UW vs UK: Game Wrap

by Griffin Bennett

Knight and Day. It’s not only a crappy Tom Cruise movie, but it was the theme of the game Tuesday night. Kentucky’s Brandon Knight outshone every UW guard and had his way in the paint and on the perimeter. Knight’s game-high 24 points were just too much for the Dawgs. The deadly three-point shot that the Huskies had shone all year went dark as they were 3 for 13. Knight was joined by fellow freshman He Who Shall Not Be Named, who dominated the paint and contributed 16 points and 17 rebounds. It was not the outcome that Dawg fans wanted and the Wildcat’s athleticism proved too much for the Huskies. Overall, it was a hard fought game but Kentucky prevailed 74-67.

Positives:

• Team Defense – The Huskies continue to show that they’re pressure can stall any offense. 7 steals and 7 blocks with countless hustle plays allowed the Dawgs to stay in the game late despite a struggle on offense.
• Aziz N’Diaye – 10 rebounds and 5 blocks while only getting two fouls was the best line of the night. If this is the real Aziz, he gives this team real Final Four potential.
• Darnell Gant – I didn’t believe the hype about his shot, but his two three pointers in the first half got the Huskies out an early funk. 4 for 5 from the field, he was the best shooter of the night. Which isn’t a good thing overall, but it for him.
• Justin Holiday – The guy just makes plays. 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He is a stat stuffer. When the team got down, he kept a positive and kept trying hard. You can’t not like this guy,

Ehhh….:

• Venoy Overton – 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 turnovers. It’s only a decent night, but he was limited by two TERRIBLE foul calls in the second half and he couldn’t get as active on defense. He led the point late and you could see that Romar put his trust in his hands.
• Abdul Gaddy – His metamorphosis continues. 8 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals but 3 turnovers. Barring the turnovers, he was one of the best players on the court. He has to improve his decision making with his passes.

Negatives:

• Rebounding – I was scared of this going in, and it proved to be the deciding factor in the loss. The Huskies lost the battle 33-44 including two huge offensive rebounds by Kentucky late that iced the game. The boxing out continues to be horrendous and needs immediate help if this team wants to play in late March.
• MBA – What happened out there? The knock on him has been that he fades to the background in big games and this just adds to that wrap. 7 points, 2 rebounds, 5 fouls and 5 turnovers. That is absolutely terrible. He wasn’t finishing at the rim and repeatedly shot while being double teamed. He has to forget about this one and focus on the next.
• IT – The guy banked enough respect with me to not criticize him, so I’ll keep it short. It was simply an off night. He missed wide open 3’s down the stretch and couldn’t get the offense started. UK’s height down low really affected him.
• Assist to Turnover  – Simply 9-14. That won’t win games, especially against top 10 teams. Romar must improve the half-court offense and get more movement.
• Three-point Shooting – Looks like we made all of our shots in the first game. 3 for 13 won’t cut it, but UK did a great job with staying in front of Ross, Suggs, Wilcox and Holiday on the perimeter. Ups and downs are just part of the game with shooting. Sucks it had to happen tonight against a huge rival.

Overall, I think we can look and see that this Husky team belongs in the Final Four discussion. They had a terrible night shooting the ball (38.5 FG%) and still were within one possession late. We learned that the Huskies can play against the best-of-the-best and are the prohibitive favorite in the Pac-10. It’s still November and the knowledge and experience that they gained in this game will help tremendously in March. With #2 ranked Michigan State tomorrow, the Huskies will get another tough test and still have the chance to make this trip to Maui a success. Keep your head’s up Husky Nation. We’re for real.