Wisconsin’s Win No Work of Art

Wisconsin was out of sync and in trouble Friday night against North Carolina State in a Syracuse Regional semifinal.

The Badgers played faster than they preferred and helped the Wolfpack in the process, trailing by nine points at halftime.

Then they reverted to playing Wisconsin basketball.

The Badgers were more deliberate on offense and intensified their efforts on defense in the second half, rallying for a 65-56 victory and a berth in the Elite Eight in front of 30,713 at the Carrier Dome.

Wisconsin plays North Carolina on Sunday in the regional final, with the winner advancing to the Final Four in St. Louis.

The Badgers participated in the 2000 Final Four, and Friday’s second-half surge gave them a shot at another.

“We didn’t say a lot or do anything really big at halftime, we just talked about playing Wisconsin basketball,” Coach Bo Ryan said. “We were playing a little too quick out there ... playing a little too quick in our minds.

“We made better cuts in the second half, and we cut down their penetration to the basket. We found out an awful lot about our young men tonight.”

Sixth-seeded Wisconsin (25-8) outscored 10th-seeded North Carolina State (21-14) by 18 after halftime, executing its disciplined offense more efficiently than it did in the first 20 minutes. Moreover, the Badgers got back to basics on defense -- the biggest key to their success.

“We had a chance to talk among ourselves, just the players, for a little while at halftime, and we knew what we were doing wrong,” said Wisconsin forward Mike Wilkinson, who scored 11 of his 17 points after halftime.

“We were doing too much individual stuff on offense, and we needed to get more aggressive on defense. We saw everything that we were doing wrong, then coach reinforced what we needed to do, so it was a group effort. Everybody did it together.”

Forward Alando Tucker had the biggest role in stirring change.

Tucker scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, including 10 points in a 13-0 run that helped the Badgers take command for good, 47-37, with 8:43 remaining.

“Guys kept reading the offense and making the right passes,” Tucker said. “They saw that I was getting open, so they got me that ball in places I could score.”

Wisconsin went long stretches without scoring in the first half against North Carolina State, which took a 30-21 lead into the break.

The Badgers had only three field goals in the final 15 minutes of the half, shot 38.9% overall and committed 11 turnovers without an assist. They were averaging only 11.2 turnovers beginning play, ranking sixth in the nation, and had reduced that number to 7.4 in their previous five games.

North Carolina State shot only 32.1% in the second half. The Badgers frustrated standout Wolfpack swingman Julius Hodge, who scored 14 points but missed 12 of 16 shots.

“It was a tale of two halves,” Wolfpack Coach Herb Sendek said. “We were much better in the first half than we were in the second half.”

The Badgers committed seven turnovers in the final 20 minutes. They operated more efficiently in their offense, which relies on sharp cuts and screens, and shot 58.3%.

“We kept making the hard cuts and the right reads,” Tucker said. “It kind of started from the start of the second half. We just said that if everybody made the right moves, we could get it going. That’s what we did.”