MILWAUKEE, WI – For over 30 minutes, the Richmond Spiders
had the Wisconsin Badgers right where they wanted them: trailing.
The eleventh seeded Spiders led the sixth seeded Badgers by as many
as 13 before faltering under the weight of a second half surge and
falling 76-64 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“We’re not 13 points better than
anybody in the country,” Richmond head coach Jerry Wainwright
said. “So, I thought the game would come back to us. I really
thought what happened is we got off to such a great start in the
second half we got away from our game plan.”

Six minutes and 16 seconds into the second
half, the Spiders grabbed their largest lead of the game at 42-29.
Then the Wisconsin run began. Mike Wilkinson knocked down a jump
hook and a straight-away three-pointer to cut the deficit to eight.
After Richmond’s Tony Dobbins answered back with a turnaround
jumper, UW’s Ray Nixon and Devin Harris hit back-to-back deep
balls.

For Harris, the three-point field goal was his
first basket of the game. Thanks to Dobbins’ stingy defense
and a pair of first half fouls, Harris was held scoreless on 0-3
shooting in the game’s first 20 minutes, which ended with
Richmond leading 32-25.

“That was a tremendous job by Richmond
with their game plan,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said.
“We were a little tentative, I think that was obvious. We
were trying to get them to show us what they were doing rather than
us making them defend what we think we can do. In the second half,
we made them react to what has gotten us to where we are and that
was the difference. Anyone watching our game would know that. I was
proud of our guys; they caught themselves with 20 minutes to
go.”

Harris’s first basket helped ignite a
26-6 Wisconsin run that saw the Badgers blow past the shell-shocked
Spiders. At the 8:01 mark, Clayton Hanson’s three from the
corner gave Wisconsin its first lead since the midway point of the
first stanza, and a Wilkinson three less than one minute later gave
UW a 52-50 advantage that they would never relinquish.

“I think we just picked up our intensity
and really clamped down on the defensive end and not allow them to
get good looks,” said UW forward Zach Morley, who pulled down
nine rebounds.

With a stunned Richmond squad out off its
feet, Wisconsin delivered the knockout punch by scoring on their
next nine possessions and finishing the contest in convincing
fashion.

“I think we got them on their heels a
little bit,” Morley said. “We weren’t slowing
down, we kept pushing it and stayed aggressive and forced them to
make decisions.”

Wisconsin also got a boost from the swarms of
red throughout the Bradley Center.

“A tremendous job by the fans,”
Harris said. “They carried us through that run that they made
right in the beginning of the half. We started making our run and
they just helped us through it all the way. I’m just glad
that we came here because I don’t think we could have done it
anywhere else.”

After a slow start, Harris ended the game with
11 points and six assists.

“I just tried to stay aggressive, and
once we got that transition game going it opened up a lot of
stuff,” Harris said.

With Harris struggling in the first half, it
was Milwaukee native Boo Wade who kept the Badgers afloat. Wade
tallied 12 of his 16 points in the first half. He sank six of nine
field goal attempts for the game.

“For me to play here in Milwaukee and to
hit my career high at a time like this—the Big Dance, it was
a great thing,” Wade said.

Wilkinson led all scorers with 18 points and
added five rebounds to the UW cause. Freddie Owens also finished in
double figures with 10 points.

Richmond was led by Jamal Scott and Mike
Skrocki, who each tallied 12 points. For Skrocki, the game was his
last in a Spiders uniform.

“I know we’re disappointed that
the season is over right now, but at the same time things are just
beginning for this school,” Skrocki said. “I’m
just happy that I can be a part of that process with Coach
Wainwright.”

Wisconsin advances to face Pittsburgh
Sunday.