Yep, watched on delay. Both teams came out fired for the game. Haven’t looked at the comments yet.
That was not what I exepcted. I did not expect 6′ 11″ Bryan Butch do a Kevin Pittsnogle impersonation with his shooting. Knocking down 3s and draining 3s. Unlike Pittsnogle, though, Butch also rebounded.

The killer in this game, was that Pitt’s defense allowed the second chance points off of offensive rebounds.  Especially in the first half. I wasn’t upset at the defense in the first half. It just seemed that both teams were hitting their shots. Some of the 3s that Wisconsin hit, there was simply nothing to be done.

The second half just saw more of the same from Wisconsin. Pitt, however, could not get their shots. Dropping from shooting 52% in the first half to just over 35% in the second.

Wisconsin did what they should, especially when their guards barely contributed. They kept driving inside and forcing the issue. Crashing inside is part of why they could outrebound and outphysical Pitt.

Now, for the sour grapes portion. These refs sucked. They went as much on the reputation of Wisconsin not fouling, especially early. I understand the team that is aggressive generally gets rewarded on fouls, but the calls were highly one-sided about when to let the teams play and the quick whistle.

That said, Wisconsin was the better team. Their frontcourt was amazingly dominant. Four players — all forwards and  centers — had 70 of the 86 points scored by Wisconsin.

Yes, this is very early. I’m starting as early as I can on the stuff in hopes of being done as close to game time as possible.

Couple more articles. This is the Andy Katz article on Kendall as the “glue guy” for Pitt. Mainly how he helps keep Gray loose and how much interest he apparently draws from NBA scouts.

This one is good article on Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan, a tireless teacher of fundamental basketball and a guy who really climbed the ranks of coaching on the back of that philosophy.

Plus my AOL post leading up to the game today.

You know, these teams are apparently alike. You might here something about that during the game today. Even similar home court advantages. That theme continues.

The Badgers, like the Panthers, are patient, disciplined and deliberate on offense and rarely take a bad shot. They play tough, hard-nosed defense and are big and physical.

And the two teams’ statistics are similar, too. Pitt is beating its opponents by an average of 15.4 points; Wisconsin by 15.9. The Panthers also generally outrebound their opponents and have an excellent assist-to-turnover ratio as do the Badgers.

The two teams have also played 3 common opponents.

Carter was asked to assess No. 2 Pittsburgh (10-0) and No. 7 Wisconsin (10-1) because the Seminoles lost to both teams earlier this year. The Panthers beat Florida State 88-66 in Pittsburgh on November 24 and Wisconsin beat Florida State 81-66 in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at the Kohl Center on Nov. 28.

“I think Pitt has players 1 through 5 who can score when called upon to score. That’s probably the biggest difference between those two basketball teams,” said Carter, who is a former assistant at Northwestern under Bill Foster and the late Ricky Byrdsong. “When we played Pitt they were just phenomenal. They looked like a pro team that night.”

Delaware State’s assistant Arthur Tyson likes Wisconsin. Auburn Head Coach Jeff Lebo thinks the Wisconsin home court is a big edge, but really likes Aaron Gray.

“It’s going to be a great college basketball game,” Lebo said. “They’re both very good, both well-coached. For Wisconsin, playing at home will be a big thing so they’ll have a great crowd. Rebounding is going to be the key in this game. Both teams are physical.”

…

“He’s [Gray] got great hands. I think right now he is playing with a great amount of confidence,” Lebo said. “He’s shooting the ball. He’s passing it much better because he’s learned to play with double teams. I think his game is well-rounded. He’s very efficient.”

In the three common foes Pitt beat them on average, 76.3-60.7 and Wisconsin was 74-60.3.

The lines are finally being released on this game and Wisconisn is given a 5 point edge. The trends, though, look nicer for Pitt.