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WASHINGTON -- Bo Ryan had coached in plenty of NCAA
tournament games, winning four Division III national championships
at Wisconsin-Platteville. His first as a Division I coach was
something special.
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In a battle of a No. 8 vs. No. 9, St. John's ran into a brilliantly coached Badger team. Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan -- who should get serious consideration for national Coach of the Year -- had his kids tuned up and ready to perform. Marcus Hatten scored big for the Red Storm, but he had to take many shots to do so.
Along the way, Kirk Penney was his solid self while Freddy Owens and company provided balance. The Badgers scored 80 points for only the fourth time this season -- they typically rely more on their defense. But not on Friday, when they combined a defensive effort with an offensive showing to advance to the second round and send the Red Storm to the sidelines. |
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Using Ryan's trademarks of balanced scoring and taking care of
the basketball, Wisconsin beat St. John's 80-70 Friday night in the
first round of the East Regional.
"It's a great thrill," said the 54-year-old Ryan, the Badgers'
third coach in as many years. "Personally, I've waited a long time
to be in a game like this. I didn't say much about that to the
players, but it sure is fun to be a part of it."
Kirk Penney scored 19 points to lead five Wisconsin players in
double figures as the eighth-seeded Badgers prevailed in a game of
runs.
The Wisconsin players knew what it meant to Ryan, who was the
Big Ten coach of the year as a rookie, and to them.
"It's a big moment for all of us," senior forward Charlie
Wills said. "He doesn't let us know a lot of things going on in
his head and that's what a coach is supposed to do."
Freddie Owens added 18 points for the Badgers (19-12), while
Devin Harris had 14 and Wills and Mike Wilkinson each had 10. The
only other time Wisconsin was a No. 8 seed was in 2000, when the
Badgers reached the Final Four.
The Badgers, one of the Big Ten's four co-champions, came up
with the game's first run, 12-0, to take a 38-28 lead late in the
first half and then answered every one the Red Storm (20-12) could
muster.
Marcus Hatten had 28 points for St. John's on 12-of-33 shooting,
including 3-for-13 from 3-point range, while Anthony Glover added
17 and Donald Emanuel 13. Only three other players scored for the
Red Storm, who lost for the fourth time in six games.
"We seemed to take the first shot we had and that was to their
advantage," Hatten said. "We made runs and then made the same
mental mistakes again."
Glover hit a 3-pointer with less than a second to play in the
first half to make it 38-31 and the Red Storm scored the first four
points of the second half to get within three.
But Wisconsin scored the next eight points to go up 46-35 on a
basket by Owens on a goaltending call with 16:13 to play.
St. John's went to a zone press and flustered the reliable
ball-handling Badgers. The Red Storm went on an 11-2 run to get
within 48-46 on two free throws by Eric King with 12:30 to play.
But then it was Wisconsin's turn as it scored 10 straight points
to take what seemed to be a comfortable 58-48 lead with 8:39 to go.
The Red Storm had one last run in them, and got within 69-64 on
a 3-pointer by Hatten with 2:57 left.
Wisconsin was able to close it out from the free-throw line for
its seventh win in eight games.
"There were times we got away from doing the ordinary things
and then when we did the little things better we went on those
stretches," Ryan said. "As long as I've been coaching I've always
wanted four, five, six guys in double figures. I like coaching
teams that play that way."
The Badgers finished with nine turnovers, four below their
season average and less than half of the 18.9 St. John's forced in
a game this season.
"The key to us not turning it over was our poise," point guard
Travon Davis said. "We stuck to our game plan and never got into a
YMCA game that would have benefitted them more. We kept our poise
and that's the way we like to play."
Hatten, who led the Red Storm in scoring with a 19.9 average
this season, gave credit to the way Wisconsin defended him in the
second half when he was 5-for-19 from the field.
"They didn't try to block my shot they just tried to blur my
vision with a hand in my face," he said. "They did a pretty good
job of that."
St. John's coach Mike Jarvis couldn't praise his junior guard
enough. On Thursday, Hatten attended the funeral of his 91-year-old
grandmother who raised him.
"On a bad night, Marcus Hatten is better than most people. The
kid is incredible," Jarvis said. "In the second half it wasn't
anything Wisconsin did. That was a person carrying 500 pounds of
weight on his back for six months dealing with that and the death
of his grandmother."
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