The recent record of NCAA tournament success for the Wisconsin men’s basketball team reveals just how far the program has come in the past 10 years. Of the Badgers’ eight total tournament appearances, six have come since 1994.
This year’s grabbing of an eighth seed puts the Badgers in the tournament for the fourth straight year, where UW will look to duplicate some of the magical success it has had in tournaments past.
Talk about beginner’s luck. Playing in the first NCAA tournament in school history, the 1941 Badgers beat Dartmouth and Pittsburgh squads in down-to-the-wire games at the UW Field House to advance to the championship game of the eight-team tournament.
The championship game, held in Kansas City, was a true barnburner, as the Badgers defeated Washington State 39-34. The Badgers shot only 24 percent from the field in the game but were led to victory by their star players, John Kotz and Gene Englund, who scored 12 and 13 points, respectively.
In 1947, the Badgers got pummeled 70-56 by a red-hot City College of New York squad in their first-round game, but hung around in New York to play in the now-defunct consolation game against Navy at Madison Square Garden. Glen Selbo hit a game-winning shot in the final seconds to defeat the Midshipmen 50-49.
Hopefully the image of the Badgers’ last-second victory didn’t fade from the minds of Wisconsin fans for some time: The tournament appearance would be their last for nearly 50 years.
Michael Finley returned UW to the national spotlight in 1994 when his Badger squad defeated No. 25 Cincinnati 80-72 in the first round of the tournament in Ogden, Utah. Finley did all that he could to will the Badgers past top-seeded Missouri in the second round, turning in one of the greatest individual performances in school history. Finley poured in 36 points, hitting nine of 19 shots from the field and 13 of 14 from the free-throw line while grabbing seven boards.
Big Eight Player of the Year Melvin Booker nearly matched Finley shot for shot, though, as he scored 35 points and also pulled in seven rebounds to lead the Tigers to a 109-96 win.
The arrival of head coach Dick Bennett signaled a new era in Wisconsin basketball; the former UW-Green Bay coach led the Badgers to a tournament appearance in 1997 in only his second season. The tournament experience was forgettable, though, as the Badgers drew a tough Texas team in the first round. The UW team, led by Sam Okey and Paul Grant, fell behind the Longhorns 15-3 in the game’s first six minutes and never recovered, losing 71-58 in Pittsburgh.
The Badgers began their string of four-straight tournament appearances inauspiciously as they stumbled to a 43-32 loss to Southwest Missouri State in Charlotte, NC, in 1999. UW shot a season-low 26 percent from the field and scored only 12 points in the entire first half.
Sean Mason was the only Badger to score in double figures, as he finished with 11 points on four of 12 shooting. A group of sophomores that included Mike Kelley, Andy Kowske, Mark Vershaw and Maurice Linton saw considerable minutes in the loss, which gave them valuable tournament experience.
The Badgers, along with the rest of the nation, would see just how valuable that experience was when the 2000 NCAA tournament rolled around.
They were supposed to be a slow, plodding, defense-minded team that couldn’t score against a high school squad. A quick look at the Badger’s bracket in 2000 revealed numerous deep, athletic, running-style teams like Fresno State and Arizona. They certainly weren’t supposed to do it, but in one of the most improbable runs in tournament history, Dick Bennett guided a 22-13 Badger squad past four elite teams and into the school’s first Final Four in the history of the modern, expanded NCAA tournament.
In the first-round matchup, Wisconsin’s stifling defense absolutely shut down Fresno State superstar Courtney Alexander, holding the nation’s leading scorer to 11 points on 5-for-19 shooting from the field. Jon Bryant had what would be the first of many hot nights in the tournament, hitting a school-record-tying seven three-pointers en route to a 21-point night and a 66-56 Wisconsin victory.
The Badgers just kept on clicking, scraping out a 66-59 second-round win over a very talented Arizona squad. Mike Kelley made all the plays for Wisconsin, scoring eight points, dishing out four assists and grabbing five steals while recording no turnovers. Four Badgers scored in double figures, and Bryant added 12 as Wisconsin overcame a hot shooting night by Gilbert Arenas in Albuquerque.
Coming into their third-round game against Wisconsin, LSU was one of the most feared teams in the tournament. The Tigers, led by super-athletic Stromile Swift and Jabari Smith, played an up-tempo, explosive game the Badgers were not supposed to be able to keep up with.
Dick Bennett’s stifling defense gave LSU few shots and even fewer good looks, though, and Jon Bryant paced the Badgers with 16 points to down the Tigers 61-48. Swift and Smith combined for 24 points, but the rest of the team could only match their output, as Wisconsin held LSU to 36 percent shooting.
Jon Bryant didn’t cool off for Wisconsin’s Elite Eight matchup against conference rival Purdue. Bryant hit five of nine three-pointers, scored a game-high 18 points, and was named West Regional Most Outstanding Player after the game. Andy Kowske added 14 points and eight rebounds in the victory.
The Badgers endured a Boilermaker scare when Carson Cunningham hit a three with 11.5 seconds remaining to cut the Wisconsin lead to 63-60, but the Badgers hit a free-throw to seal the 64-60 victory and advance to the Final Four.
Only Michigan State, Wisconsin’s season-long nemesis, could figure out the seemingly unstoppable Badgers in 2000. Jon Bryant came back to earth, hitting only one of five shots, and Roy Boone’s 18 points weren’t enough to get the Badgers into the championship game. Morris Peterson scored 20 points in the 53-41 Spartan victory, which was the fourth over Wisconsin in the 1999-2000 season.
After earning its fourth consecutive tournament berth in 2001, Wisconsin found it difficult to repeat the success of the 2000 tournament. The Badgers gave up a 13-point second-half lead, and Georgia State hit the game-winning shot with 12 seconds remaining to defeat the Badgers 50-49 and send UW’s crew of seniors home from Boise, Idaho.
Mark Vershaw scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed five rebounds in his final game, but only Vershaw and Andy Kowske scored in double figures for the Badgers, who wouldn’t conjure up any of their 2000 magic.
This season, the Badgers will try to add to their history of success and try to forget about some of the program’s early tournament exits. With a new head coach in Bo Ryan and only three players from any previous tournament team, the new-look Badgers will try to make another run deep into the ever-unpredictable NCAA tournament.
