KNOWN WHERE IT COUNTS. Wisconsin-Milwaukee coach Bruce Pearl understands the value of a mixed strategy.

The Panthers used their full-court press sparingly but effectively throughout the game, forcing Illinois to call timeouts because it couldn't inbounds the ball twice and turn it over on a five-second violation once. (The timeout request came too late.

UW-Milwaukee coach Bruce Pearl had hinted he might be more judicious with the press because of the Illini's three talented guards.

"We might be pressing ourselves into an early deficit," he said Wednesday.

He didn't try, using the press little until the final 4½ minutes of the first half and again midway through the second half, when it sparked a rally that moved the Panthers back within seven, 58-51, with 9:33 left in the game.

Apparently he's used the mixed strategy well enough to have to consider other strategies.

Bruce Pearl has steadfastly maintained for the past two weeks that it would take a blockbuster deal to pry him away from the UW-Milwaukee basketball coaching job.

Pearl talked about loyalty and putting down roots in a community, but perhaps the most persuasive argument for him staying in Milwaukee would be the state of the UWM program. It is strong and appears to be growing stronger.

The Panthers' success in basketball has inspired differentiation efforts by the university: this article notes the use of "Milwaukee" rather than "Wisconsin-Milwaukee" on the uniforms.

You also get the impression that the Panthers want to abridge their identity by declaring total independence from the mother ship in Madison. The cover of the media guide, which brands them simply as the Milwaukee Panthers, screams individuality. Their uniforms bear only the name of the city. Bruce Pearl's voice mail tells you he is the coach of the Milwaukee Panthers, so away with the hyphen.

And then there was the matter of UWM's Sweet 16 experience and courageous performance against probably the best team in the country in Illinois, the kind of national publicity money cannot buy.

So now comes the time for the next move, the one that could determine the Panthers' future:

What can they do to retain Pearl?

Coaches may come, coaches may go, particularly at that level. It's no different from replacing a successful economist who might get recruited away: look for another succesful economist with talent as an economist. It's when the recruiting attempts to make a statement about some other institutional goal that the trouble begins.

Now for some lighter observations.

For the aspiring basketball analyst: better understand all the implications of G(x,a) = 0.

For Wisconsin-Milwaukee: we used to refer to it as the University Close By The Lake Almost. Try that on a jersey.

And I like the use of the term "mother ship" to refer to Madison.