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

Upset ends run for UW seniors

Photo

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan looks on late in a 73-56 loss to Davidson in an NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal basketball game Friday in Detroit.

DETROIT — Just like that, with a surprise blowout at the hands of Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats, the University of Wisconsin basketball careers have ended for four seniors.

“We’re all hurting right now a little bit,” senior center Brian Butch said after Friday night’s 73-56 loss in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals. “We’ve had a chance to talk and just say thanks for all the great memories that we’ve had.”

Indeed, as hard as it may be for Butch, center Greg Stiemsma, and guards Michael Flowers and Tanner Bronson to appreciate right now, there have been a ton of positive memories.

The four leave UW as the winningest class in school history with 105 victories. They also were part of two Sweet 16 teams, including the 2004-05 Badgers, who went to the Elite Eight.

“They’re all great players,” junior forward Marcus Landry said. “I’ll remember Mike’s great defense, Greg’s energy off the bench, the way Brian shoots, Tanner just being a great guy to be around (and) just the drive that he had. I’ll take a lot from those guys.”

These Badgers were arguably an even better team than last year’s edition—the one that reached the No. 1 ranking for a week—and became the first Wisconsin team ever to win both the conference’s regular-season and tournament championships.

“Right now, yeah,” Butch said when asked if those Big Ten titles are a distant memory.

And sophomore guard Jason Bohannon was among those who appreciated the seniors’ efforts in making remarkable things happen.

“They meant a lot to us,’’ he said. “They brought a lot to this program and tried to take us to another level, and did a great job doing so.”

Walking wounded

Despite a significant size advantage, the Badgers were the team battered and bruised throughout Friday’s game.

Flowers leaped for an inbounds pass in the second half and came down hard on his right shoulder. He needed a few moments to get up and shake off the pain.

Butch got poked in the eye in the first half, and after the game was seen in the locker room with blood streaming down from his right knee.

But the biggest dent to Wisconsin’s roster came early in the game, when sophomore point guard Trevon Hughes injured his right foot. Hughes was limited to just 12 minutes, forcing backup guard Bohannon to play 34 minutes.

“Unfortunately for our guys, our last game was played without one of the key parts,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said.

But the Badgers shrugged off any notion that UW missed a beat without Hughes, pointing to past victories at Texas and against Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament.

“It’s always a good thing to have him out on the court,” Landry said. “We’ve seen him go down before, so it was nothing different.”

One-liners

Most of the attention was on Davidson’s dynamic guard duo of Curry and Jason Richards, but the rest of the Wildcats stepped up early, making of seven of nine shots in the first half to contribute 17 points and keep Davidson in the game with a 36-36 halftime tie.

Four Badgers scored double figures, but nobody scored more than Flowers’ 12 points and only two other UW players scored at all. Landry had seven points—he never got to double digits in three NCAA games—and Hughes did not score Friday.

Wisconsin finishes its season at 31-5, the best record in school history.