Davidson didn't use pixie dust.
The only Cinderella I know lives inside a castle at Disney World, and judging from her choice in footwear, I don't think she would be successful on a basketball court.
It may have looked like the Davidson Wildcats had a fairy godmother watching over them with the way they played in their 73-56 victory over Wisconsin at Ford Field Friday in Detroit. But in reality, there was nothing magical about the whipping the No. 10 seed gave the No. 3 seed in their Midwest Regional Semifinal.
For 40 minutes (especially in the final 20), Davidson out-hustled, out-worked and yes, even out-coached a Wisconsin squad that had built a reputation for its mental and physical toughness.
If Davidson was Cinderella, then the Badgers looked like Sleeping Beauties in the second half. Their defensive intensity disappeared. Their ability to establish an inside post presence vanished. And faster than you can say alakazam"" their season was over.
Not stopping the Wildcats' Stephen Curry was excusable. Michael Flowers spent the entire evening inside the sophomore guard's back pocket, and he still scored 33 points. The injury to Trevon Hughes also hurt Wisconsin's ability to handle Davidson's half-court ball pressure.
What's upsetting about the loss is how the Badgers failed to follow the fundamentals that got them to the Sweet 16.
Both Kansas State and Cal State Fullerton tried to push the ball up the court against the supposedly slower Badgers, and found little success against Wisconsin's transition defense. A week later, Davidson out-scored UW 18-2 on fast-break points.
Several of the Wildcats' quick strikes came after careless Wisconsin turnovers in the open court, but some occurred after Badger baskets.
Seven seconds after Jason Bohannon made a layup to cut Davidson's lead to 16-15 with 10:38 left in the first half, the Wildcats' Thomas Sander raced ahead of the pack and countered with a layup of his own.
Joe Krabbenhoft gave Wisconsin a 35-33 lead late in the half, but in five seconds, the margin was erased. Davidson point guard Jason Richards caught an inbound pass in the backcourt and fired a long pass to guard Bryant Barr as he set up along the left wing. Without a dribble, Barr was airborne, and his 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 36-35 lead with 1:32 remaining in the half. Wisconsin would not lead again.
If a player makes a great steal or a shot with a hand in his face, there's not much an opponent can do. But, as Krabbenhoft said after defeating Kansas State, getting back on defense ""is rule No. 1."" The Badgers did a poor job following that rule against Davidson.
Offensively, the Badgers did not utilize their strengths like repeatedly passing the ball into the low post, making free throws and driving hard to the hoop to set up easy baskets.
Instead, Wisconsin panicked, and at times during the second half, the Badgers looked like they were shooting in a timed 3-point contest.
Davidson double-teamed Wisconsin's post players when they received the ball, but none of the Badgers on the weak side cut to the hoop when the double came. Frequently the post players struggled just to pass the ball back out to the guards.
The Badgers did eventually get to the free throw line, but they made only two-thirds of their attempts.
To be fair, Wisconsin had an unbelievable season - the best in school history and one that produced a Big Ten regular season title, a Big Ten Tournament championship and memories Badger fans will not soon forget.
It's easy to nitpick what happened and visualize what could have happened. And I suppose I'm a little upset I'll be spending this weekend in cloudy Madison instead of sunny San Antonio.
But the team that won 31 games and even the team that lost four never came out of the locker room for the second half Friday. Both the offensive spark and the defensive tenacity that endeared this ""team without a star"" to UW fans were gone.
Less than two weeks earlier, Wisconsin had found itself trailing Michigan State 53-41 with only 8:16 remaining in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Time and time again, the Badgers passed the ball into the post, causing four Spartans to foul out and allowing UW to climb back into the game. Wisconsin won 65-63.
Yet, Friday when they trailed 57-45 with more than 12 minutes to play, the Badgers looked defeated. Every time they walked off the floor during a timeout or a commercial break their expressions seemed to say, ""This one's over."" And the moment UW lost that mental edge, it was, in fact, over.
The Wildcats are a great basketball team. They had a remarkable tournament and played like a squad destined for the Final Four. But they were not ""Cinderellas."" After watching them break the Badgers' spirits, ""evil step-sisters"" sounds more appropriate.
If you would like to discuss your favorite Disney characters with Ryan, e-mail him at reszel@dailycardinal.com.
