Improved Dawgs still lose against Marquette

by: Griffin Bennett

I thought this game might be close but that was only because I am Husky biased. I didn’t recognize the team in purple tonight. The hustle, energy, and effort that the Huskies showed tonight was something new for this young team. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to overcome a few late mistakes as the Dawgs lose at Madison Square Garden to Marquette, 77-79.

Marquette is a good team. No, they are a really good team. There’s a reason that they are undefeated this year. I hate the typical “that was a good loss” sentiment but it’s hard to not like what you saw tonight.

Yes, there were a lot of head scratching mistakes and wall-punching moments but this team is young and still figuring out what it’s strengths are. I know that I’m sounding like a Husky apologist right now but after getting over the initial heart break, I really like what I saw tonight… except for the final minute.

I know that Husky Nation is coming down hard on Gaddy tonight, and he does deserve criticism, but Romar needs to call a timeout with roughly 6 seconds left after that three and draw SOMETHING up. It was 5 on 1 or 2 with a timeout in his pocket and he sat on it, again. Just like he did against Nevada. At call it and get it into Ross’ hands.

Sour grapes? Probably. On to the notes.

Positives:

• Energy/Effort/Hustle: Whatever you want to call it, it was all there. Minus a few boneheaded mistakes getting back on defense, the relentlessness that we’re used to seeing was back in full force. It won’t show in the stat line, but fighting for the lose balls was a big reason why UW stayed in it down the stretch. UW also had more second chance points, 19-6.
• Terrence Ross – He took the go-ahead shot and made it. That alone was enough for me to put him here. Add that to his 19 point, 9 rebound, 3 assist, and 9 of 14 from the field night. If only he would have had the VERY last possession in his hands…
• Tony Wroten – His aggressiveness with the ball was, at times, the only offense we had going. He makes defenses collapse and he’s a highlight waiting to happen. There’s some value to that in making the defense worry about a player in that way. Loose canons are fun and I’ll always take the Han Solos and Jack Bauers of the world on my team. Stats: 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 turnovers. If he could get his free throw shooting in line (3-7) he would play more minutes.
• C.J. Wilcox – He “only” made 3 threes, due to stingy MU defense, but his 4 blocks and 1 steal made a huge difference on the defensive end. His superb athleticism is really starting to show. He is becoming more than just a shooter which is great to see. Can’t say enough about how much I’m enjoying watching Wilcox play.
• Desmond Simmons – I really liked what I saw tonight. He has a great mix of energy, shooting, defense, and rebounding that just makes you love him. It was great to see him come back after a rough game at Nevada and his season high of 22 minutes (only 6 less than Gant) shows that Romar likes it too. He finished with 8 points and 7 rebounds with only 1 turnover.
• Aziz N’diaye (defense) – What a great defensive presence he was in the second half. He got key rebounds and made clutch blocks. If he can continue to improve his boxing out and body position for a full game, he can be special (don’t hold your breath).
• Rebounding – Even with MU losing their big man, Otule, early to injury, UW did a great job on the boards winning the battle 46-32 with 18 offensive boards.

Negatives:

• Aziz N’diaye (offense) – As I tweeted, passing the ball to him on offense is instant death. It should NEVER happen, especially when the game is on the line late. He will make a bad pass, bad shot, or bring it down to the floor and get it stolen. He can’t run a standard pick-and-roll and, more often than not, can’t catch passes. If UW wants to really make a splash this year, Aziz needs to figure it out on offense.
• Abdul Gaddy – Tough game for the junior. I wanted to see who would step up in the lights (Ross, Wilcox, Wroten) and who would would shy away, and it certainly looks like Gaddy shied away tonight. He finished with an abysmal 4 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 2 turnovers. I won’t harp on the young man too much but it was definitely an off night. You can visibly see that he has lost a step after the injury and his jumper isn’t where it was last year. I won’t even touch on the last possession…
• Fast Break Points: They had their chances but some bad decisions on breakaways led to Marquette killing them in this category, 0-10. Not only was it bad on offense, but UW had too many mental lapses getting back in transition which cost them. The obviously has to improve if UW wants to be the fast team that we all thought they were going to be.

I don’t want to end this on a low note. I saw much more positives than negatives. The team I saw tonight would have blown out Nevada and at least made it a game down in Saint Louis. Progress was made. I don’t think that Marquette is much worse than Duke, if at all, so a win Saturday isn’t out of the question.

The season is a marathon, not a sprint, and this young team showed good signs tonight. Let’s shock the world on Saturday! Bow down.