The 2005 Wisconsin Badgers reached the Elite Eight, marking the first time Bo Ryan led a UW team that deep into the NCAA Tournament. It would take nine years for Wisconsin to return to the Elite Eight, but the 2005 team put down a marker which increased expectations within the program and moved the Badgers forward.
That journey began in Oklahoma City in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. The opponent for UW was Northern Iowa. The Panthers are currently coached by Ben Jacobson. Back then, Jacobson was an assistant coach for UNI… and the 2005 team was led by a separate man named Ben Jacobson, a player with no relation to the coach.
Ben Jacobson the player was a formidable scorer for Northern Iowa, making the Panthers a tough No. 11 seed which figured to give the sixth-seeded Badgers a battle.
That’s exactly what happened.
Wisconsin led by 16 at one point in the game, but Northern Iowa pulled within three points, at 53-50, late in regulation. The Badgers needed someone to step up. Kammron Taylor answered the call.
On a night when Alando Tucker scored nine fewer points (6) than his season average (15), and Mike Wilkinson scored seven fewer points (7) than his season average (14), Wisconsin needed a pick-me-up from a surprising source, the kind of unexpected gem which forms a deep run in March Madness.
Taylor was that man, scoring 16 of Wisconsin’s 57 points in a five-point rock-fight victory, 57-52. Taylor hit four free throws in the final minute to make sure UNI could not complete its valiant comeback.
Sharif Chambliss helped Taylor and the Badgers by scoring 15 points, but Taylor’s burst off the bench — he scored his 16 points in just 20 minutes — was the true revelation and salvation for Wisconsin, whose win didn’t point to a long NCAA Tournament run… until third-seeded Kansas lost to Bucknell, opening up the bracket for the Badgers and giving them the path they needed.