and fortitude to make a Final Four run. The winner of this game will likely knock off Memphis and can easily topple Ohio State.

I haven't seen any terrible calls in this game, but both the Aggies and the Cards are so aggressive that each team has multiple prime-time performers saddled with four fouls at the 15-minute mark in the second half. I'm legitimately worried that one of these teams will run out of players over 6'5" by the end of the game. Whichever squad has the pleasure of facing the Buckeyes can easily foul Greg Oden out if he's not given the NBA treatment by the refs. Heck, Oden already fouled out against Xavier this morning.