STAR OF THE GAME
Pretty tough to say anybody other than Craig Moore from Northwestern was the star of this game. He led all scorers with 26 points and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line icing the game down the stretch. But since this is Badger-slanted, we''ll give the honor to Jason Bohannon. The junior guard scored 11 points, including 3-of-4 shooting behind the arc. He played the most minutes of anyone on UW''s roster (37) and kept the Badgers in the game early when Northwestern jumped out to a hot start. Bohannon also recorded four rebounds and two assists on the night.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Our play of the game came six and half minutes in when Keaton Nankivil caught a low-post entry pass and finished while getting fouled. The sophomore big-man would knock down the free throw to convert the three-point play. The Badgers broke down Northwestern''s trapping zone defense to perfection on the play as the ball swung to senior Kevin Gullikson, who then laid it off for Nankivil down low. With Wisconsin trailing 18-11 at the time, the three-point play sparked an 8-0 run to put UW in the lead.
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
In a game that featured 11 ties and eight lead changes, there are obviously many turning points. An early one for Wisconsin was when Bohannon drained back-to-back 3-pointers in the early going, erasing Northwestern''s 12-5 lead. The Wildcats made their first four 3-point tries, but Bohannon wouldn't let them get away bringing the Badgers back within one just 3:30 into the game.
'"They made their first four threes of the game, but I give our guys credit, they didn''t back down,"' head coach Bo Ryan said after the game.
The final turning point of the evening was when Wisconsin led 55-54 with 2:30 left to play. A Marcus Landry layup had just given the Badgers a lead, but Northwestern responded with a four-point swing. First they scored off a backdoor basket from Kevin Coble, then Coble got a steal on defense and NU finished with jump-hook bucket from Luka Mirkovic, building a three-point lead at 58-55. Wisconsin would cut the deficit to one point on four more occasions, but could never get back to even.
STAT OF THE GAME
The clear choice here has to be Northwestern''s shooting percentage. The Wildcats converted 20-of-35 (52.6%) shots, including a blistering 10-of-15 (66.7%) in the second half. From 3-point range NU was even hotter, connecting on 61.5 percent of their attempts on 8-of-13 shooting.
Honorable mention stat of the game goes to Wisconsin''s rebounding edge. The Badgers racked up a +11 margin, out-rebounding Northwestern by a 27 to 16 margin and 8 to 4 on the offensive glass.
