• GAZLO
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES
• BUSINESSES

Badgers headed to Sweet 16

OMAHA, Neb. — The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team mixed in some finesse with its usual toughness, and now the Badgers are headed to the Midwest Regional semifinals.

Trevon Hughes matched his career high with 25 points, and third-seeded Wisconsin shut down Kansas State freshman star Michael Beasley in the second half of a 72-55 victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament here Saturday.

Beasley scored 23 points in what might be his last college game, but he had only six after halftime.

The third-seeded Badgers (31-4), who set a school record for wins in a season, play Georgetown or Davidson in the round of 16 next Friday in Detroit. Wisconsin heads to the Motor City with 12 straight wins and 25 victories in the last 27 games.

Hughes, who had eight points in a 71-56 first-round win over Cal State Fullerton, scored in double figures for the first time in seven games and had his biggest output since scoring 25 in the season opener against IPFW.

Hughes scored eight points in a 13-2 run over the first and second halves to break open the game, and hit four of the Badgers’ nine 3-pointers.

Beasley, just 2-for-6 in the second half, hugged teammates and coaches when he left the game for the last time with 53.9 seconds left. Many expect him to declare for the NBA draft – and be one of the first players taken.

Fellow freshman Bill Walker scored 18 points for the Wildcats (21-12), who were 0-for-13 from 3-point range.

Michael Flowers had 15 points, and Greg Stiemsma 14 for the Badgers, who are in the regional semifinals for the first time since 2005.

No. 11 seed Kansas State beat sixth-seeded USC, 80-67, on Thursday, but the Wildcats couldn’t handle the burly Badgers.

To be sure, between running into screens and running into big bodies underneath the basket, the Wildcats will feel this game in the morning. No one came out bruised more than Beasley’s right-hand man, Walker.

Walker wasn’t much of a factor in the first half after scoring 22 points against USC on Thursday. But he was the best thing going for the Wildcats after half, when he scored 10 of his 18 points.

After Walker put back a miss, he and Brian Butch locked up underneath, with Butch giving him a left elbow and Walker hitting the floor. Both were assessed technical fouls.

Later, Walker got dinged in the nose by Stiemsma while trying for a rebound under the K-State basket.

Then there was Jacob Pullen landing flat on his back after running into Stiemsma.

For all the hard knocks, it was from the perimeter that Wisconsin’s “swing” offense did much of its damage.

Flowers made three of the Badgers’ seven first-half three-pointers. Jason Bohannon’s three-pointer broke a 10-10 tie, and back-to-back three-pointers by Flowers put Wisconsin up 32-20.

A Beasley dunk got the Wildcats back within 36-33, but the Badgers got another three from Flowers to lead 39-33 at halftime.

Wisconsin’s nation-leading defense guarded Beasley by committee, with Marcus Landry, Stiemsma, Butch and Joe Krabbenhoft taking turns against him.

Beasley opened the game with a fancy fall-away jumper in the lane, and he easily glided around Stiemsma for a smooth finger-roll basket. But Beasley missed a couple easy ones, and each time he yelled at himself and clapped his hands in frustration on his way back to play defense.