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WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Maybe Wisconsin should have complained about its seed. Kirk Penney scored 19 points as the eighth-seeded Badgers posted an 80-70 victory over St. John's in a first-round East Region matchup. Wisconsin (19-12) finished in a four-way tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference. But the Badgers received the lowest seed of those teams and were forced into playing in a dreaded 8-9 game with the winner facing top-seeded Maryland. Freshman Devin Harris capped a 12-0 run with a jumper for a 38-28 lead with 14 seconds left in the first half. The Red Storm's Anthony Glover drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to seven at intermission. St. John's (20-11) made several runs in the second half but was denied each time. The Red Storm failed to get any offense from anyone other than Marcus Hatten, who made 12-of-33 shots for 28 points. "On a bad night, Marcus Hatten is better than most people," St. John's coach Mike Jarvis said. "For him to do what he did tonight was incredible. Marcus attempted to do what most people wouldn't even attempt to do tonight." The Badgers had little trouble with the pressure defense of St. John's as they moved the ball around and got quality shots. Freddie Owens came off the bench for 18 points and Harris finished with 14 for Wisconsin, which has flourished despite playing under its third coach in as many years. "Personally I've waited a long time for a game like this," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "Couldn't say much about that for the players, but it sure is fun to be a part of it. Being a part of the NCAA Tournament is extremely gratifying to be a part of it, and it's a lot better when you get a W. I just thank the team for letting me be a part of it." Ryan was coaching in the Division I NCAA Tournament for the first time and has won over 400 games in his career, mostly at the Division III level. Wisconsin also took advantage of the Red Storm's tendency to foul, converting 29-of-40 from the line. Penney and Owens each were 6-of-8. Hatten gave Wisconsin trouble early as the game was tied at 24-24. But Owens was sent out in the second half to try to at least make Hatten work for his points. Hatten made just 3-of-13 from beyond the arc. "He's a great player, first of all," Owens said. "I take my hat off to him. He hit some really tough shots. In the first half, we tried to keep our hands up, whoever was guarding him, because he shoots it well. In the second half, our main focus was to come out and keep one hand in his face." Freshman Eric King's two free throws pulled St. John's within 48-46 with 12:30 remaining. A 3-pointer by Penney triggered a 10-2 spurt and the Red Storm never got closer than five the rest of the way. Glover scored 17 points and Donald Emanuel added 13 for the Red Storm, who shot 43 percent (24-of-56). The Storm fell to 4-3 in the NCAA Tournament under Jarvis. "We weren't as disciplined as we should be with our offense," Hatten said. "We made a couple of runs in the end, but then we made mental mistakes over again." St. John's played without starting shooting guard Willie Shaw, who was left home for disciplinary reasons after reportedly clashing with Jarvis. |
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