By Dani Templin
Sports Editor
Many brackets were ruined after the 5th-seeded Wisconsin Badgers (23-12) loss to 12th-seeded Mississippi (27-8) on Friday, Mar. 22, 57-46, in the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
The Badgers could not get much going offensively, shooting a season low 25.4 percent from the field. Besides an extremely low shooting percentage, the Badgers also turned the ball over 11 times, which is three more than their season average of eight. Going into halftime, Wisconsin had a 25-22 lead.
However, their offensive shooting struggles carried over to their 3-point field goal attempts as well. Wisconsin, typically known for their power game inside, shot 23.3 percent on 7 for 30 shooting.
Scoring droughts have plagued the Badgers all season. The Badgers only scored one field goal in the last 6:52 of the game. Freshman guard Sam Dekker led the way for Wisconsin with 14 points and three rebounds.
Besides their offensive struggles, Wisconsin’s defense broke down multiple times in the second half, especially in the critical last three minutes of the game. They held Old Miss stand-out guard Marshall Henderson to just 1 for 11 scoring in the first half, allowing two points total. In the second half, that was not the case.
Henderson went on in the second half to go 5 for 10, including three key 3-pointers in the second half: one with under three minutes left in the game, which extended the Mississippi lead to six. Henderson led the Rebels with a game high 19 points.
The win for the Old Miss Rebels was their first NCAA tournament win since 2002. The upset loss for the Badgers marks their first loss in six straight first-game NCAA tounament victories. Old Miss moved onto the round of 32 to play 13th-seeded La Salle on Sunday, Mar. 24.
