The Wisconsin Badgers came into Dean E. Smith Center to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in the first round of the March Madness Tournament. The last time they went to the tournament was in 2019, and they were one and done. This time around, it was their opponents who got the short end of the stick.
Wisconsin dominated for the early part of the first half as they went on a 6-0 run. However, North Carolina was not going away without a fight. Almost halfway through the first, they cut their deficit to 2. At the 10:19 mark, a layup by North Carolina’s Day’Ron Sharpe tied the game at 16. They were never able to take the lead, though. Wisconsin was in control from that point on and took an 11 point lead with 3 minutes to play. They were not done adding to their lead just yet. With 26 seconds left, Brad Davidson’s three-pointer sent his team into halftime up 16. It was a 40-24 game at the break.
To begin the second half, North Carolina was trying to chip away at Wisconsin’s lead. They went on a 19-15 run, which cut their deficit to 12. That would be the closest they were able to get. Wisconsin took a 20 point lead with about a minute left. That was their largest lead of the game until Jordan Davis knocked in a three-pointer to put the finishing touches on this one. Wisconsin defeated North Carolina 85-62.
A large part of Wisconsin’s success was their ability to protect the rim from the start. They held North Carolina to just 38% from the field and 38% from behind the arc as well. In total, the team took 13 three-pointers, and only made 5. Also, a contributor to Wisconsin’s success was Davidson. He scored 29 points, tying Frank Kaminsky for 2nd-most by a Wisconsin player in an NCAA game.
This win hands North Carolina coach Roy Williams his first-ever first-round loss. He had a perfect 29-0 win streak in the first round. Williams led the team to NCAA Championships in 2005, 2009, and 2017.
“Someway somehow I have to do a better job at getting the guys to make changes,” Williams said. “29 games and I’m still saying a lot of the same things, so I have to find a better way to make things happen.”
Up Next
Wisconsin will play 1st place Baylor on Sunday, March 21st, time TBD.
