Nothing But Iron:  One on One by Steven R. Lagman, M.D., C.A.S.W. February 28, 2007 Brief impressions of OSU vs. UW: No. 1 won. It’s like the unification of heavyweight title belts, but in a legitimate sport where players only injure each other inadvertently. OSU can claim to be the better team, but just by a few molecules. I suppose there will be commemorative unified ranking t-shirts. The front would say No. 1 AP Poll and the back No. 1 Coach’s Poll. For all the media hype about giants, basketball really comes down to guard play. Wisconsin is an excellent team when its guards are productive. If the guards are off, defenses can better focus on Tucker. If the guards play like they did in the latter part of the second half against OSU, final 30 seconds notwithstanding, it could carry the Badgers far into their aspirations. If not, there is always next year. Good guard play includes clutch free throw shooting. It just does. There is nothing to analyze; make enough free throws at the right times or go home. But let’s not lay blame. That’s pointless. My guess is that Kammron Taylor and most other basketball players try to make all their free throws. Let’s not forget the pressure. I have pressure in my job, but I am 46, not 21, generally have a lot of help, and everyone, except perhaps a smattering of malpractice attorneys, is cheering for me to save my patient. And it’s not like I can actually see any attorneys when I work. What if I had to work with 18,000 of them screaming and waving their arms, trying to make me screw up? I would probably screw up. (I wonder which one would get to sue me. That brawl could be NBA ugly.) Wisconsin will get a No. 2 seed in both tourneys. OSU will get No. 1s. Both teams will be challenged regardless of seed. My brother Bruce says he has known for two weeks who will win the NCAA championship. He says it won’t be the Badgers or the Buckeyes. He did not disclose his pick. If I know Bruce, he will tell me sometime in the first week of April and claim he did not change his answer. It’s probably Syracuse. I don’t decide this, but I would have no problem if Jason Chappell took a shot or two or five. He would likely make a shot or two or five, and that would keep defenses honest. Imagine how much harder it is to guard Tucker if Chappell must be guarded too. Though the denominator is small, I believe Chappell’s shooting percentage is respectable. Though the implications of this loss were far worse, the quality of the game was better than that of its predecessor loss. I don’t want to hear any drivel about low scores. Give either Wisconsin or OSU a typical defense and either will score 70 or 80 points. Two good defensive teams will often have low scoring games. I sensed with three or four minutes left that Michigan State would win. Against OSU the Badgers were within seconds of making Saturday’s home rematch against MSU a conference title game. Now the regular season finale is just a grudge match, which should be ample motivation. Congratulations to Jason Bohannon. He’s not yet a starter, but he achieved the high honor of finisher, and with good reason. What’s not to like about Jason? I would love to blame this game on the officials, which mostly means I am a Badgers fan. If there were no missed free throws, no turnovers and no Mike Conley, Jr. I would be quick to claim screw job. I believe officials are working at the capacity of their ability to rapidly assimilate information. It is a capacity that is sometimes inadequate, particularly when calls go against my team. What we see on TiVo-vision as profanity-inducing inconsistency could be a simple matter of overloaded of sensory systems. To be fair, the refs messed up in our favor too. If I have to register one complaint, I would say that it hurt that Greg Oden was only called for one of three fouls committed in the first half. That’s low, even for Big Ten officials. Conley Jr. is superb. He does not play like a freshman. It will be interesting to see how he lives up to the commonly repeated adage that young point guards are unreliable in the big tournament. On one play Junior got to the hoop so quickly he made Flowers look like a quadriplegic granite statue stuck in a bog. And Flowers has crazy quickness. I think Conley and his other brother Oden should go to the NBA immediately. I have written letters to each of them: Dear Mike/Greg: Got $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$? Love, Steve I am sad for Brian Butch. What a time to go down. In doctor words: I knew it was bad when I saw a bulge in a part of Butch’s arm where there should definitely not be a bulge. I will be surprised if he returns this season. If he does return, I will be surprised if he can shoot right handed. I suppose part of it depends on how long the season is. More bad luck for Brian. I will cheer his return vigorously. At this point, the length of the season is anyone’s guess. Surely the Badgers will have to close out a number of tough opponents in final minutes of tournament games. I would like to believe they have it in them to do so. Alando Tucker is ripe for a 30-point game. I bet Tom Izzo already knows that. Tuck will need some help. I vote for one or both Jasons. Flowers has struggled in the last two games, but it would be just like him to show up big on Saturday. He plays with more heart than anyone on the team, with the possible exception of Brian. One of the reasons the result of this game is so hard to stomach is because we are not used to watching UW teams falter on the brink of winning conference championships. The only other one that comes to mind in modern times is the Rose Bowl killing loss to Iowa in football a few years back. Once we realize how spoiled we are, we can’t help but realize how fortunate we are. _____________ Nothing But Iron is an amateur sports column. This issue is dedicated to Brian Butch. Heal well, Brian. The author would not trade his team for any other, conference championship or not. ©2007 DrTM Enterprises. All rights reserved.