Game Thread: St. Johns vs. Wisconsin

[Smart]

Basketball opener is tonight at 6 on the BTN. The game is in Sioux Falls, as we agreed to open for their stadium. Obviously, there are a lot off interesting questions which will be answered, particularly with regards to playing time.

 

[Smart]

The starting lineup was what one would expect: Traevon, Gasser, Brust, Dekker, and Big Frank.

First set of subs has Marshall, Nigel Hayes, and Duje Dukan(!).

Looks good so far. 20-9 Badgers over a solid Big East team who brings most people back.

 

[Smart]

Koenig gets in the game 15 minutes in. 31-13 Badgers. St. Johns is ice cold, but we are managing their athleticism well.

 

[Smart]

35-23 at the break. We looked bad at the end of the half, wit poor shots and bad ball-handling. Dekker is excellent at getting to the hoop, but hasn't been able to finish. Traevon had the best half, with 9 point and a few assists.

 

[Smart]

49-42 now. The Johnnies athleticism is starting to take over. We're lucky we started off as hot as we did.

 

[Smart]

The game looked in serious doubt at 58-54, and we couldn't stop the Red Storm. And just when thy needed to, Dekker and Brust hit huge back to back threes. Back to a 10 point lead.

 

[Smart]

Final Score:

Wisconsin 86
St. Johns 75

The good news is that Gasser looks as good as ever. 19 points and just completely dominant. The bad news is the complete lack of a big man to stop opposing teams from getting easy baskets near the hoop. Any team with a true center or attacking guards is going to have a field day.

Case in point: They just gave up 62 points in 25 minutes. You never see that out of a Bo Ryan defense.

 

[Doctor Krieger]

Gasser was awesome...nice to see Duje play some major minutes and play well.

 

[ForkEmBucky]

I hate work. Duje? Finally!

 

[wiskyisgood12]

I think everyone knows what this teams fatal flaw could end up being. Rebounding is going to be huge. If Nigel Hayes can't learn to stay on the court and Frank Kaminsky doesn't learn how to assert himself on the boards even a little bit, we're going to get dominated on the boards in conference by some people.

Getting Gasser is huge, he plays with such clam and I think that's so important to have on the floor when tough situations will arise during the season. I thought Trae looked so improved out there. Dekker can be the real deal, but I feel like sometimes he tries a little too hard to take over a game

A nice win over a long athletic St. John's team.