Saturday, January 20, 2007

Missed Opportunity against Badgers

Immediate thoughts about that one before I look at the final box score. That was tough to watch down the stretch, a game we could have won, but our mistakes caught up with us:

1. Too many missed free throws, not sure if this team will ever learn how to shoot free throws.

2. Too many missed defensive rebounds, particularly when Illini played small against a big Wisconsin lineup.

3. We tried so hard to double Tucker, we left Stiemsma open all day and I don't remember him missing once. He could have had a career high, will have to check.

4. Jamar was lost out there, not sure if his problems are physical or mental, but he does the team no good with that type of play.

5. We still do not create shots well from our offensive set, with too many desperation shots with the clock running out.

On the positive side, McBride and Pruitt had great games, and Carter played well in the first half before disappearing in the second half.

Overall, a better effort, but the above mistakes make it difficult to beat a solid team like the Badgers. And the call at the end on the offensive foul (allowing the shot to count for Badgers) was unbelievably bad. Almost seemed like a fix was on.

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