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Post by uwm97 on Mar 7, 2006 23:32:18 GMT -6
I don't mean to toot my own horn, but...............................
"5. I don't mean to seem overconfident, but Butler is really up against it this game. Going against a tournament-tested, 5th-year senior dominated team in front of a hostle sellout crowed is tough for any squad, much less for a Butler team that has obvious deficiencies we can exploit. If we execute our game plan, we win, and win by a nice margin."
LET'S GET THAT 12 SEED!!!!!
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Post by Hack on Mar 7, 2006 23:54:03 GMT -6
I think Lick just wanted to go shake hands with Jeter and maybe sub out the seniors (don't know if he did) when he called the timeout. Better to do it then than fight through a storming student section. BTW...our season may not be over (contrary to the chant with 2 minutes left), we have a decent shot at the NIT, which is more than our fans expected at the start of the year. I agree with why Lick did it (I think it was handled better than how Coach K did it too)... he definitely meant no disrespect by calling the timeout to pull his players off. He just didn't want to see anything bad happen just in case (I think there was a little confrontation back in 2003, visible on TV) ... he obviously was gracious in shaking Jeter's hand then the Butler players shook the hands of the Panthers who were on the floor. I'm sure there were probably some more complete handshakes later under the concourse. Butler ... do some damage in the NIT!!
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mwu
Sophomore
I am U-Dub U-M
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Post by mwu on Mar 8, 2006 0:34:47 GMT -6
fan, nice choice in attire tonight. why was that security guard such an ass and not let you back in?
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Post by Pantherholic on Mar 8, 2006 4:10:52 GMT -6
Way to Go MILWAUKEE!!!!! WE DANCIN!
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Post by troggy on Mar 8, 2006 6:01:42 GMT -6
Hey congrats guys and good luck in the NCAA tourney. Hope to see UWM represent the Horizon League well.
Todd
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Post by representforuwm on Mar 8, 2006 8:15:14 GMT -6
COLLEGE BASKETBALL HORIZON FINAL
Panthers set plans for NCAA UW-MILWAUKEE 87, BUTLER 71 By Lew Freedman Tribune staff reporter
March 8, 2006
MILWAUKEE -- Nothing like rewriting the ending of "Hoosiers" so the Indiana team loses.
It worked for No. 1-seeded Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tuesday night in the championship game of the Horizon League tournament at U.S. Cellular Arena, where the Panthers warded off an upset and overwhelmed Butler 87-71.
The victory gives UWM (21-8) its third conference tournament championship since 2003 and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. The Panthers advanced to the final 16 last year.
"Just a team effort," said first-year coach Rob Jeter, who praised his bench as he wore one of the nets his players cut down. "We went deep on our bench and called on some guys. This was a special win tonight."
UWM juiced up a home crowd of 10,021 by preventing the Bulldogs (19-12) from successfully deploying its three-point shooters until things were hopeless.
Star forward Joah Tucker missed most of the first 11 minutes of the second half with four fouls, but tournament MVP Adrian Tigert scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds and added five assists.
Although Butler forward Brandon Polk, the league's player of the year, scored a game-high 27 points, he, too, was in foul trouble. Milwaukee outscored Butler 56-24 in the paint.
"We made a run," Butler coach Todd Lickliter said. "They answered. We would have had to play flawlessly."
That description better fit UWM, which shot 51.6 percent from the field and outrebounded the Bulldogs 40-24. No. 2 seed Butler hung around early, but midway through the first half regular-season champ UWM compiled a 17-2 run.
Tigert said opponents targeted the Panthers all season because of their 2005 NCAA success, but returning to the tournament will be refreshing.
"Finally, we're hunting, not being hunted," Tigert said. "Certainly no one is going to take us lightly."
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lfreedman@tribune.com
Copyright © 2006, The Chicago Tribune
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Post by representforuwm on Mar 8, 2006 8:19:21 GMT -6
From indy paper
horizon league championship: wisconsin-Milwaukee 87, butler 71 Butler falls short of NCAA Tournament Bulldogs now awaits possible berth in NIT after falling to Panthers By David Woods david.woods@indystar.com March 7, 2006
MILWAUKEE -- Three-pointers add up faster than two-pointers, but not if you miss 3s and opponents make twos. Wisconsin-Milwaukee pierced Butler's proud defense, turning the second half into a layup drill, and beat the Bulldogs 87-71 Tuesday night in the Horizon League Tournament championship game. Butler had little answer other than Brandon Polk, the league's Player of the Year. He scored 16 successive Butler points in one stretch and finished with 27.
The bigger and faster Panthers scored 56 points in the paint on backdoor cuts, interior passes, rebounds, dunks and drives. Butler was never closer than seven points in the second half.
"We'd make a run, and they'd counter," Butler coach Todd Lickliter said. "We would have had to play almost flawlessly."
The Panthers shot 55 percent in the second half (17-of-31). Their 87 points are the most allowed by Butler this season.
UW-Milwaukee's Adrian Tigert, who missed the final two regular-season games with an injury to his lower back, was the tournament's Most Valuable Player. He had 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Boo Davis added 18 points and Joah Tucker 15. Tucker, an all-league forward, went out with his fourth foul with 19 minutes to play. Yet the Panthers were unaffected.
UW-Milwaukee (21-8) secured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers, playing at home for the league title for a fourth year in a row, are 3-1 in those games.
UW-Milwaukee fans chanted, "Season's over, season's over," as the clock wound down.
Perhaps not. The Bulldogs (19-12) will wait Sunday for a spot in the National Invitation Tournament. Athletic director John Parry submitted proposals to hold first- or second-round games at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
"I'm not going to let one defeat tarnish what we've done this year," said Lickliter, whose Bulldogs were once 9-8.
Butler, which had made 30 3-pointers in its previous two games, was 11-of-27 from the arc. Four 3s came in the final 61/2 minutes after the Bulldogs had fallen behind by 15 points.
Butler increased its season total for 3s to 283, breaking the school record of 280 set four years ago.
"Even when you're up 17, you're holding your breath because of them making those 3s," UW-Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter said.
Avery Sheets, a member of the Butler team that reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 2003, scored 17 of his 20 points in the closing 91/2 minutes.
Another Butler senior, Bruce Horan, extended his steak of making at least one 3-pointer to 78 games. Horan was scoreless until 5:49 remained and was 1-of-6 on 3s.
"Give them credit. They guard," Lickliter said of the Panthers.
Polk was called for an offensive foul -- his fourth -- with 13:19 left and went to the bench. Butler trailed 50-41 at the time.
In a first-half exchange of runs, UW-Milwaukee struck hardest. The Panthers led 40-32 at the half, a margin attributable to an 8-0 edge in second-chance points.
After the Bulldogs fell behind 17-11, they reeled off 11 unanswered points to go ahead 22-17. They received a boost off the bench from Brian Ligon, who started the run with a three-point play and free throw.
UW-Milwaukee proceeded to hold Butler without a field goal for eight minutes. The Panthers' 17-2 spurt rebuilt their lead to 36-26.
The Panthers' quickness was underscored on one sequence in which Chris Hill stole the ball and went the length of the floor for a layup.
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Post by representforuwm on Mar 8, 2006 8:29:42 GMT -6
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 87, Butler 71
CHRIS JENKINS Associated Press
MILWAUKEE - After Wisconsin-Milwaukee won the Horizon League tournament and an automatic bid to NCAA tournament, first-year coach Rob Jeter cut down the nets.
Then he cut loose.
"I thought we couldn't score 87 points with the swing," Jeter said, taking a good-natured swipe at critics who thought his halfcourt offense would turn last year's NCAA regional semifinalists into a walking yawnfest.
Boo Davis scored 18 points to help the Panthers beat Butler 87-71 Tuesday night, earning the league's NCAA berth for the third time in four years.
Jeter, hired after Bruce Pearl left for Tennessee, takes most of his coaching and personality cues from former boss Bo Ryan, the respected but aloof coach at Wisconsin. Jeter showed a similar buttoned-down personality for most of his first season at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but loosened up after Tuesday's victory.
Wearing remnants of the net he and the players cut down around his neck, Jeter was asked if he had any actual dance moves to show off at the so-called "big dance."
"That's how I met my wife at a party," Jeter responded. "She liked to feel my moves, I guess."
Wisconsin-Milwaukee won two of the previous three Horizon tournaments and past three regular-season titles. Then Pearl left.
"To have to accept a new coach, a new style, with their last season, I knew it was scary," Jeter said.
He inherited four returning starters from last year's team, and seems to have won them over.
"I looked at this situation with Bruce Pearl moving on as an opportunity to be coached by two great coaches," senior Adrian Tigert said.
Tigert was one of several players to step up Tuesday night after leading scorer Joah Tucker went to the bench with his fourth foul only 39 seconds into the second half.
Even without Tucker, the Panthers (21-8) continued to rely on their inside game and got key contributions from reserves Derrick Ford and Mark Pancratz.
"Just a team effort," Jeter said. "We faced some adversity there when Joah went down, and went deep in our bench."
The Panthers outscored Butler 56-24 in the paint and outrebounded the Bulldogs 40-24.
"Milwaukee tonight will beat a lot, a lot of people," Butler coach Todd Lickliter said. "They were very good."
Brandon Polk scored 27 points to lead the Bulldogs (19-12). He also got in foul trouble, picking up his fourth when he was called for an offensive foul with 13:19 remaining in the game.
After struggling from 3-point range for much of the game, Butler closed to 65-56 on back-to-back 3s by Avery Sheets and Bruce Horan.
However, Davis answered with his own 3, putting the Panthers ahead by 12 with 5:21 remaining.
"We'd make a run and they'd answer," Lickliter said. "We would have had to play almost flawless."
The Panthers sealed the victory on a breakaway dunk by Jason McCoy, as Horan was called for an intentional foul. McCoy hit two free throws, stretching the lead to 79-62 with 3:21 remaining.
Fans swarmed the court at the buzzer.
The Panthers also defeated Butler to win the 2003 Horizon tournament.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee led 40-32 at halftime despite 17 first-half points by Butler forward Brandon Polk.
Polk scored nine points in a 13-2 run that put the Bulldogs ahead 24-19 with 9:21 remaining in the first half. However, the Panthers answered with an 11-0 run, taking a 26-24 lead on Davis' rebound and putback with 2:44 remaining in the half.
The Panthers' run included an alley-oop pass from Tucker to a skying Ford for a slam-dunk and a foul. Ford hit the free-throw to complete the three-point play. AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
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Post by TBone on Mar 8, 2006 10:04:38 GMT -6
In retrospect, calling the TO was a class move by Lickliter.
I think Butler should be a shoo-in to get into the NIT. If they don't it's a travesty.
T
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damasa
Sophomore
KFC: Kick From Chuck. What else do you need?
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Post by damasa on Mar 8, 2006 12:44:23 GMT -6
I hope we see Butler in the NIT. It would be nice to see two HL teams mixing it up in the post season.
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Post by namuwm on Mar 8, 2006 13:56:45 GMT -6
wow lots of great articles about last nights game...thanks for posting em.
I just wanted to comment a bit on the attendance as well. The crowd was fantastic last night, lots of energy and it was a smart crowd who was really into the game, not a whole lot of people leaving early too...which is good. I was really hoping for a sellout, but it is what it is. Is it just me, or did there seam to be more buzz last year. I remember hearing more promos for the game on the radio and other media outlets...that didn't appear to be the case this time around. Kinda wish the chancellor would have made it a black and gold day on campus, but again it is what it is.
All things considered, having the smart crowd who is really into it that packed the place was better than having a sellout with some people who aren't all that into it.
I talked with some family who live out of state and watched the game on TV and said it looked great! I told them to look for the guy in gold and that would be me...not sure if the noticed or not.
Anyway, I'm rambeling, but yeah....excellent game!
GO PANTHERS!
nam
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Post by coldwind on Mar 8, 2006 14:07:57 GMT -6
Last year had more excitement because we had never really felt like a lock for a NCAA Tourney win.
It'll feel the same when we play our first round game.Nothing compares to the first time.And I know for me and my friends,Cleveland was f***ing amazing.
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Post by PANTHERfan on Mar 8, 2006 14:19:22 GMT -6
namuwm, i agree completely. while we may have a been a few hundred people short of the sell out, the place was packed, and it was as loud, if not louder than i've ever heard it before. the crowd was bball smart, as noted by the crescendo of noise and energy during the runs.
i'd agree about media buzz this year as well. my guess is it's part Pearl missing and part Panther fans being a bit spoiled. i mean, this tourney has come through Milwaukee 4 years in a row. that's amazing! some people seem to just expect it now. but we all know here just how special this is. the general fan base takes years to grow, and last night was another giant leap forward for the program.
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Post by teddyp00 on Mar 8, 2006 14:25:35 GMT -6
I agree about how it takes time to grow the general fan base, but games like last night help to turn those general fans who are alumi into season ticket holders. And if 10 to 15% of the students become somewhat regulars next year the student section will continue to grow nicely. People need to keep in mind what the attendence numbers were like 4 years ago for games and what they are now.
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Post by brewtownbrian on Mar 8, 2006 14:40:24 GMT -6
Is it just me, or did there seam to be more buzz last year. I remember hearing more promos for the game on the radio and other media outlets...that didn't appear to be the case this time around. I agree. Last year there was more buzz about UWM in general. And just to echo what Pantherfan said. Pearl was a PR person's dream. He made himself very accessible and therefore more opportunities to promote big games or the HL Tourney followed. Pearl was constantly saying, "We need witnesses." When referring to getting fans to come to games. I think that is a big part of the buzz. Jeter's different in that aspect. He's obviously more reserved and let's the playing do the talking. As fans we have to respect his style and do our part to create that buzz.
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