James Madison didn’t care.
The No. 12 seeded Dukes didn’t care that Wisconsin was a No. 5 seed.
I didn’t care about the Badgers’ pedigree in the NCAA Tournament.
Certainly, on paper, he didn’t mind being an underdog.
They haven’t lost since January 27th.
And in their hearts they were favorites.
James Madison came out swinging and punched Wisconsin in the mouth from the opening whistle, but the Badgers could barely mount a counter punch.
The Dukes showed no respect for the far superior Badgers, fearlessly chasing every dribble and shot, en route to a 72-61 first-round victory Friday night at Barclays Center.
They never trailed and kept Wisconsin in trouble.
This was James Madison’s first main field win in the NCAA Tournament since 1983 (they won a First Four game in 2013).
After the Blue Devils defeated the University of Vermont, the Dukes will next face No. 4 Duke in the second round on Sunday.
James Madison’s defense immediately shocked the Badgers, forcing 19 turnovers, a whopping 13 of them in the first half.
The Sun Belt champion, who entered with a 31-3 record and a 13-game winning streak (the longest current winning streak in the country), was picked by 45.7 percent of the bracket and pulled off the first-round upset. According to NCAA.comand became the second-favorite double-digit seed in the field to reach the Sweet 16.
Dukes forward TJ Bickerstaff, nephew of Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff, said it was a “really good” matchup for his team.
Obviously, he knew something.
For the Dukes, Terrence Edwards Jr. led the way with 14 points and had a solid scoring performance.
Bickerstaff and Julian’s wood chipped 12 pieces each.
St. John’s transfer AJ Storr, the Badgers’ leading scorer of the year, had a nightmare performance in what could have been his final collegiate game, scoring 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting and 4 turnovers. It ended in
It wasn’t until 11 minutes into the game that the Badgers scored their 10th point, ultimately scoring more points than turnovers.
James Madison enjoyed a 28-10 advantage in points from turnovers.
James Madison led 26-0 at halftime, but certainly wasn’t going to blow Friday’s 13-point lead at the break.
Wisconsin was stuck in traffic from Manhattan to Brooklyn on Thursday, delaying practice and media availability.
A day later, the Badgers offense faltered.
Maybe it would have been better if the bus had never arrived.
James Madison drove the Badgers back to Wisconsin.
