1. Okay. The snow on the sidewalks was powdery, requiring little effort to clear it off. All the same, I hadn't done any kind of real activity for ten days and I went out and removed this light snow from the sidewalks. Yes, I coughed some. Yes, I took a nap when I was finished. But, it was a good sign that I'm getting back some energy.
2. I enjoyed watching the Univ of Illinois scrap from behind in the late second half against Texas at Madison Square Garden and somehow even the score by the end of regulation. I thought Illinois was sunk, but toward the end of the game they began to wrestle free from Texas's tight defense, find shots and and make them, and put their own defensive clamps on the Longhorns. These were two very enjoyable teams to watch play so hard against each other. I was very impressed, then, when Illinois' Terrance Shannon, Jr. awoke from a nearly game long slumber in the OT period and not only began sinking shots, but was the team leader as Illinois inched its way to victory, 85-78 in OT.
3. Friday I'd watched my former down the road team, Maryland, squeeze out a tough 71-66 win at home against Illinois. This evening, the Terrapins were on the road, playing Wisconsin in the very challenging Kohl Center. Maryland is playing its first season under former Seton Hall Head Coach, Kevin Willard and the team is composed of several transfer players, all getting to know each other in a new system. They've made fairly speedy progress, but it's in contrast to the Wisconsin program where Greg Gard has been the head coach since 2015 and had served the previous fourteen years as Bo Ryan's chief assistant. In other words, he's been on the Badger sideline now for over 20 years.
I can't quite describe the imprint Greg Gard stamps on his teams. I can say that his teams are somewhat deliberate in their tempo, but not unwilling to get out into the open court. They are schooled defensively and even when they seemed outsized by opponents, always play stout defense.
Because they play at a deliberate speed, their games tend to be somewhat low scoring and it's rare to see Wisconsin ever get blown out of a game. Part of their team identity seems to be an ability to stay close in games and turn the games in their favor late.
Such was the case last night. Wisconsin held a slim 31-29 lead at half time and hung on throughout the second half, staving off every Maryland comeback, and beat the Terrapins 64-59.
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