The Wisconsin Badgers executed their game plan to near-perfection for the first 39 minutes of Thursday night’s showdown with the No. 1-seeded Kentucky Wildcats.

They slowed down the tempo of the game, keeping the score under 60 points for the better part of the night; they avoided serious foul trouble which allowed them to keep their starters on the floor most of the game; and they were able to utilize their speed around the perimeter to create an array of open jump shots that kept it a two-possession contest throughout the entire second half.

They accepted the fact that the inside-force of Marquis Estill would pick apart their thin frontcourt and orchestrated a defense that would make someone else on the Wildcat roster be the difference in the game.

And for an undermanned, undersized team given absolutely no chance by anyone of knocking off the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, the Badgers, 11-point underdogs heading into the game, kept the 28,168 fans in attendance on the edge of their seats the entire night.

There was senior Kirk Penney, playing his final game in a Badger uniform, who exploded for 17 first-half points, connecting on 4-of-6 three-pointers while answering every Wildcat attempt to blow the game open in the first 20 minutes of play.

Then there was Devin Harris, who, despite picking up three early fouls, physically and emotionally kept the Badgers in the game during the second half as he fearlessly pierced the Kentucky defense for acrobatic layups late in the game and constantly flailed his arms in the air to encourage the Wisconsin-dominated crowd to drown out the cheers of the meager Kentucky fan base in attendance.

Mike Wilkinson, assigned the arduous task of defending Estill for the better part of the game, played 35 minutes of smash-mouth basketball in the paint and scored six points in the first three minutes of the second half, erasing the Badgers’ halftime deficit before Kentucky could break open the game.

Dave Mader, Wisconsin’s only player taller than 6-foot-8 and playing with a broken hand, provided the Badgers with a source of fouls to use underneath the hoop and gave Wilkinson short periods of rest between his bouts with Estill on the court.

And then there was the atmosphere in the Metrodome, completely laden in cardinal and white, with Wisconsin fans on their feet for the majority of the second half. Nearly willing the Badgers to the improbable upset, Wisconsin, Marquette and Minnesota fans in attendance poured their hearts and souls out to the UW players on the court; exhausting every last ounce of their energy until the final horn sounded.

But in the end, it simply wasn’t enough. Wisconsin was unable to overcome the talented and experienced Wildcats, surrendering a 63-57 loss in its second Sweet 16 performance in the last four years.

Trailing by just three points in the final minute of play, the Badgers finally fell apart. It’s hard to blame them, however — they had just traded punches with the best team in the land for 39 minutes.

They’re only human; they can be given some latitude despite how inopportune and unfortunate their collapse happened to be.

The Wildcats aren’t the No. 1 team in the country by chance. They’ve proven they’re the best in the nation since last December, which was when they lost their last game.

And while no one in the post-game locker room would admit being satisfied with just keeping within striking distance of the high-powered Wildcats, the Badgers have nothing to hang their heads about as they depart the Twin Cities.

They left it all on the court. Every last ounce of effort and every last breath of oxygen. A team with only one senior and a team with only one player taller than 6-foot-8. Not only did this underclassman-dominated team garner outright ownership of the Big Ten title, it outwitted its critics by making it to the Sweet 16 and proved most people wrong by pushing the Wildcats to their limits in Thursday night’s contest.

And with the core of the team returning for next year, last night’s Sweet 16 appearance was just another step for a program not far from a legitimate chance at the Final Four.

And the fact that this year’s squad came so close to taking that next step speaks volumes about the 2002-03 Wisconsin Badgers.