Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Illinois 66, Wisconsin 51

• What a great win!  Wisconsin is no slouch.  This was very satisfying watching the Illini beat them quite handily on their own floor.
• Amazing defense won the game again.  I suspect we can beat an awful lot of teams when we hold them to 51 points.  Jamar was the only bench player to score.  It's interesting to note that even without his 12 points, we would have won by 3.
• Still, you gotta love Jamar.  He was 4/4 from the field, 2/2 from three point range, 2/2 from the free throw line, 1 assist, 2 steals, and no turnovers.  This guy is a future star for the Illini.
• Kudos to McBride for another strong scoring performance.  16 points, 2/2 from the foul line.
• Lots of foul trouble for our team.  I guess that is to be expected on the road in the Big Ten.
• The stat line shows Augustine had a bad game, but when watching, he came up with plays at critical times.
• At 56%, free throw percentage is once again a big concern.
• As usual, Bo Ryan should have been called for at least one technical that didn't get called.  This guy needs an anger management class in the worst way.
• Bottom line:  All road wins in the Big Ten are special, but this is Wisconsin.  This is very special, and it's going to be a key win in the Big Ten race.