Wisconsin

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The last time it had taken the court, Wisconsin made a terrible mess of the statistics sheet, shooting 25.9 percent in losing to Illinois on Sunday in the Big Ten Conference tournament final. That had some observers predicting a rapid exit from the NCAA tournament, but the Badgers responded with a dramatically different performance last night in their first-round Syracuse Regional game against Northern Iowa at the Ford Center. No. 6 seed Wisconsin made plenty of shots, several of the biggest ones from beyond the three-point arc, in surviving a stiff challenge from the No. 11 seed to win, 57-52.

SPRING GREEN, Wis. - Let the rest of the world have its seared Ahi tuna or grilled sea bass, its sushi and sashimi. If it's Friday in Wisconsin, there's only one way to have your fish and eat it, too - fried. The Friday fish fry is a tradition in the state where everyone seems to celebrate the end of the work week by heading to a favorite restaurant, tavern, church hall or VFW lodge for a platter of fish - most often battered and deep-fried. "Like lemmings to the sea," Jeff Hagen jokes on a recent Friday night as he enjoys the fish fry at the Post House, a restaurant in the quiet downtown of this southwest Wisconsin community.

Even if Wisconsin finishes the regular season unbeaten, it seems doubtful that the Badgers can hope for anything more than an invitation to the Rose Bowl. Not only would top-ranked Southern California and No. 2 Oklahoma both have to lose - given their recent struggles, neither is guaranteed to run the table - but Wisconsin would also need to get some help from Auburn. At 9-0, the Badgers are right up there with the Tigers as the country's surprise teams this season, but Wisconsin went into last week fifth in the Bowl Championship Series and in the Associated Press poll to find itself behind California in both.

WASHINGTON - In a matchup between need and luxury, luxury won out last night as Wisconsin's balance played a major role in its 80-70 win in a first-round NCAA tournament East Regional game at MCI Center. Need was St. John's reliance on Baltimore native and leading scorer Marcus Hatten, who scored 28 points on the day after his grandmother's funeral, but made only five of 19 shots in the second half. Save for a short spurt by Anthony Glover, no one responded for the Red Storm (20-12). Luxury is knowing that if one player gets cold, others can emerge.

MINNEAPOLIS -- It seemed that every seat was filled by someone wearing red, rooting for Wisconsin in its bid to upset top-seeded Kentucky in last night's NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal. Unfortunately for the fifth-seeded Badgers, having a big home-court advantage in the stands is not the same thing as having a big man on the court as the Wildcats had in Marquis Estill. Estill, a low-profile member of the Kentucky cast, scored a career-high 28 points during a 63-57 victory as the Wildcats advanced past the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1998, when they won the national championship.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - North Carolina has a big three, so it's going to the Final Four. It took them three years, but the junior class of point guard Raymond Felton, wing Rashad McCants and center Sean May fulfilled the goal of returning the Tar Heels to college basketball's biggest stage. They combined for 67 points and North Carolina's last 12 in a sharp 88-82 victory over Wisconsin in the Syracuse Regional final yesterday. "One of the greatest feelings as a coach is the look on your guys' face when they accomplish something, especially when it was difficult," said Roy Williams, who is headed to his third Final Four in four years but the first as head coach at his alma mater.

RICE LAKE, Wis. - When they leave next week, headed to training in Mississippi and then, almost surely, to a posting in Iraq, the men who make up this town's National Guard unit will cross a daunting historical marker: Their light-infantry battalion is expected to be the first combat Guard unit from Wisconsin deployed overseas since World War II. U.S. military leaders have called the soldiers fighting now in Iraq "the next greatest generation," summoning...

MADISON, Wis. - When it was all over, after Wisconsin repelled his team's final comeback attempt, Maryland junior point guard John Gilchrist fell to the floor, his head resting against the Kohl Center court as one of the toughest nights of his college career came to an end. The picture symbolized the Terps' frustration. On a night where Gilchrist shot 2-for-14 and Maryland struggled to combat both Wisconsin's home-court advantage and Badgers sophomore forward Alando Tucker, the 12th-ranked Terps still had a chance at the end, but ultimately fell to No. 25 Wisconsin, 69-64, before a sellout crowd of 17,142 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

MILWAUKEE - They were the pollsters' worst nightmare - and possibly President Bush's, too. Crowds of college students, many of whom registered on Election Day under Wisconsin's relatively permissive voting laws, stampeded to the polls yesterday, in defiance of conventional political wisdom. Political professionals traditionally have scoffed at the power of the youth vote because whatever their numbers, people ages 18 to 24 have had a spotty record of actually going to the polls. But if Wisconsin is any indicator, campaign experts might have to think again.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Michigan State and Wisconsin may both reside in the Big Ten, but Morris Peterson proved why the Spartans are a little out of the Badgers' league. Michigan State's soft-spoken leading scorer amplified his game in the second half, scoring 13 points in an 18-5 run to open the period as the Spartans wrestled out a 53-41 victory over Wisconsin last night. Peterson finished with 20 points and revved up the sellout RCA Dome crowd of 43,116 by carrying Michigan State (31-7) to its first national championship game since 1979 and its fourth win over Wisconsin this season.