Hard to beat the refs.
- Thread starter thewildcat2011
- Start date
Give Wisconsin credit, they made some big time contested shots down the stretch. If Cats keep playing like they have the last three games, they will win a lot more. Last year, we won two squeakers against them that really helped get us to the NCAAs. A loss here doesn't hurt us much unless it turns into a loss Wednesday vs. Maryland.
Storr traveled on that shot down the stretch.
They ate the whistle and let Wisconsin just hack MN the last few minutes. Dont think it was the difference but it didn’t help
He got murdered on that “jump ball”.
That was an awful no call for sure but the play of the game to me was the Buie jump pass turnover to Barnhizer resulting in the fast break foul and two FT's for Wisconsin. From there it was always going to be a tough climb back on the road in particular.
That and the two circus shots Wisconsin made out of the tie with 2:30 left. Tough to win a close game when you play good D and they make those.
Disappointing finish with a couple mistakes and a couple pretty tough calls from the refs, but a classic deep and tough Wisconsin team that also has that many viable offensive weapons is a pretty scary thing. A guy like Max Klesmit being a cheat code from outside is ridiculous.
The game was already lost on the previous sequence as described:
Game was tied 63-63 with under three to go. Spread was 7.5. Game ends 71-63. Just saying.
In the official game book, it just gets called a missed shot. I would’ve assumed a courtesy block would be given. Yuck.
It wouldn’t have been a courtesy block. Krowl hit his elbow on the way up. Blown call.
He even raised his hand to admit it and they called the jump ball anyway.
I don’t know about that.
While I’m unsure sure of what constitutes a charge in 2024 and I thought it was pretty clear the ball went off Wahl at the end, the rest of the issues are just playing on the road in the BIG. Foul discrepancies are part of the deal. Now that the NU actually gets the benefit of the doubt at W-R, it doesn’t bother me as much.
The ‘Cats once again played hard in Madison and had a shot to pull out another win at Kohls. Just needed to hit a few more shots and be cleaner with the ball in crunch time.
He has got to go dunk it with authority.
He should have the ball and the defensive player through the basket and got the and
He should have the ball and the defensive player through the basket and got the and
That’s what I’m saying. The contact was so obvious, and so clearly led to the miss, that I would’ve assumed the scorer would credit a block. Because it was either a blocked shot or supernatural interference if it wasn’t a foul.
Yep. In the final minutes of conference play you have to go strong to the hoop.
Berry was aggressive when he got his “and 1” during a prior sequence.
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I mean, if foul discrepancies part of being “on the road” what does that tell you about refs and bias?
To put some numbers on it, in our home games in conference , we have been called for 49 fouls, or 24.5 a game. Our opponents are at 46, or 23 fouls a game.
On the road, we have been called for 61 fouls, or 20.3 per game. Our opponents have been called for 45, or 15 a game.
I would have liked for MN to go strong enough to finish, but I’m not going to excuse incompetence. Awful call regardless of what MN should or shouldn’t have done.
It’s always been like that.
And let’s not overlook that the ‘Cats play a very aggressive trapping style of defense. That naturally will lead to more infractions, especially as the staff has tried to replicate last season’s approach without their two stalwarts in Audige and Beran.
It’s an improvement that fouls are close to split in Evanston. That never used to be the case.
The Cats play more aggressive defense than Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Penn State? I don’t buy it.
The ‘Cats play a more aggressive defensive Wisconsin, without a doubt. Rhoads now has Penn State leaning into the press so I agree with you there. Michigan State just has great athletes. Nothing particularly aggressive about that.
The ‘Cats consistently trap the post and jump passing lanes. That’s considered aggressive defense. Just listen to any commentator.
The style can lead to periods of stagnation in the opposition’s offense as well as an increased opportunity for turnovers and subsequent fast break opportunities, but the downside is you’ll naturally see more reach-ins and swipes when in recovery mode or while attempting defensive rebounding as it can be difficult to get proper positioning.
While the effort is mostly there and some effectiveness remains, the ‘Cats simply aren’t as strong defensively sans Audige. This is not a surprise.
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I know our defense and I know we play aggressively. I also know that we’re not quite where we were last year. You’d expect fouls on our end to be up and they are by about 1 a game so far.
However, foul discrepancies made sense when we were primarily an outside jump shot team. We are bottom quartile of the league in terms of 3PA. We take the ball inside, we go to the hoop. We’re not getting the calls that other teams are getting. See pictures above.
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Sounds like we mostly agree outside of “the visiting team won’t get the calls”. And for the record, Matt was clearly fouled as you pointed out. I just have watched enough NU basketball to know that call isn’t one the ‘Cats will often get in Madison, especially when the take to the hole wasn’t particularly strong.
It looked to me like he was trying to dunk it. The foul is what prevented it.
This thread reminds me of Hammer and Rails after Purdue loses. Were there blown calls? Yes. Did Wisconsin play tough down the stretch, get a great game from Klesmit, and play excellent defense off the ball the whole game? Yes. The Cats had a chance but didn’t execute a few plays when they had the opportunity to take control and then the Badgers made the plays down the stretch. Give them credit. On the plus side, NU is playing better ball than I could have hoped two weeks ago.
Well, except they are wrong and I’m right (Purdue got more fouls called for them and shot 9 more free throws than we did in that game).
Wisconsin of course gets credit, they won. There was just an outsized influence by some oldies in stripes down the stretch.
Yes, the 'Cats played well and had a chance. The Badgers made some amazing, clutch shots and had some homer breaks and pulled it out in the end, but I don't feel dejected about the 'Cats' performance today at all. These were two teams playing at a high level going at it.
Splitting a road trip is USUALLY considered good.
The visiting team not getting fouls aside, when a guy gets shoved in the arm so hard as he goes for a dunk that it shifts his entire body several inches so that the ball gets wedged into the elbow… that’s not a borderline or hard call to make.
There was contact that should have been called no doubt, but it looked to me that the Wisconsin defender got his hand on the ball to wedge it. Again, the Badger was late and clearly fouled, but that’s a play that can be finished by Matt. BIG post play has always been a rough place.
There's a photo upthread. The defender didn't come close to getting the ball.
Yeah, he literally like karate chopped him in the elbow and got zero ball. Never got within a foot of the ball.
Thank you. In addition, this was not the first game that the Cats didn’t take advantage of a turnover epidemic in the first 6 min of a game.
I saw the side views you mentioned, but thought I saw a hand on the ball on the overhead shot on the broadcast view. Just rewatched several times and yeah, I agree with you and the others that it was the contact wedged it.
I will still contend Matt didn’t get his legs completely into the take (ala Alex Olah), but that shouldn’t have mattered.
Can we take a second to admire that set from Collins? The action from Berry and Buie was fantastic. They’ve run a pick roll from between the elbow and key a few times the past two games and I love the counter there from the left block. Bummer.
I dunno, I think most of us are throwing our hands up slash tipping our cap to Wisconsin for making a a couple crazy shots in the final minutes that made the difference while griping about the refs for taking away a bunch of the little chance we had left.
When you're only tied after your opposition has 8 turnovers (several self-inflicted) and you have 1 that is the definition of a missed opportunity.
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