– North Carolina coach Roy Williams lost his first opening-round NCAA Tournament game in 30 tries as ninth-seeded Wisconsin blew out his eighth-seeded Tar Heels 85-62 on Friday night. “I thought (Wisconsin) played very well and Roy Williams didn’t coach very well,” Williams said. Brad Davison scored 29 points and D’Mitrik Trice added 21 points for Wisconsin. “Obviously, our league has been phenomenal and it was such a grind to go through, specifically the schedule we had down the stretch,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. North Carolina never won more than three straight games all season.

Iowa center Luka Garza reacts after making a basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wisconsin, Sunday, March 7, 2021, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)IOWA CITY, Iowa – Luka Garza scored 21 points and had 16 rebounds as No. It was the 12th double-double of the season for Garza, who leads the Big Ten in scoring and is third in the nation. Micah Potter shot 9 for 12 and scored 23 points for Wisconsin (16-11, 10-10), which has lost five of six. Iowa: Big Ten tournament quarterfinals at Indianapolis on Friday.

Michigan's Franz Wagner had 10 of his 14 points in the second half. But the Badgers shot 7 of 28 in the second half and missed their last 11 3-point attempts. “What we did in the first half is what we wanted to do in the second half,” Ford said. Michigan beat Wisconsin 77-54 on Jan. 12 and became the first team to sweep a regular-season series from the Badgers since 2017-18, when Michigan State and Nebraska both did it. AdWisconsin: The Badgers needed more from their starting five, who combined to score 10 points and shoot 2 of 16 in the second half.

The missed wide-open slam aside, Harrar did plenty otherwise to help Penn State snap a decade-long skid against Wisconsin with an 81-71 win over the No. “I think he just has great confidence now, and he should,” Penn State interim coach Jim Ferry said. Penn State built on it with free throws in the waning seconds. The Nittany Lions scored 15 points off 12 Wisconsin turnovers and finished with 17 fastbreak points. UP NEXTWisconsin hosts Penn State on Tuesday.

Eric Ayala scored 17 points, while Aaron Wiggins added 15 points and nine rebounds as Maryland beat No. Maryland outscored Wisconsin 38-20 in the paint, limiting the Badgers’ post team of Nate Reuvers and Micah Potter to just 12 points on 6-of-18 shooting. Maryland responded down the stretch to each run the Badgers made trying to take back the lead. Wisconsin: The Badgers dropped 85 points in Michigan State three days earlier. Wisconsin: The Badgers host Minnesota on Thursday.

Trice scored a season-high 29 points, lifting No. Wisconsin scored 14 of the last 21 points over the final 4:03 to turn a closely contested game into a lopsided result. The Spartans turned over the ball 14 times and Wisconsin scored 24 points off those giveaways. SCORING NOTESWisconsin had its highest total against Michigan State since 1994 and scored more than any other game at Michigan State since an 86-82 win in 1976. “They will be a top-five team all season," Izzo said.

Micah Potter scored 20 points and Aleem Ford added 12 to lead the Badgers an 85-48 non-conference victory over short-handed No. Louisville (4-1), playing its first road game, originally had been scheduled to play at Wisconsin on Dec. 9. Trevor Anderson added 11 points and Brad Davison 10 for Wisconsin (6-1), which rolled to a 44-18 halftime lead. “Obviously really pleased with the way we played,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. Wisconsin finished the half 10 of 17 beyond the arc, including three each by Trice and Davison.