Terps Go to Flex Offense

The pass never had a chance. Wisconsin’s Kirk Penney realized that as soon as the ball left his hands. Wisconsin was setting up its offense 30 feet from the basket when Penney tried to lob the ball cross-court to a teammate on the left wing.

It was one of those moments Juan Dixon anticipates better than any other guard in college basketball. The Maryland All-American thrives on being the first in the arena to notice an opportunity. Dixon left his man, intercepted the pass in full stride and raced to the basket for an uncontested layup.

It was vintage Dixon on a day when top-seeded Maryland (28-4) flexed its muscles for the entire NCAA tournament to see. Before an appreciative crowd of 18,789 at the MCI Center Sunday, Dixon scored 29 points to become Maryland’s all-time leading scorer and led the Terps to an 87-57 victory over No. 8 Wisconsin (19-13).

Dixon’s steal and layup came in the middle of a 22-5 Maryland run that opened the second half and propelled the Terps into the East Regional semifinals. The Terps, two wins away from consecutive Final Four appearances, play Kentucky Friday in Syracuse. Connecticut meets Southern Illinois in the other semifinal.

Dixon made it known he has no intention of slowing down until he has a national championship ring.

“It’s a great accomplishment, especially in my situation,” Dixon said of moving past Len Bias into the top spot on the Maryland scoring list with 2,172 career points.

“A lot of people wondered who would be Maryland’s two guard after Steve Francis left. Coach [Gary Williams] gave me a great opportunity.”

Maryland, which got big contributions from Chris Wilcox (18 points) and Lonny Baxter (16 points, four blocks), turned a 38-30 halftime lead into a 60-35 bulge with that run in the first eight minutes of the second half. Forward Byron Mouton sparked Maryland’s defense by holding Penney, the Badgers’ leading scorer, to nine points and just seven shots.

Forward Charlie Wills (17 points) led Wisconsin, which was held to 35% shooting and turned the ball over 14 times. Maryland finished with its largest margin of victory in NCAA play.

“Whenever you smell blood, it just comes in bunches,” Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan said of Maryland’s defense. “It’s just an emotional thing that takes its toll. It was very difficult for us to get re-energized after their big explosion.”

Dixon had 12 of the 22 points in that explosion.

Earlier, with 4:03 left in the first half, he hit a three-pointer that pushed him past Bias, who scored 2,149 points from 1983-86.