Here are the game grades:
Kirk Penney: C-
Had trouble getting shots against the aggressive Gophers. Some of that was not his fault as the Minnesota guards were overplaying outside with the lack of a Badger post up game. Still, when Penney doesn't put the ball in the hoop, he doesn't have a whole lot of value at this point. Penney also was a little soft early in the game, allowing Minnesota to shoot over the top of him.
Andy Kowske: D
Kowske was fairly aggressive on the boards (9 rebounds), but constantly fumbled with the ball (2 turnovers) and could not finish inside. His play was so uninspiring that he rarely played down the stretch.
Charlie Wills: C
Didn't see much time, but was generally soft like most of the team when he was on the floor.
Roy Boone: D
His mini-slump continued as he went scoreless on 7 shots before finally hitting a 3 in the final minute. Minnesota defended him well and Roy seemed unsure about where/when to shoot the ball. He was also not a factor rebounding, something that would have really helped the team out.
Mike Kelley: D+
Minnesota gave him the perimeter jumper and he couldn't knock a one down. He did score on a few nice drives to the hoop and on a 3 of 4 free throw performance, but when crunch time came and the team needed a hoop, Kelley couldn't deliver. Early on, Kelley was matched on Bickerstaff, who beat him twice early on postups. Kelley was then switched to Schilling, who he did a little better job on. Still, it wasn't one of Kelley's better games defensively.
Ricky Bower: D
Saw a few minutes playing time and missed his only shot. Once again, Bower had trouble getting open offensively and was limited defensively.
Mark Vershaw: D-
Vershaw got to the line quite a bit down the stretch, though he missed a few key free throws. Other than that it was a miserable game for Mark. He was abused by Minnesota grunt Wildenborg on the glass and managed only 4 shots from the low post against the physical Gophers, making only 1. He spent much of the game complaining to the officials about contact and the physical nature of the game was unsuited to his skills.
Maurice Linton: A-
Was the only real bright spot for the Badgers. He did a nice job of not settling for the long jumpers, instead hunting the medium range shots on his way to 19 points. He also has 10 rebounds as he was the only frontliner to really assert himself. He was a little careless with the ball at times which is always a concern, but made up for it in other areas. Linton also did a nice job on limiting Bickerstaff's looks at the basket once being switched to him early in the game.
Travon Davis: C+
Was turnover free in 13 minutes and had 3 steals. However, he was trapped inside a couple of times and due to his size was pretty helpless in trying to finish. He also missed a short wide open jumper that he needs to be able to hit.
Freddie Owens: INC
Played late as a fouler on the press.
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