The Wisconsin Badgers were not the sexiest team in the 2008 NCAA Tournament subregional in Omaha. The top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks — the team which eventually won the 2008 national championship — were there in Nebraska. So were the USC Trojans and Kansas State Wildcats, who boasted two of the flashier and more impressive young players in the United States. Kansas State beat USC in round one, with Michael Beasley outdueling O.J. Mayo. When Kansas State advanced to play Wisconsin in round two, the national buzz flowed not to the third-seeded Badgers, who had won 24 of their last 26 games, but to the 11th-seeded Wildcats, because of Beasley’s electric game.
Wisconsin turned out the lights on the electricity, however, delivering a letter-perfect performance in a 72-55 win over Kansas State. Wisconsin, after two years removed from the party, returned to the Sweet 16, marking Bo Ryan’s third Sweet 16 in a span of six seasons (2003 through 2008).
How complete was Wisconsin’s performance? Start with the job it did on Beasley after halftime. Beasley scored just six points after the break. Wisconsin adjusted after Beasley torched the Badgers with 17 first-half points. Wisconsin wasn’t great on Beasley in all 40 minutes, but it was excellent for 20 of those minutes. UW did, however, demonstrate total control of all 40 minutes in another aspect of play: 3-point defense. Kansa State went 0 for 13 on threes, the first time in 349 games the Wildcats had failed to make a three. Wisconsin’s win was built primarily on the strength of its active perimeter movement, which suffocated Kansas State at every turn.
On offense, Greg Stiemsma had a career-high 14 points… and yet he was far from the main story for the Badgers. Michael Flowers had a quietly productive 15 points, and Trevon Hughes had a star turn with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 4 of 9 on 3-pointers.
“Today, this felt good, the ball in my hand,” Hughes said. “Any given day I feel like anybody on this team could go out there and score 20 points.”
Hughes’ heroics plus dynamic 3-point defense and a strong second-half response to Michael Beasley all did the job for Wisconsin, solidifying the Badgers’ status as a Sweet 16 program in the upper tier of national college basketball.