Originally posted by Ty Webb:
Duke got some calls down the stretch, but Wiscy got some calls early. There's no way, with the style Wiscy plays, can someone complain that the refs jobbed Wisconsin when Wisconsin has only two fouls called on them the entire first half.
Not sure what that means. Wisconsin's style of play doesn't draw fouls - they ranked 18th nationally in fewest fouls this season. Of teams with at least 20 wins, they were 3rd nationally in fewest fouls. Their style of play hasn't lent itself to fouls much at all this season - about 12.5 fouls per game. They usually get to the line for about 19.1 FT attempts per game.
On the flip side, Duke was ranked 211th in fewest fouls. That works out to about 15.6 fouls per game. They usually get to the line for about 22.4 FT attempts per game.
In last night's game, Duke ended up getting whistled for fewer fouls than their average and getting to the line at just under their average. Wisconsin got whistled for more fouls than their average and got to the line almost half their average.
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As for the calls early vs. late, late calls are much harder to overcome than early ones. Especially when they come in bunches, as they did late last night.
Winslow's two out of bounds plays, both times Winslow plowed through a set defender wth no charge call, Okafor's moving screen, when Kaminsky got yanked to the ground by his arm after missing a rebound, the flop by Jones, the repeated heavy body contact on the guards which escalated late in the game (which was a point of emphasis in recent years, but Duke's guards got through the game with exactly one foul), etc.
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Still, if Wisconsin had been able to make a couple of shots or better handle Duke's coaching changes (switching to a faster guard-oriented offense, dropping into a zone on defense), it wouldn't have mattered.
Got to give a ton of credit to Coach K in this one. Made the appropriate style changes, reacted to Okafor's absence perfectly, worked his substitutions brilliantly, worked the refs like a pro. A different coach at the helm, and Duke loses.