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Badgers make history: Wisconsin’s win over North Carolina handed Roy Williams first-ever loss in Round of 64

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Wisconsin is going down in the record books. Well, at least in Roy Williams’ personal record book.

Not only did the Badgers register an 85-62 blowout victory over North Carolina in Round 1 on Friday, they handed the longtime college basketball head coach his first-ever loss in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament. Williams’ previous record at Kansas and North Carolina was 29-0 in first round games.

That’s not the case any longer. Brad Davison scored 29 and D’Mitrik Trice added 21 as Wisconsin cruised to the 23-point win at Mackey Arena on Friday. The Badgers were also the only B1G team to win a game at the home of Purdue, with Michigan State and Ohio State both losing their first game of the tournament.

Wisconsin entered the NCAA Tournament having lost 5 of its last 7 games and didn’t own a win over any of the B1G’s Top 5 teams in the standings (Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Purdue and Ohio State). The Badgers were 0-9 and nobody gave Greg Gard’s squad much of a chance in March Madness.

But there’s new life for Wisconsin following the blowout win. Now, the Badgers will take on top-seeded Baylor on Sunday with a trip to the Sweet 16 at stake.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB