Before Dick Bennett, before Bo Ryan, before the Final Fours and top-four Big Ten finishes, before the golden age of Wisconsin basketball truly began, there was the 1994 season which marked the very beginning of a program’s escape from the college hoops wilderness.
Wisconsin had not appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 1947. The Badgers endured a lot of mediocre football in the next 47 years, but the basketball program was far worse by comparison. Not once from 1948 through 1993 did the Badgers reach the NCAA Tournament. Before Wisconsin could ever dream of becoming annually and nationally relevant in college basketball, it had to first end the long drought and park itself in the Big Dance.
That occurred in 1994 under Stu Jackson, before his move to the NBA in numerous capacities. Jackson didn’t stick around long enough to do what Bennett, Ryan, and Greg Gard have managed to achieve — making Wisconsin an NCAA Tournament machine which cranks out Big Dance appearances on a relentless annual basis — but he will always be remembered as the coach who brought the basketball program’s long dry spell to an end.
Wisconsin’s first NCAA Tournament game since 1947 was played on March 17, 1994 in Ogden, Utah. The Badgers were assigned to the West Region as the No. 9 seed. Their opponent was the No. 8 seed, the Cincinnati Bearcats, coached by Bob Huggins. Back then, Huggy Bear wore suits and ties, not the track suits he dons for West Virginia today. The Bearcats were two years removed from a Final Four appearance in 1992, one year removed from an Elite Eight in 1993. The central engine of those two Cincinnati teams was Nick Van Exel. He went to the pros before the 1994 season began, leaving UC with some members of the supporting cast Van Exel had in previous years. This team was good enough to make the NCAAs, but it was nowhere near the caliber of the 1992 team (a No. 4 seed) or the 1993 team (a No. 2 seed).
Nevertheless, Cincinnati had NCAA Tournament experience. The Badgers did not.
Wisconsin didn’t really care.
Michael Finley and Rashard Griffith both scored 22 points for the Badgers. Moreover, they scored their points efficiently: a combined 12 of 22 from the field, 4 of 8 on 3-pointers (all Finley), and 16 of 19 at the free throw line (Griffith going 12 of 14). Wisconsin got 34 points on 2-point shots, 24 on 3-pointers, and 22 more points at the foul line, developing a balanced offense Cincinnati couldn’t consistently stop. The Bearcats went on a 17-5 run midway through the second half to briefly take a lead with nearly 10 minutes left in the game. However, Wisconsin scored 26 points in those final 10 minutes to notch an enormously satisfying — and profoundly historic — victory.
The program hasn’t looked back since.