In a performance worthy of Bobby Jackson, the Gophers’ Lawrence Westbrook scored the team’s final 10 points during the last two minutes in a come from behind 51-46 win over Wisconsin on Wednesday night at Williams Arena. Jackson, a small guard like Westbrook, routinely led his 1997 Big Ten championship team in scoring, and almost always in late game heroics. Westbrook does it all much less frequently but on a team without an offensive leader and high scoring guard, he’s the best alternative. The Gophers need a win over Michigan at Williams Arena to continue a possible move toward the NCAA tournament and another 15 point game by Westbrook probably will be vital.
Among the attendees at Wednesday night’s game were Wisconsin fan and pro golfer Andy North, the Wolves’ Kevin Love and Cretin-Derham Hall junior offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson who could be a consensus prep All-American next fall.
The Gophers’ athletic department has mailed a post season ticket request form to men’s basketball season ticket holders. The form includes request options for both the NCAA and NIT tournaments, and needs to be submitted by today.
Count the NBA among businesses concerned about the economy. The empty seats seen in league arenas on TV games is startling. Ric Bucher writing in ESPN The Magazine reports that because of declining team revenues the NBA is projecting a luxury-tax level of $69 million for next season, a decline from the current number of about $71 million. That means franchises will have less to spend on player salaries and may find themselves over the tax.
The Wolves, who have been losing money in recent seasons, will try to hold on to customers and increase attendees, rather than raise ticket pricing. To their credit the Wolves announced ticket pricing for next season that includes these highlights: The average lower-level season ticket is 11.4% cheaper next season and upper level tickets 44.3% less expensive. Over 75% of the available season ticket plans are priced at $35 or under, including more than half of the packages in the lower level. Over 4,700 upper-level tickets are priced at $5. Lose your job after buying season tickets? The Wolves will provide a refund.
Former KFAN producer and talk show host Darren “Doogie” Wolfson is working for the MLB Network.