National Basketball Association
Wisconsin 66, Xavier 63
When: 8:40 PM ET, Sunday, March 20, 2016
Where: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Officials:
# Mike Eades, # Tony Greene, # Bryan Kersey
Attendance:
15169
By The Sports Xchange
ST. LOUIS -- Bronson Koenig shot Wisconsin into the Sweet 16 and Xavier into an early offseason.
After tying the game on a 3-pointer with 11.7 seconds left, Koenig swished a fall-away 3-pointer from in front of the Badgers' bench Sunday night as time expired to give Wisconsin a 66-63 win at Scottrade Center and a berth in the East Region semifinals.
The second-seeded Musketeers (28-6) lost the ball on their final possession when freshman guard Edmond Sumner was called for charging with 4.3 seconds left. Wisconsin inbounded to Koenig, who dribbled to midcourt and called timeout with two seconds remaining.
Out of the timeout, Koenig took the pass and dribbled into the right corner, rising for a 22-footer from the corner that never touched the rim. After a short review, the shot was ruled good and the Badgers celebrated.
Koenig bagged a game-high 20 points for Wisconsin, which plays No. 6 Notre Dame on Friday night in Philadelphia. Forwards Ethan Happ and Vitto Brown added 18 and 12 points, respectively, for the Badgers (22-12).
Forward Jalen Reynolds and guard Remy Abell each tallied 13 points for Xavier, while Sumner finished with 11. All of Reynolds' points came after halftime.
It was billed as a clash of styles, and in the first half's first half, Wisconsin's patience was superior to Xavier's fast-paced system.
The Badgers established a 17-6 lead when Koenig drilled consecutive 3-pointers over the Musketeers' 1-3-1 zone, forcing Xavier coach Chris Mack to burn a timeout.
At that point, the Musketeers found traction offensively, reeling in Wisconsin and then taking their first lead of the night when Abell sank a 3-pointer to make it 27-25.
Two foul shots by Sumner with 18 seconds left in the half enabled Xavier to lug a 33-30 lead into the locker room.
NOTES: Wisconsin's 47-43 win Friday against Pittsburgh in the first round was its 14th NCAA Tournament win since 2011, trailing only Kentucky (20) and Louisville (15). ... A Xavier win would have enabled G Remy Abell to play in four straight Sweet 16s. He was part of Indiana teams to reach that level in 2012 and 2013 before transferring following his sophomore season. ... The Musketeers fell to 26-1 when leading at halftime and shooting at least 40 percent from the field. They hit 40.7 percent of their shots Sunday, while the Badgers made 42.4 percent from the floor.
Top Game Performances
Wisconsin |
|
Xavier |
Bronson Koenig 20 |
Scoring |
Remy Abell 13 |
Nigel Hayes 3 |
Assists |
Edmond Sumner 5 |
Nigel Hayes 8 |
Rebounds |
Jalen Reynolds 9 |
Ethan Happ 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Remy Abell 5 |
Ethan Happ 1 |
Steals |
Remy Abell 2 |
Khalil Iverson 3 |
Blocks |
James Farr 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Wisconsin
|
66 |
42.4 |
8-27 |
8-13 |
12 |
37 |
6 |
3 |
12 |
Xavier
|
63 |
40.7 |
5-16 |
14-21 |
10 |
32 |
1 |
8 |
8 |