So much for the Belmont upset special ...
Wisconsin, throttled in its last two outings and disappointing in recent NCAA tournament play, rolled past Belmont Thursday, 72-58, to advance in the Southeast Regional.
After scoring just 33 points on 15-for-51 shooting (3 of 21, beyond the arc) last week in a Big Ten tournament loss to Penn State, the Badgers shot 50 percent from the field (20 of 40) and hit 12 of 22 three-pointers, five of which came from junior point guard Jordan Taylor.
Senior forward Jon Leuer scored 22 points, with 17 coming in the second half as Wisconsin turned a seven-point lead to a comfortable victory.
The two losses led many to believe that the Badgers (24-8), seeded fourth in the Southeast Regional, were ripe for the picking by the 13th-seeded Bruins, who finished the regular season 30-4 and atop the national rankings in several key categories.
Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, however, had no concern that his team would be ready to play Thursday.
"I never stopped believing in the team," Ryan said. "There was never any doubts there."
Getting out of the first round hasn't been a problem for Wisconsin which has won its opening tournament game nine of the last 10 years. The problem, though has come in the second (now third) round, when lower-seeded teams have found ways to pull off the upset.
No. 5 Kansas State, which beat No. 12 Utah State Thursday, awaits the Badgers Saturday.
"We can't really change the way we play," Badgers head coach Bo Ryan said. "Coaches would always like a little more time to prepare for a team. So we got to see in the second round here if we can get the guys to understand in a short period of time what it is that our next opponent likes to do."
Busted brackets: Kudos if you had Morehead State upsetting Louisville in the second round. If you didn't, your bracket might not be completely decimated -- even if you had the Cardinals making a deep run. A lot of people picked Louisville, too, so you're all in the same boat. Thus, your bracket survives another day.
Different look: The four-network broadcast arrangement took a little getting used to, especially for the casual fan used to turning on the television and letting it sit on CBS for the day. In the old days, Greg Gumbel would have interrupted whatever game you were watching to take you live to the final moments of Butler's last-second victory over Old Dominion or Louisville's stunning tournament exit. The new setup, though, is nice, especially when your favorite team is playing since interruptions are minimal.
Executive decision: For those who keep track of such things, President Obama is down on Sweet 16 team, having picked Louisville to advance. He did, however, correctly predict Richmond to upset Vanderbilt. Through one day, the Bracketologist in Chief has just two wrong.
Tournament scores and schedule
Thursday
Second Round
East Regional
No. 4 Kentucky 59, No. 13 Princeton 57
No. 5 West Virginia 84, No. 12 Clemson 76
West Regional
No. 2 San Diego State 68, No. 15 Northern Colorado 50
No. 3 Connecticut 81, No. 14 Bucknell 52
No. 6 Cincinnati 78, No. 11 Missouri 63
No. 7 Temple 66, No. 10 Penn State 64
Southeast Regional
No. 1 Pittsburgh 74, No. 16 UNC-Asheville 51
No. 2 Florida 79, No. 15 UC-Santa Barbara 51
No. 3 BYU 74, No. 14 Wofford 66
No. 4 Wisconsin 72, No. 13 Belmont 58
No. 5 Kansas State 73, No. 12 Utah State 68
No. 7 UCLA 78, No. 10 Michigan State 76
No. 8 Butler 60, No. 9 Old Dominion 58
No. 11 Gonzaga 86, No. 6 St. John's 71
Southwest Regional
No. 12 Richmond 69, No. 5 Vanderbilt 66
No. 13 Morehead State 62, No. 4 Louisville 61
Friday
Second Round
(All times Central)
East Regional
No. 8 George Mason vs. No. 9 Villanova, 1:10 p.m. (TNT)
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 16 UT-San Antonio, 3:30 p.m. (TNT)
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 15 Long Island, 6:15 p.m. (CBS)
No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 11 Marquette, 6:27 p.m. (truTV)
No. 7 Washington vs. No. 10 Georgia, 8:45 p.m. (CBS)
No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 14 Indiana State, 8:57 p.m. (truTV)
West Regional
No. 4 Texas vs. No. 13 Oakland, 11:15 a.m. (CBS)
No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Tennessee, 11:40 a.m. (truTV)
No. 5 Arizona vs. No. 12 Memphis, 1:45 p.m. (CBS)
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Hampton, 2:10 p.m. (TNT)
Southwest Regional
No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 15 Akron, 12:40 p.m. (TBS)
No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Florida State, 3:10 p.m. (TBS)
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Boston University, 5:50 p.m. (TBS)
No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 14 St. Peter's, 6:20 p.m. (TNT)
No. 8 UNLV vs. No. 9 Illinois, 8:20 p.m. (TBS)
No. 6 Georgetown vs. No. 11 VCU, 8:50 p.m. (TNT)
