2/7 Update: OUCH!!!! Where should I begin regarding yesterday's game: Losing a 17 point lead to the worst team in the conference, scoring just 5 points in the last 14 minutes of the game, Mason missing free throws (I expect it from Kowske), Kelley not getting the in-bounds in in time, the refs calling hand checks galore on one side of the court, Illinois throwing in every conceivable shot, and on an on and on. In short, this one in all likelihood kills any chance of a Big Ten title in Madison. With a resurgent Northwestern team and a dangerous PSU team coming to town, a quick turnabout is clearly in order.
Here are the game grades:
Andy Kowske: F
Illinois literally pounded Wisconsin on the boards for much of the game. As Wisconsin's prime rebounder, Kowske must bear much of the brunt of this fiasco. It did improve in the second half, but 5 rebounds in over 30 minutes (as he stayed out of foul trouble) just isn't going to get it done. Additionally, Illinois left him repeatedly to double team Vershaw, and yet Kowske could not muster a single point. He also missed a key front end of a 1 and 1 late in the game as Illinois was making their charge. Throw in 3 turnovers, and you have one of Kowske's worst games of the year.
Charlie Wills: D-
Wills time was limited due to his foul propensity. Bennett kept looking for answers on the boards, yet Wills couldn't get it done either, finishing with just 1. He did provide a bucket and 2 nice assists, but when you fail in your primary responsibility, it is hard to grade out highly.
Sean Mason: D
Another tough night for Mason. Once again, his shots weren't dropping (only 5 of 14). However, what made this game worse was that he also missed 2 key free throws (3 for the game) in crunch time. As the leading scorer, he also bears the responsibilty of missing the potential game tying shot at the buzzer. No, it may not be fair, but big time players make big time shots. Additionally, he once again found himself in foul trouble which kept him on the bench for key moments in the game despite having some relatively easy defensive matchups (Johnson much of the time). He also had 4 turnovers to only 1 assist.
Ty Calderwood: C
Calderwood's major problems came in that he was the primary defender on Bradford, especially early. Bradford was red hot early and had no trouble shooting over the top of Calderwood so it wasn't entirely Ty's fault, but still, it is a matchup a senior should be able to take on better. Offensively, Ty did a pretty good job of taking care of the ball and was able to hit his open shots for the most part (4 of 7), though he really didn't get his teammates involved as well as might be expected (only 2 assists). He also only added 2 rebounds, which isn't as vital a stat for him, yet a few more surely would have helped the cause.
Mike Kelley: C
Kelley did not begin the game on Bradford, but was soon switched to him once it was clear that Calderwood could not handle him. Kelley did a reasonable job on him early (other than leaving him once on a double team and having Cory stroke one down as he tried to recover), but struggled down the stretch. Hand it to Bradford who hit some key shots regardless of who was defending him. Kelley struggled with his outside shot as per usual (1 for 5 with the 1 being a layup) but he did add 3 assist to only 1 tunover (yes, the streak is over).
Jon Bryant: B
Bryant did a resonable job in his role, stroking down 3 of 5 shots for 9 points in 20 minutes of play. He also contributed 3 rebounds which per minute is better than anybody else did. He provided much of the offense in the big second half spurt, but was shut down late in the game when Mason was in foul trouble.
Mark Vershaw: F
For the first time in my memory, Vershaw was faced with a consistent aggressive double team effort from the opposition. Given its success, expect to see it some more in future games. Vershaw did a pretty good job of not forcing too many bad shots (he was still 3 of 5 shooting), but he had difficulty taking advantage of the double team (only 1 assist) and simply had to dribble it back out on most occasions. The double team forced him into 5 tunnovers. Additionally, his rebounding was atrocious, grabbing only 2 rebounds in his time on the floor while guys like Archibald had 9 for Illinois.
Maurice Linton: F
Linton was hammered so bad on the boards, that it limited his time to 9 minutes overall. Illinois simply crashed through him at nearly every opportunity.
Hennssy Auriantal: B
In his return, he looked ok, though given his limited playing time, I assume the leg was still bothering him. Still, he did can a 3 and deliver an assist in his 5 minutes, though he did turn the ball over once.
Duany Duany: F
Just plain bad. Very sloppy with the ball in only 3 minutes of time.
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