Thoughts and Reactions from Wisconsin's Win over Maryland

This was an absolutely huge game in the B1G and for the NCAA Tournament. After Purdue won yesterday, it meant there would be a two-way at the top of the standings, regardless of what happened today. For the B1G though, in order to get a top-4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, they need either Purdue or Wisconsin to win the regular season as Maryland seems to be regarded a little lighter than the other two.

Wisconsin did just that winning 71-60 after coming back after trailing 33-27 at half. The game itself was ugly – between some horrendous officiating and just bad basketball for a decent stretch. Here’s what I’m taking away from the game though:

1. This was the best Nigel Hayes has played since Syracuse

There’s no doubt he’s one of the most scrutinized players in the country. Some of it is unfair (his off the court adventures piss a lot of old people off) and some of it is totally fair (his inconsistent play and lack to living up to a lot of the hype). However, Nigel Hayes was a main reason Wisconsin came back in the second half. He finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, but more importantly only had 1 turnover. He never really forced the issue, but rather let the game come to him. When there was a big on him, he got the ball in the high post and attacked, getting to the free throw line. I’ve said it all season. Wisconsin is better when Hayes is facilitating and the third option offensively. That was the case and then he took advantage with the mismatch.

2. Brevin Pritzl was an unsung hero 

I try to avoid a lot of the traditional cliche words like this, but it’s the only way I could describe what Pritzl did today. He came off the bench and had 7 points and 7 rebounds. He’s a nice chance of pace as he’s 6’3″ but showed his athleticism when he drew an and-1 on a dunk in the first half. Adding depth at the wing spot is huge for Wisconsin as the NCAA Tournament approaches. Pritzl does just that.

3. Maryland can’t win if it’s just Melo Trimble

Melo Trimble was fantastic today. He finished with 27 points and shot 4-for-7 from three. Despite his four turnovers he never really forced the issue. The problem though? No one else on Maryland showed up. Kevin Huerter hit a couple threes early in the game, but was quiet after that. If Maryland becomes the Melo Trimble show, they simply are an average team. While he can go get buckets, getting one-dimensional like that leads to a lot of Trimble’s turnovers. Justin Jackson is who I’m most disappointed with in this scenario. He’s too good of a player to not have an impact.

4. Mark Turgeon had some questionable decisions

I think Turgeon has done a helluva job this season. The biggest complaint Maryland fans have had with him heading into this year was the fact his teams never seemed to get better as the season went on. They just stayed stagnant. This year felt different. The freshmen seemed to keep getting better and you could see growth on both sides of the ball. That said he went after the officials to purposely get a technical with 9:30 left. It was a 4-point game at the time and what he was complaining about was pretty weak. It was a bizarre time for a technical and swung a lot of the momentum. Then he never brought Trimble back in the game during the last 4 minutes. This is college basketball and Wisconsin has some subpar free throw shooters. Why wouldn’t you take a chance here? Not the best coaching display today by Turgeon.