Well, we knew it was going to be a tough opener to the trip.
Carleton is a perennial powerhouse in Canada and the Badgers are still trying to figure this new-look team out. That was evident in the first half, as Carleton jumped out to a 51-36 lead on its way to a 95-82 victory.
Even though the loss is disappointing, the results are not the most important idea on the trip. Bo is able to mix and match with the line-up and see who plays well together. I was not surprised with the starting line-up as it makes sense, but it’s a smaller line-up. One of the big guys off the bench is going to have to come through to beat some of the tougher Big Ten teams.
Overall, a win would have been nice, but it really wasn’t expected, especially since Carleton has already knocked off TCU and Towson by twenty points each this summer.
Now let’s dive into the box score.
· Sam Dekker looks like he picked up right where he left off last year. He is going to be something special, and games like this won’t be a surprise as the season gets going.
· Frank Kaminsky had a nice game offensively, but only four rebounds in the game isn’t really going to cut it at the five spot this year. It is tough to criticize too much without seeing the game though.
· Duje Dukan looks like he could be ready for some serious minutes off the bench. He didn’t have a spectacular game, but if he can handle himself for 20 minutes a game while the freshman get used to college basketball, he will be a great asset to this team.
· Hopefully this is not a problem again this year, but the free throw shooting left something to be desired. Small sample size is obviously at play here, but missed free throws killed the Badgers at times last year and it is something they need to improve upon.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
