Sunday's matchup between Wisconsin and Minnesota was a game for the ages. Not because it was fantastic basketball, but because it was about celebrating ages'that is to say, celebrating senior forward Ray Nixon's last career home game.
Nixon's game was a metaphor for his four-year career as a Badger. His first half performance could have been a non-factor'zero field goals, zero free throws, zero assists, zero rebounds'but his second half showed glimmers of the greatness that fans have grown used to this season. In 13 second-half minutes, Nixon scored his seven points of the game'one of the team's three threes of the game and 4-for-4 from the foul line'grabbed a defensive rebound, an assist and two steals.
Nixon's stats fail to describe the energy with which he played Sunday afternoon. He was sprinting down the court on fast breaks, throwing himself on the floor for loose balls and going all-out on defense. The same statement applies to both his game and his career: Although the numbers may not be impressive, the heart and effort in Nixon's game are.
'Ray's a class act, always has been,' Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. 'Ray's just doing it. He's living his dream.'
What undoubtedly swayed the momentum of the game to favor Wisconsin was the foul trouble Minnesota had and the ensuing abundance of free throws for the Badgers. Gopher seniors J'son Stamper and Adam Boone fouled out, and senior guard Vincent Grier and sophomore forward Dan Coleman each committed four fouls. Minnesota ended the game with 25 fouls, leading to 36 Wisconsin free throws, where the Badgers shot 80 percent.
