Wisconsin is peaking at the right time. – The Badgers won their eighth straight game Sunday afternoon, pulling away from Illinois in the second half before going on to win 68-49. Wisconsin’s dominant front court of Frank Kaminsky, (23 points, 11 rebounds,) Sam Dekker, and Nigel Hayes combined to score 47 points on 20-for-33 shooting from the field. Sophomore guard and backup-turned-starter Bronson Koenig continued his surprising play with 15 points and four assists. Winners of eight-straight, the Badgers are now 11-1 in Big Ten play, and have a three-game lead in the conference.
It was a rough week for referees. – Penn State coach Pat Chambers was irate after losing center Jordan Dickerson to a fifth foul after he was pulled down to the floor by Maryland forward Even Smotrycz while trying to set a screen.
https://vine.co/v/OPPgUgYbzgt
From the video it’s obvious that Smotrycz was at fault. The loss of the 7-foot center was huge for the Nittany Lions in a tightly-fought game, and they would go on to lose 76-73.
Chambers did not mince words following the game.
“That is the worst call that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. They’re pulling Jordan Dickerson down. First of all, time and score. He’s too young, he doesn’t have a feel for the game, he shouldn’t call that foul. That’s one.”
“Two is, he back cut. He went down the middle. He didn’t even use the screen and he got pulled down and they called a foul on him? It makes no sense. And if I didn’t complain Newbill would have gotten to the foul line because (Merlo) Trimble gets there 12 times and he’s a freshman and he’s on the road. It’s a joke. It’s a joke the way we’re officiated. It’s disappointing. And there was an elbow that they didn’t want to call that they should have called that normally get called against us. Frustrating, disappointing. But, we gotta take the refs out of the game, and we didn’t.”
In a close Big 12 matchup featuring No. 17 Oklahoma at Kansas State, the Wildcats were able to best the Sooners for a second time this season by a score of 59-56, but not without controversy. Wildcat guard Marcus Foster hit his second game-winning three against the Sooners this season, but it was a three-pointer from Kansas State’s Justin Edwards with 9:24 remaining in the second half that drew more attention after the game. Edwards clearly shot the three just after the shot clock expired, but the basket was ruled good, as referees aren’t able to review shots until there is under two minutes remaining in the game.
[related_post_one]
Louisville is still not an elite team. – The Cardinals, after three losses to ranked teams, finally picked up a win over a Top-25 team back on Jan. 31 when they took down No. 13 North Carolina in overtime. Since then, they’ve lost to No. 3 Virginia and stolen a quality win from a surging Pitt team. They followed the impressive performance against Pitt with a loss at home to the 15-11 NC State Wolfpack on Saturday, proving that Rick Patino’s team just doesn’t have what it takes to be considered a top-tier team in a crowded ACC this season. It’s always possible for a Pitino-coached team to go on a run in March, but Saturday’s effort makes such a notion seem highly unlikely.
The loss of two coaching legends in less than one week’s time. – The college basketball world took another huge blow last week with the loss of former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian on Feb. 11. Tarkanian’s unique personality and defiance of the NCAA marked his time at UNLV, a school that he took over just three years after moving to Division I. He would go on to make four Final Four appearances and win the national title in 1990, and was an outspoken critic of the NCAA’s hypocritical practices nearly the entire time. Tarkanian was preceded in death by just four days with the passing of former North Carolina coach Dean Smith. Smith was masterful in his time at North Carolina, breaking racial boundaries, coaching Hall of Fame players, and establishing often-copied styles of play that proved to be successful over a span of several decades, winning two national titles in the process. The two coaches could not have been more opposite, and their legacies will live on.
Willie Cauley-Stein is the heart and soul of Kentucky’s success. – Because of the Wildcat’s ridiculously deep and talented roster, the junior forward doesn’t have the luxury of filling the state sheet much, but he was superb in the team’s two wins last week to reach a school-record 25-0. Cauley-Stein averaged 14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks to go along with 68 percent shooting in the Wildcat’s wins over LSU and South Carolina. Cauley-Stein was all over the court, making plays at crucial times for the Wildcats on both ends of the floor, and was rewarded with being named the NCAA’s Player of the Week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQJjREXbgEM
