Yes, that is really the final score; Green Bay tops UW 88-84
by Adam Hoge on Dec 10, 2009 1:48 AM CST
in UW Men's Basketball
7 comments
I just had a buddy of mine in Chicago text me, "Was that the real Wisconsin score I just saw??"
Yes. Yes it was. At least that's what they are telling us. Green Bay won its first game in 16 tries over the Badgers with an 88-84 win Wednesday night at the Resch Center.
This won't be your typical recap/reaction from us here at Bucky's 5th Quarter. Because of the snow storm and some other reasons beyond our control, we did not have anyone in Green Bay covering the game for us Wednesday and since it wasn't on TV, it would be unprofessional of me to really give an opinion on any specifics that transpired.
It's kind of like that saying about the tree falling in the forest. If we weren't there and the game wasn't on television, did it really happen? Unfortunately, I think it did, but this might be the first time in two years that I feel like I need to read a newspaper in the morning.
In a moment I'll pass along some links from other reporters who were actually at the game, because we have a better chance of solving a Rubik's Cube tonight than figuring out what the hell happened in Green Bay.
You're telling me Trevon Hughes scored 27 points, while Jon Leuer added 26 points and 12 rebounds and the Badgers lost? You're telling me a team that hasn't allowed 70 or more points in any game this season despite playing Arizona, Gonzaga, Maryland and Duke allowed 88 to Green Bay? I know it went to overtime -- I'm sorry, I heard it went to overtime -- but still, 88 points?
My only guess is that the real Badgers got lost in the snow storm somewhere. Folks in Waupun, Wis., if you see any tall people wearing full red jumpsuits who look lost, please return them to the Kohl Center, 601 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI 53715. Thank you.
OK, let's see if we can make some sense of all this:
My guy Rob Schultz from Madison.com has his recap here and includes some key numbers I was very curious about after the game. He mentions that Green Bay's 88 points are the most UW has given up since Arizona scored 94 in that ugly NCAA first round game in 2006. Green Bay is also only the second team to score more than 80 points against Wisconsin since the 2006-07 season.
Now you know why random people from Chicago were texting me to see if that was really the final score.
Schultz also reminds us that Green Bay improved to 1-15 all-time against Wisconsin and mentions that the Phoenix's leading scorer, Rahmon Fletcher (17.2 ppg) did not play in overtime "after banging knees with UW senior point guard Trevon Hughes on a drive." He says player of the game honors go to Bryquis Perine who scored a career-high 22 points for the Phoenix.
Meanwhile, Jeff Potrykus from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says UW got what it deserved. He also says Green Bay deserves kudos for winning the game.
If you are wondering what Bo Ryan has to say then you can check out some of his post-game quotes here.
Finally, the Green Bay coverage reminds us that this was the game of the season for the Phoenix. Much like the Badgers had been looking forward to Duke all summer long, this was Green Bay's biggest home game in years and they were ready. Give them credit.
For Badger fans, this is nothing new. Bo Ryan's teams typically lose one baffling game each season. The last two seasons have lacked a bad non-conference loss, but most fans remember tough losses to Pepperdine, North Dakota State and Missouri State in a recent three year stretch. The good news? All three of those teams reached the NCAA Tournament, one of them made the Elite Eight and another went on a 17-game winning streak after the "bad loss" and ended up being ranked the AP's No. 1 team at one point in the season.
I've already had people ask me if this "negates" the Duke win. No it doesn't. This team is much better off having beat Duke and lost to Green Bay than the other way around.
But I'm still not convinced this game really happened.
Heck, the beat writers aren't even sure where the game was played! Rob Schultz says the game was played in Ashwaubenon, while Potrykus claims it was really in Green Bay.
And what is more frustrating than trying to figure out this game? How I always want to put the "e" before the "o" in the word "Phoenix."
Maybe that should be the players punishment for allowing 88 points Wednesday night. They should each have to write the word "Phoenix" on the chalkboard 100 times.
Nah. They should probably just worry about Marquette. A good win against the Eagles Saturday and most people will probably forget this loss ever happened. Did it?
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I was there.
Some quick observations:
1) I’m not sure this loss was a complete fluke. Green Bay is a little undersized but very quick, they have a lot of weapons and seemed to always have an answer waiting on the bench.
2) There was a long stretch in the first half where if Green Bay had thrown a rubber chicken in the air, it would have fallen in the basket. Absolutely everything was going in for them. Long, hand-in-face threes doubly so.
3) Near the end of the game, there was a noticeable shift in officiating. The Phoenix were in some pretty severe foul trouble already in the first half, with two guys with two fouls and two with three at halftime. Trying to exploit this, Hughes was driving to the basket a lot in the second half, but all of a sudden, fouls stopped getting called on his drives.
4) Hughes kept the team in the game late in regulation, scoring six straight points at one point, but shoved them out of it in overtime. He got burned on defense on a possession early in overtime, and seemed convinced he would take the game over, shooting one of his patented launch threes (missed), and committing a bad foul on the other end.
5) GB did a phenomenal job of shutting down Bohannon. By my count, he had two open looks from outside all night. At one point late in regulation, he had zero points and four fouls.
6) The Badgers did a poor job of working the ball inside. Ryan Evans scored 11 and it looked like he could have had a huge night, but his teammates just weren’t getting him the ball.
I guess I’ll stop at 6. The short version: This is a very good UWGB team. They hit some shots you wouldn’t expect to stay in it. The Badgers didn’t help themselves at times, but this one shouldn’t be an embarrassment.
That's all I've got for you today, unless you're interested in some Chris Capuano/Tom Haudricourt Fan Fiction.
I wish it was on TV.
3) Near the end of the game, there was a noticeable shift in officiating. The Phoenix were in some pretty severe foul trouble already in the first half, with two guys with two fouls and two with three at halftime. Trying to exploit this, Hughes was driving to the basket a lot in the second half, but all of a sudden, fouls stopped getting called on his drives
I think this is Trevon’s bread and butter. Drive, slash, get hacked, PROFIT??? He usually gets those calls even when it looks like he goes out of his way to initiate contact.
4) Hughes kept the team in the game late in regulation, scoring six straight points at one point, but shoved them out of it in overtime. He got burned on defense on a possession early in overtime, and seemed convinced he would take the game over, shooting one of his patented launch threes (missed), and committing a bad foul on the other end.
That is where I would have liked to see the game live. Did it look like Trevon was playing flat-footed with 4 fouls? I would have almost rather him played tough defense and risk a foul. No excuse to give up points.
6) The Badgers did a poor job of working the ball inside. Ryan Evans scored 11 and it looked like he could have had a huge night, but his teammates just weren’t getting him the ball.
I think the Badgers could do more of the inside game with Leuer and co. I believe a strong inside game helps ever other facet of the offense. Drives, 3’s, etc. I wish the Badgers would punch teams in the mouth with their size.
I don’t see this game as a big deal. Great for the intra-Wisconsin rivalries. Badgers will hop back up from this and UWGB will take this one and hang it on their wall.
Looking to buy: General Manager Deputy Badge
by Bush League All Star on Dec 10, 2009 11:33 AM CST up reply actions
I don’t see this game as a big deal. Great for the intra-Wisconsin rivalries. Badgers will hop back up from this and UWGB will take this one and hang it on their wall.
Agreed.
I was actually pretty happy with the Badgers’ resiliency last night. Even when GB kept hitting everything UW managed to claw back – after last year that is great to see. The turnovers were a bit concerning, but like Bo said post-game, a lot of that was because they were constantly playing from behind.
After this win (and Butler’s struggles), I think UWGB has a legit chance to win the Horizon League this year and give Wisconsin two teams in the dance (sorry Marquette), so I don’t even think it’ll be a horrible blot on the tourney resume (plus, it was a true road game).
Hughes kept the team in the game late in regulation, scoring six straight points at one point, but shoved them out of it in overtime.
Matt and Mike on the radio said he scored 15 straight at one point in the second half. Good to see him finally start to mature – granted, this is probably where he should have been last season but at least we’re seeing him now.
Good to see Leuer finally get some consistency – double figures (mostly inside) in every game but that foul-fest against Arizona. A true inside-outside presence is what the swing really needs to succeed.
Granted I represent the other side of the coin
as I am a UWGB grad. In terms of calling this “our game of the year,” I’ll say you guys are absolutely right on this one for many reasons.
-As much as I want to say conference games are more important, wins over top-tier teams are even more important.
-This is a ridiculously bad contract. Sure, Green Bay probably gets a small payout from playing so many games at the Kohl Center, but to only snag 2 home games in a 10-game contract is awful. On the other hand, this makes these two games all the more attractive.
-When you look at the AD’s marketing push, you would have thought you bought tickets for the Wisconsin game and got the rest of the season for free.
-Whether they say it or not, GB’s Coach K needed this. Before the Wisconsin game, his biggest non-conference win was against UMass last year…a team that was down last year. His teams have been choking in the Horizon League tournament, which prevents his team from going dancing. I’m in the camp with others saying he may’ve extended his term at UWGB a little bit longer.
All that being said, I think everyone associated with UWGB past, present, and future appreciates the opportunity Wisconsin gives us, especially in basketball. Bo Ryan just gets how important it is for the D1 teams of Wisconsin to play against each other, something Marquette until recently didn’t realize. Bad contract or not, just the fact Bo brought his teams up to the Resch Center twice speaks volumes. Wisconsin is still a good team. Nothing changed in my eyes from the GB/Wisconsin game.
"You just don't know understand how frustrating this is"- Kevin Borseth
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Big Ten Conference Standings
(updated 4.3.2010 at 10:04 PM CDT)
| Conf | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
Purdue Boilermakers
|
14 | 4 | 29 | 6 |
| Ohio St. Buckeyes | 14 | 4 | 29 | 8 |
|
Michigan St. Spartans
|
14 | 4 | 28 | 8 |
|
Wisconsin Badgers
|
13 | 5 | 24 | 9 |
|
Illinois Fighting Illini
|
10 | 8 | 21 | 15 |
|
Minnesota Golden Gophers
|
9 | 9 | 21 | 14 |
|
Northwestern Wildcats
|
7 | 11 | 20 | 14 |
|
Michigan Wolverines
|
7 | 11 | 15 | 17 |
|
Indiana Hoosiers
|
4 | 14 | 10 | 21 |
|
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
4 | 14 | 10 | 22 |
|
Penn St. Nittany Lions
|
3 | 15 | 11 | 20 |
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