(Photo courtesy Andy Manis)
Keep the train moving, that’s all we ask.
It was another nice win for the Badgers last night as they avenged an earlier loss to Minnesota. While the final score was an eight point margin, and the Gophers had it within four with less than a minute to go, it never truly felt in doubt.
Let’s take a look at the box score.
Nigel Hayes hit five of his six free throws. Watching the game last night, I knew this was going to be my first bullet point. He just seemed more comfortable than he has in the past and it showed on the stat sheet. He’s turning into one of the best all-around freshman to wear the red and white in quite a while.
Ben Brust hit all four of his three pointers. He got a nice bounce on one, but that’s something we’ve missed the last few games. The offense is completely different when he’s sharpshooting. I also loved his double pump fake before draining one from the top of the key.
Minnesota only had 20 points in the paint. The Badgers did a nice job of forcing the Gophers to settle for more jump shots than in the first meeting. Overall, this seemed like the Wisconsin team of the non-conference schedule as the defense was just stronger.
Duje Dukan finished with a three-trillion. Mark Titus would be proud as Dukan played for three minutes but did absolutely nothing that showed up on the scoresheet. It’s nice to be able to joke a little after a good win.
Next up is a Sunday afternoon battle at Michigan. As I mentioned yesterday in Bracketology, a loss here would all but guarantee that the Badgers won’t be playing the first two rounds in Milwaukee. Yeah, it’s possible, but let’s not have to figure out that scenario.
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