One of the most egregious sins in all of sports was committed a few times in the games that I was watching yesterday: never foul a jump shooter.
One of these times it actually cost the team the game, which I will get to in my blog later. But I felt that this was the best starting point that I could come up with.
I'll save you anymore pain and jump into the games.
WIAC
Game I watched: UW-Stevens Point 82, UW-Superior 55. Top scorer UWSP: Jordan Giordana (20). Top scorer UWS: Brendan Bauer (16).
The Skinny: UW-Stevens Point controlled the whole game going up 16 by halftime on the Yellowjackets.
Superior would cut the lead to 11 early in the second half before Point responded and dominated the rest of the frame to pull out another WIAC victory and to stay undefeated in conference.
Point 1: No Hangover
This could've been the type of game that Stevens Point could've easily stepped off the gas pedal. They are three games up in conference with not much of the schedule left and just came off of sweeping Whitewater on Wednesday.
They could've come out and taken it easy and probably got beat by a decent Yellowjackets ball club.
However, they decided to come out and take it. They shot a ridiculous 56 percent from the field (31-of-55), including 52 percent from the arc, which included a 7-of-9 second half when they stretched out their lead.
They just continued to build on their consistent run of strong play, which is definitely going to be a necessity in the upcoming weeks as they take some road trips to Stout and La Crosse, two very capable teams.
I think that the Pointers see that goal of an undefeated conference season or at the very least, the ability to clinch the No. 1 spot very soon in front of them and will continue to keep the foot on the accelerator, which isn't always easy with a big lead this time of the season.
Point 2: Stick To It
For Superior, they let a golden opportunity to stay in this game slip by the wayside.
They cut the Pointers lead to 11 very early in the second half thanks to giving the ball to 7-footer Bronson Byrne on about five straight possessions.
Then they just seemingly went away from him. The guys scored eight points to begin the second half (he scored 10 on the night), and then they just turned away from him.
Granted, Point might have made a slight defensive switch to keep him from getting better looks, but at the same time, if Superior got the ball to him anyway they could, kicks galore could've happened and if any of those looks goes down, the momentum keeps building.
This switch in offensive gameplan floored not only me, but the radio announcers at the Point game. For as well as it worked to begin the second half, it was definitely surprising that he didn't get a least a few more touches.
Point 3: Just Keep...Keep Truckin'
I went to my old friend Frank "The Tank" Ricard for quote that perfectly describes what Point is doing right now. And if you don't get the quote or the person for the quote, I suggest you go back and watch "Old School."
Point has been as steady as she comes for quite some time now when it could've have easily went the other way for a team like this.
Their preseason All-American still hasn't seen the floor in about a month, there is that.
They added a new, transfer point guard at semester (DeVon Jackson, and he has been like a godsend for the Pointers off the bench. Played brilliantly last night.) that could've easily changed the chemistry of the team.
But all of this adversity hasn't affected the Pointers one bit. They've seamlessly added Jackson to the rotation and have been doing just fine without Tyler Tillema to this point. And with his status still uncertain to all but probably a handful of people, who knows how long they'll be without him.
That's what makes this team all the more dangerous. They are just solid as a rock and with multiple options that can just tear you apart.
They just keep truckin' along.
Game I peeked at: UW-Whitewater 72, UW-Eau Claire 63. Top scorer UWW: K.J. Evans (17). Top scorer UWEC: Jordan Petersen (18).
The Skinny: This was a dogfight in the first half with Eau Claire taking a slim 26-25 lead to the break.
The Blugolds would hold that margin until the 12-minute mark of the second half, when Whitewater broke out in the form of a 12-0 run to grab a 47-38 lead with nine minutes left.
That lead would extend out to as much as 15 in the next nine minutes as the Blugolds never really challenge the Warhawks the rest of the way.
Point 1: Surviving
A loss for the Warhawks would've have been a devastating one. And for a 28 minutes of game play, it looked as though they were heading that way once again, which would've been two in a row.
But as good teams do, they find a way to claw out the victory on the road.
The 12-0 run to grab them the lead was led by Evans and Darnell Harris, who seems to be back in his offensive groove (a must for Whitewater going forward), who really took over the game.
After falling to Point in the middle of the week, it was very necessary for the Warhawks to come out and grab a win. It may have not been pretty, but at this point in the season, they don't all have to be pretty.
I'm sure the Warhawks are looking at it the same way.
MWC
Game I watched: Ripon 75, Cornell 69. Top scorer RIP: Taylor Koth (20). Top scorer COR: Joey Guth (17).
The Skinny: This was a back and forth matchup between two teams tied for fifth in the conference.
But Cornell looked to be heading to a victory, as they were up eight with 7:50 remaining in the second half.
Ripon, however, stormed back, grabbing the lead for good at the 1:40 mark to pick up a key conference victory.
Point 1: Are We In The Right Zone?
The Redhawks played a bunch of 2-3 zone against the Rams on Saturday that really had an even affect throughout.
Sometimes it was an active zone. Hands were active and rotations were active and it caused the Rams some problems turnover-wise.
But other times, really about 65 percent of the time, the Rams were able to beat it, thanks to the zone being relatively passive as far as rotations were concerned.
This was especially true in the second half, when Cornell opened up their eight point lead by getting pretty much any look that they wanted against the Redhawk zone.
But in the end, the zone probably ended up being a wash to a certain extent, thanks to the key turnovers by Cornell down the stretch.
I didn't agree with the decision by Ripon, but it worked out in the end.
Point 2: DON'T FOUL THE JUMP SHOOTER!!!!
To go back to my previous point that started this blog. Don't ever, ever, EVER, foul a jump shooter. And here is the perfect example why.
With Cornell holding a very slim two-point advantage late in the game and Ripon having the ball, the Rams' Tabari Carter committed the most egregious of sins by fouling Alex Erdmann beyond the three-point line.
Erdmann would make all three and instead of Cornell probably having the ball up by two, they now found themselves down one.
They panicked and committed two turnovers on their next two possessions. It seemed like the play just made them lose all confidence.
And with how well Cornell played in this game, all it took was one play to change it all up.
Point 3: Escape from Mt. Vernon
For Ripon, this game could've been a disaster.
Having had a difficult loss to Beloit during the week, compounding it with another loss to Cornell, a team that they should beat, would've been killer for the Redhawks chances at a conference tournament bid.
But instead of mailing it in down eight in the second half, Ripon showed me some resolve by coming all the way back on the road.
Coming back from that kind of deficit is tough at home, but on the road it is even tougher. So for Ripon, who needed a win, this was a big thing for them to do.
They just got it done when they needed to.
Game I peeked at: Carroll 72, Illinois College 52. Top scorer CAR: Kevin Hurd (23). Top scorer IC: Nathan Kohler (16).
The Skinny: This one wasn't much of a contest, as Carroll got out to a big lead in the first half and never let up, dominating the Blueboys.
Carroll played an excellent defensive game, holding Illinois College to just 28 percent from the field, including just 16 percent from the three-point line.
Point 1: Road Trippin'
I don't envy teams that have to travel to Illinois College. Even when I was at BenU and played in their Bill Merris Tournament, it wasn't a particularly fun bus ride, and it was only around 2 hours for us. It still seemed really long.
So for Carroll to make that long road trip and come out with not only a victory, but a resounding victory was very big for the Pioneers.
They did it by playing a fantastic defensive game as I pointed out before. For a team that I have seen give up some big games and not play the greatest defense at times, this was a big step for Carroll.
They also got big offensive games from Kevin Hurd and Alex Molter as well.
It's this kind of win that sends a message and could put Carroll on their way heading into a big couple of weeks that could propel them to the top of the conference.
NAC
Game I watched: Aurora 85, MSOE 60. Top scorer AUR: Kalmon Stokes (20). Top scorer MSOE: Austin Stueck (16).
The Skinny: The Spartans jumped on the Raiders in the final five minutes of the first half to take a double digit lead into halftime.
Aurora would continue to put the hammer down in the second half, extending their lead and picking up a dominating win over the Raiders.
Point 1: The Marious (Lobdell) Effect
Marious Lobdell made his return to Aurora lineup after not playing for the past two games for the Spartans.
My, what a difference that made for Aurora, who had struggled without him in the lineup.
Lobdell poured in 17 points in his return and Aurora just ripped to shreds a very good MSOE team in the process.
Even with the boatload of scorers that Aurora has, they were still missing his very consistent offensive game.
It's very clear that Aurora is a completely different team with him on the floor. For whatever reason he missed those last two game (I'm guessing injury) Aurora is definitely hoping that it doesn't happen again.
Point 2: Controlling The Pace
What this game was all about was controlling the pace of play. MSOE likes it slow and methodical. Aurora likes to get out and get running.
It's very obvious that Aurora's more athletic style of play won out over MSOE's ground and pound style. The Spartans caused more turnovers, got more points off of turnovers, got more second chance points and got a lot more points in the paint.
The most telling number is that points in the paint statistic. Aurora won that battle by a 24-12 margin. The kicker is that MSOE has a bunch of big dudes they like to get the ball to in the paint.
But that didn't happen too often as the Spartans were able to break down the Raiders guards and get to the paint, while Aurora's quickness allowed them to control the middle of the floor and force MSOE to shoot more outside shots, which spelled the Raiders' doom.
Point 3: Back to Earth
MSOE had been riding high here just a week ago, having a win over Lakeland under their belt and a domination of BenU at home.
Since then they have lost twice, to Marian, a key in-division rival, and Aurora. And both games were blowouts.
They scored only 47 against the Sabres in that loss and only scored 60 in their up-tempo game against Aurora. Which means that they are again struggling from an offensive standpoint.
To prove my point, MSOE shot just 33 percent against Marian, including a dismal 14 percent (2-of-14) from the 3-point line.
Against Aurora? Just 30 percent from the field and 16 percent (3-of-18) from the arc. Those are compared to the much higher percentages in their two contest before that.
MSOE needs to find a way to put the ball in the hole against better teams (they did this against Lakeland) in order to beat those top teams. Defense only gets you so far sometimes.
Game I peeked at: Wisconsin Lutheran 68, Lakeland 64. Top scorer WLC: Tim Demuth (13). Top scorer LAKE: Jake Schwartz (21).
The Skinny: Lakeland led after a back and forth first 20 minutes, going on a 6-0 run to end it and take a 40-35 lead.
They would up that lead to as much as nine in the second half before the Warriors started chipping away midway through the stanza in the form of a 10-0 run to take the lead back.
The game would go back and forth before a made jumpshot by Nate Bauer gave the Warriors a three-point cushion with 1:07 left to go.
The Warriors would then play solid defense down the stretch to collect the win.
Point 1: The Mighty Have Fallen
After looking like the favorite for much of the season, the Lakeland Muskies have looked anything but the past two weeks.
This loss makes it 3 of their last 4 games and they now have fallen into a virtual tie with Concordia-Wisconsin for first place (Lakeland is 9-3 and CUW is 8-3).
Most notably, it's their offense that has been letting them down. For a team that topped 80 in nine of their first 12 contests, they have failed to break that mark in their last six games. In fact, they've only topped 75 once in those six contests, and in their three losses, they've failed to top 70.
Now maybe it's just a midseason lull and they are figuring things out. But this is not a good time to be hitting that lull.
It's also scary that Lakeland doesn't get much, if anything, from their bench. They just aren't a supremely deep team like say Aurora or even CUW is to a certain extent. They have their top five and very little coming from the 6 through 8 guys. So if those 1 through 5 guys aren't getting it done, they can't really count on their bench to get the job done, which sometimes you need.
I just don't know what to think, especially with the Muskies heading in to play MSOE and Aurora this week. They need to show me, and more importantly, the conference something.
Thanks for tuning in once again. As always you can follow my thoughts on Twitter at @turkdigg40 and stay tuned for my midweek blog coming up.
And remember. Don't foul the jump shooter.
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