Yahoo Finance March Madness: Wisconsin snaps Roy Williams' 29-0 unbeaten streak in first round
Entering Friday, North Carolina head coach Roy Williams held a 29-0 record in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Wisconsin basketball held a 4-42 record at Mackey Arena, the site of the Badgers' first-round matchup against Williams' Tar Heels.
Lies, damned lies and statistics.
Improbability became emphatic reality in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Friday, as the ninth-seeded Badgers blew out North Carolina 85-62 to snap Williams' unbeaten streak, which went back to his first March Madness in 1990 at Kansas.
A popular pick on many brackets to upset No. 1 seed Baylor in the next round, North Carolina was outdone by the game of Brad Davison's life. The Wisconsin senior scored a season-high 29 points, shooting 5-of-7 from 3-point range. They were not easy 3-pointers:
BRAD DAVISON LIGHTING IT UP FROM DEEP 🎯@BadgerMBB | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/FJEjxo7a8u
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 20, 2021
On offense, North Carolina's formidable frontcourt struggled against the Badgers' big man duo of Micah Potter and Nathan Reuvers in the first half. Armando Bacot woke up early in the second half, but not enough to overcome another offensive onslaught from Davison and D'Mitrik Trice, who finished with 21 points.
The game was one-sided enough that the Tar Heels' 16-point halftime deficit was the program's worst since their 2008 Final Four beatdown at the hands of Kansas. UNC's loss also continued a brutal year for blue bloods, as shown by this fun fact:
This is the first time the Men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 won't feature either UNC, Duke or Kentucky since 1979 😳 pic.twitter.com/RPsSQIL5bW
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 20, 2021
Wisconsin will now advance to the second round, where No. 1 seed Baylor awaits. The 18-12 Badgers have been a maddeningly inconsistent team throughout the season, but an upset isn't out of the question if they keep playing like this.
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