The Wisconsin Badgers’ journey to the 2000 Final Four — 20 years ago — ended with a regional final win over Purdue, but it began with a first-round victory over Fresno State in Salt Lake City. Wisconsin scored its more memorable wins in the 2000 NCAA Tournament against other opponents, but the road had to start against Fresno State in an 8-9 game which did not receive huge national attention. The Badgers would earn that attention later, but they first had to make their way past their opponent from the Western Athletic Conference.
This victory for Wisconsin was built on the strength of tenacious defense and supreme effort. Wisconsin forced 17 turnovers from Fresno State and committed only eight. The Badgers collected 16 offensive rebounds and conceded only three. Wisconsin was therefore plus-22 in these two categories. The Badgers essentially gained 22 additional possessions with their defense and their work on the offensive glass.
Wisconsin hardly shot the cover off the ball. The Badgers finished this game just under 40 percent from the field. They made only one more field goal attempt than Fresno State, 25-24. What mattered was that Wisconsin earned 15 more field goal attempts, 63-48. That increased volume of field goal attempts enabled UW to load up on 3-point attempts, with 29 to just 14 for Fresno State. Wisconsin used that disparity in 3-point attempts (17 more) to hit six more threes, 12 to 6.
That was the difference in a 66-56 triumph… and within that collection of 12 threes, one Badger brought his shooting touch: Jon Bryant.
Of the 12 threes Wisconsin hit, Bryant went nuts at just the right time. He picked the NCAA Tournament as the occasion to hit 7 of 11 3-pointers, en route to 21 points, leading all scorers. It has to be said that Andy Kowske hit 7 of 9 2-point field goals to finish with 14 points, but if Bryant had not hit so many threes, it would not have been as easy for Kowske to operate closer to the basket. Bryant gave Dick Bennett’s team the shot in the arm it needed to begin its path to a Cinderella Final Four.
More will be written on the 2000 Badgers as the month of March continues, but we will present the subsequent rounds when this month arrives at their respective dates on the calendar. A look at UW’s second-round game from the 2000 NCAA Tournament will be posted on Saturday, when the 2020 NCAA Tournament would have arrived at its second-round games.