OMAHA, Neb. - The No. 3-seeded Badgers made careless passes, forced bad shots and looked like anything but Big Ten Champions Thursday night at the Qwest Center, but they played well enough to defeat the No. 14 seed, Cal-State Fullerton, 71-56 and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
In a game marred by miscues on both sides of the ball, Wisconsin (30-4) committed 17 turnovers and made only 19 percent of its shots beyond the arc. Yet, the Badgers found the winning formula at the free throw line, converting on 18 of their 25 attempts.
They also out-rebounded the Titans 50-27.
Even though we had a high number of turnovers a lot of that was by trying to make a good play into the post that got deflected, trying to get some high percentage shots,"" head coach Bo Ryan said. ""We did it a lot better in the second half, which we'll take. If we can get to the line, we'll take that too.""
Although Wisconsin held a double-digit lead over the Titans for much of the second half, UCF (24-9) remained within striking distance thanks to the streaky shooting of junior guard Josh Akognon. The Washington State transfer connected on four of his seven second-half 3-point attempts and finished with 31 points.
A 3-pointer by Akognon cut the Badger advantage to eight with 4:54 remaining in the game. Yet sophomore guard Trevon Hughes helped swing the momentum back in UW's favor when he went to the free throw line on Wisconsin's next possession.
Hughes made his first free throw, giving the Badgers a 60-51 advantage. After he missed his second shot, Hughes grabbed the long rebound. He then drove along the baseline and dished a behind-the-back bounce pass to senior forward Brian Butch, who slammed home a dunk to give Wisconsin a 62-51 advantage.
Akognon made a 3-pointer on Cal-State's next possession, but four free throws by sophomore Jason Bohannon and a dunk by junior Marcus Landry sealed the victory for UW.
Butch led Wisconsin scorers with 14 points. Bohannon and junior forward Joe Krabbenhoft each added 13, and Landry finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.
""Anyone that's watched us numerous times realizes we don't have one big star on this team,"" Butch said. ""Whoever is out there '¦ all can make plays.""
Stiemsma shines
Despite playing only eight minutes, senior center Greg Stiemsma had a big impact on the outcome of the ball game. He scored four points, grabbed six rebounds and also had two steals, a block and an assist.
""I think it hit him that this is his senior year,"" Krabbenhoft said. ""He's doing everything he can to help his team win.""
First half struggles
Wisconsin committed turnovers on its first two possessions of the game and looked sluggish against a Cal-State squad that made five of its first seven shots.
Despite the Badgers' sizable height advantage, the Titans outscored UW 16-14 in the paint in the first half.
Wisconsin's appeared to take control late in the first half as they built a 28-20 lead. But a thunderous put-back dunk by CSF senior guard Frank Robinson sparked an 8-0 Titan run. Robinson made an acrobatic lay-up, and after a lay-up by senior guard Ray Reed and a jumper by Akognon, the score was tied at 28.
A Stiemsma tip-in with three seconds remaining gave Wisconsin a 30-28 lead at the half.
Up next
The Badgers will play the No. 11-seed Kansas State Wildcats at 3:20 p.m. Saturday at the Qwest Center. The winner of the second round game will advance to the Midwest Regional in Detroit, Mich.
KSU defeated the No. 6-seed Southern California 80-67. Freshmen forwards Michael Beasley and Bill Walker scored 23 and 22 points respectively for the Wildcats.
Freshman guard O.J. Mayo scored 20 in a losing effort for the Trojans.
