SPOKANE, Wash. — With four minutes remaining in Saturday’s Midwest second-round game against Tulsa, the Badgers were down 45-58, and it looked as if they would fall victim to the 2003 NCAA tournament’s Cinderella, the Golden Hurricane.

Tulsa had upended fourth-seeded Dayton two days earlier in an impressive fashion and seemed poised for a victory over UW after outplaying the Badgers for most of the game.

“I would say with a 13-point lead and four minutes to go, with your team winning as many ballgames as they’ve won, that you’d feel comfortable,” Tulsa head coach John Phillips said. “Until that last-second shot I always thought that we were going to win.”

The Badgers’ epic 16-2 run, ending in Freddie Owens’ 3-pointer, was just enough to squeak by Tulsa.

Though it seemed hopeless only minutes earlier, Ryan drew his team together to instill in the players enough self-assurance to get the job done and propel the Badgers to their first Sweet Sixteen under his watch.

“This is going to be one that they talk about for a long time,” Ryan said to his players.

“I looked around in the huddle at everyone’s eyes, and everyone was still believing,” Kirk Penney said. “Coach was definitely the catalyst in that.”

Defensively, the Badgers dug in, forcing the Golden Hurricane into making more turnovers than field goals down the stretch. In turn, the Badgers hit the shots they needed to, willing their way past Tulsa’s upset bid.

“We wanted to continue doing the things we were doing, and that was pounding the ball inside,” Phillips said. “Kevin (Johnson) was coming through for us. We were having some success. But we turned the ball over a couple times, and Wisconsin made plays. Wisconsin hit some big buckets that really changed the momentum of the game. It was a devastating loss … I’ve got to give credit to Wisconsin; they never gave up.”

Owen’s ankle: In Thursday’s first-round game against Weber State, Freddie Owens rolled his right ankle after falling awkwardly after a shot late in the first half. Owens fell instantly to the floor, grimacing in pain.

The trainers came to the junior’s aid, carrying him off the floor and later to the locker room, where they bandaged the ankle. Owens returned to the floor for second-half warm-ups wearing a brace.

Visibly, Owens was athletically limited by the injury, but he was able to drain a key 3-pointer halfway through the second period, ending a Weber State run and pulling the Badgers ahead by 10 points, 57-47.

Owens was rushed back to the team’s hotel following Thursday’s game, where he was treated further for the injury. Owens participated in Friday’s practice at Spokane arena. Both Thursday and Friday nights, Owens slept with his leg elevated in a boot that restricted movement.

After Saturday’s win, Owen said his ankle felt pretty good as of that morning, and that “the swelling was there, but it felt great.” The initial swelling was serious, but Owens credited the success of his recovery to his immediate treatment on the court.

Wade’s emergence: With Owens limited by his ankle injury, Ryan looked to freshman Boo Wade to fill the hole. Wade had played upward of 30 minutes in several games this season when the frontcourt came into some foul trouble. Wade had played admirably, taking good care of the ball but being very hesitant in taking shots.

In his first two NCAA tournament games, the freshman played more than 20 minutes in each. Wade played 25 minutes against Weber State. He scored five points and did not commit a turnover while playing stellar defense against Wildcat star Jermaine Boyette, holding Boyette to 9-21 shooting.

“It was a good matchup for me,” Boyette said of Wade. “He was a real physical player and he wanted to be aggressive … he just did a great job in the first half of containing me.”

Wade became very aggressive Saturday against Tulsa, showing off a newfound ability to drive to the hoop. Wade scored 8 points for the Badgers, 1 point shy of a career high, and again did not commit a single turnover.

“Our guys came off the bench and were ready to jump in,” Ryan said. “Plus, they were paying attention when the game was going on. They were ready to go, and they did a nice job.”