2/22 Update: Welcome to the "Scoonie Show"...the sequel. What was amounting to be an outstanding game through 25 minutes, came apart for the Badgers tonight when Scoonie Penn decided he had seen enough and single handedly took over the game, leading to a Buckeye victory. Sean Mason tried to answer for the Badgers, but once again his game was in shambles and instead the Badgers were left with Kowske and Wills shooting 15 foot jumpers in crunch time.
Here are the game grades:
Andy Kowske: A
Kowske was a force tonight. He was a rock on the boards, grabbing 8 rebounds. He took away any post offense on the part of OSU. Finally, he finished strong around the hoop, put in his share of garbage buckets, and even hit another medium range jumper on his way to 13 points. This was probably Andy's best Big Ten game of the year.
Charlie Wills: C
Drawing his first start since the preseason, Wills played an adequate game. He was not a factor offensively, but did a pretty good job on the defensive boards and like Kowske, eliminated any inside presence for the Buckeyes.
Sean Mason: F
Where should I begin. Well, the obvious part is poor shooting again. He seemed to be in a nice flow early, even though he wasn't getting the looks he wanted. However, when crunch time game, he simply could not get anything to drop. Not only was his shot off though, but he was turning the ball over left and right, finishing with an abhorrable 6 turnovers. He was especially weak with the ball in the backcourt. He failed to add even one assist. Defensively, he was in mild foul trouble again, and he allowed his man to get to the basket on dribble drives more than once (Sanderson and Redd were the two obvious ones). At this point, I am still in his corner, but I think you would have a hard time justifying putting him on either first or second team all-conference.
Ty Calderwood: D+
Calderwood was a solid offensive force early in the game when he continously was able to penetrate and draw the defense, leading to 5 assists. However, as OSU compensated and forced him outside, his shot, like Mason's, could not consistently find the twine. A number of his shots were uncontested and Ty simply needs to hit a higher percentage. He was very solid against the full court pressure with only 1 turnover (which wasn't in the backcourt). Defensively, he lost track of Penn early allowing Scoonie to get off early with some wide open looks. Then, he didn't extend far enough, perhaps forgetting the outstanding range Penn displayed in Madison. When Calderwood finally measured him, Penn was able to penetate and either hit the medium range jumper or else dish back out to the perimeter. Finally, Penn just shot over the top. All in all, Penn just schooled him. Fault Calderwood early, but hand it Penn late.
Mike Kelley: A-
Defensively, Kelley was tremendous. He completely shut down Redd (Redd only hit one bucket against him) by keeping him out of the lane which he wasn't able to do in Madison. He also swiped 3 steals with some excellent hands. Offensively, he supplied an offensive lift early with a couple of baskets to keep Wisconsin in the game. Throw in 3 assists, 0 turnovers, and a couple of boards, and I think Kelley was the best Badger on the court after Kowske.
Jon Bryant: C
3 for 9 from long range. Solid...nothing special.
Mark Vershaw: D+
Was more aggressive against Johnson this time around, but the Badgers seemed reluctant to go into the low post too often, limiting Vershaw's shots to 3, of which he only hit 1. He also turned the ball over twice late, as per usual due to his lack of strength. Defensively he did a pretty good job, nothing great, but decent while on the glass, 3 rebounds in 18 minutes isn't awful (nor great), but with Kowske cleaning up, there wasn't a lot to go around.
Maurice Linton: F
Same story as last game, limited minutes..too many fouls and some defensive errors (failing to hold his position and instead reaching on help).
Duany Duany: D
Early turnover on the break followed by early three followed by forced shot. Got some minutes due to athleticism but failed to distinguish himself.
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