As ugly as advertised. There was something oddly hypnotic in seeing balls rim out, bounce and roll all around the basket but not fall in the cylinder. I’m not sure if you can call this a game of runs or just where one side couldn’t seem to buy a basket for long droughts.
It was a typical ugly start for Pitt. More than 5 minutes into the game and Pitt had a commanding 4-3 lead on 1-6 shooting — misses by Krauser, Brown, Taft and Page (Troutman was fouled going up for a shot). Wisconsin was just as bad going 1-5.
Then the runs (or droughts started). Wisconsin went on a 6-0 run. The only good thing in that stretch was that Wisconsin was getting whistled for a lot of fouls. Pitt wasn’t and that was because of the way each played. Pitt plays hard, but with the body pushing the other side. Wisconsin was trying to match, but with more grabbing and clawing at the ball. Much more obvious and easier to call. It was apparent early on, that the refs would let the teams bang, but not use elbows and hand checks.
Pitt then started hitting some of their shots and went on a 9-0 run over nearly 5 minutes — the defense got turnovers and made Wisconsin force shots. Pitt was all over the offensive glass. Mark McCarroll was the offensive spark getting all 6 of his points for the game in this stretch.
Then it was Wisconsin’s turn. They were helped by Taft having to go out after picking up his second foul with 7:30 left in the half. Wisconsin retook the lead 20-17 during this 9-4 run. Pitt answered with a 9-2 run with a minute left, to have a 26-21 lead. Pitt had the ball and called timeout.
Talk about backfiring. Pitt turned the ball over right after the time out, and the Badgers scored with half a minute left. Page, I guess trying to atone for the turnover, immediately launched a 3. It missed and gave Wisconsin plenty of time to get the ball back and nail a 3 of their own to end the half in a 26-26 tie.
The stats were ugly. Pitt shot 33.3 % and Wisconsin was only 34.8%. Pitt had more shots because of the dominance on offensive rebounds (8 to 2), but Wisconsin was 4-10 from 3-point to keep it close. Pitt was 1-6. Free throws were about even. You know what’s sad? Page went 3-8 shooting, and that is a big positive for him. That’s not completely fair. He was shooting a lot early. Grimly. Determined to make something fall. They all seemed to bounce off the front of the rim. Later in the half, he was starting to get them, especially when he drove a little bit.
The second half begins with another run. Pitt goes on a 9-2 run to start the first 3:30. Wisconsin responds with a potentially crushing 12-2 run over 5 minutes. They are helped because Brown picks up his third at the 15 minute mark and while he doesn’t come out, he starts playing off.
Pitt then gets a little 4-0 run when Taft slams the ball twice to get a 1 point lead halfway through the second half. Then an ugly 2 minute stretch where nobody scores. Krauser picks up his 3rd foul and takes a seat. Wisconsin takes advantage with an 8-3 run and the lead 48-44 with under 5:30 in the game.
That changed in a hurry when Pitt scores 7 unanswered points in under a minute. Taft gets another dunk following an offensive board. Then Devin Harris turns the ball over on two straight trips leading to a Page dunk and Troutman gets a jumper under the glass and the foul.
Krauser commits his 4th foul, but doesn’t come out. In this ugly couple minutes the game is tied 52 all on nothing but foul shots. Taft also picks up his 4th foul.
Krauser snaps the tie at the 2 minute mark with a drive to the basket and then a jumper. 54-52 Pitt.
Good defense, bad shots and nothing falling for either side until Jaron Brown snatches a big offensive rebound after a Krauser miss, and is fouled. It’s a 1-and-1 foul. Brown makes them both. 56-52 Pitt.
Wisconsin is desperate on their own end. They hurry some shots that don’t fall, but fight for the rebounds. Then it gets knocked out to Boo Wade who drops a 3 to make it a 1 point game with 22 seconds left.
Pitt inbounds to Krauser who is fouled with 20 seconds. He makes both shots and Pitt has a 58-55 lead.
This time, Pitt’s defense is a wall. They can’t get an open look, and the shot from Morely misses. Brown gets the board and is fouled with 3 seconds left. He hits 1-2. 59-55.
Wisconsin’s deep inbound pass is defended perfectly by Pitt, and the game is over. Phew.
The game may have been ugly, but it was a big Pitt win. Pitt went 17-19 on free throws. That was a huge key, and it made up the difference on 2-10 3-point shooting, and an overall 35.6% shooting.
Pitt kept Wisconsin on the perimeter, making it hard for them to get points inside. Unfortunately for Pitt, Wisconsin had a great night shooting from outside, hitting 8-18 on 3s. In the second half they were 4-8. Their problem was from inside the arc, they were 5-17 in the second half. Take away their 3-point shooting and Wisconsin was 9 of 30 (30%) for the game inside. Pitt’s inside game (offense and defense) and foul shooting carried them.
Page had 12 points on 5-15, but actually showed a willingness to drive to the basket. Not just look for the jump shot. A slight positive. Whether he can do that in 2 straight games remains to be seen. He seemed very determined to break out of his slump, but 33% shooting isn’t really breaking out. Krauser also shot poorly but often. Krauser, however, drives to the basket far more than Page so Krauser got half of his 16 at the free throw line. Taft and Troutman combined for 7-15 shooting. Troutman also had 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. CBS named Krauser the player of the game, but it was Troutman who really did the job.
Thursday night, it’s gonna be a brutal battle with Oklahoma State.
