Milwaukee's best
It's last call for BC as Panthers brew up an upset
CLEVELAND -- The disparity in seedings and conference affiliations were evident. In one corner, you had the fourth-seeded Boston College Eagles of the mighty Big East Conference. In the other, you had the 12th-seeded University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers of the hardscrabble Horizon League.
On paper, this second-round matchup of the NCAA Tournament's Chicago Regional didn't appear to be much of a fight, especially when the Eagles streaked to an 11-0 lead with all of BC's starters scoring a basket. But it mattered little to the pesky Panthers. They simply hitched up their drawers, laced up their sneakers, and polished up their knuckles.
Never backing down once against their bigger and stronger opponents, the Panthers struck yet another blow for the low-to-mid-majors of the world by knocking BC out of the tournament with an 83-75 triumph before 13,332 at the Wolstein Center. The Atlantic Coast Conference-bound Eagles (25-5) not only were bounced by a lower seed, but were subjected to a chorus of chants of "Over-rated! Over-rated!" and "ACC! ACC! ACC!" from West Virginia's student band.
What a way to go.
Was it an upset, though? Certainly, anyone could conclude that Milwaukee's milestone triumph -- which propelled the Panthers (26-5) to their first Sweet 16 appearance opposite No. 1 seed Illinois, a 71-59 winner yesterday over ninth-seeded Nevada -- ranked as such. But, somehow, it differed from the David-vs.-Goliath stonings No. 13 Vermont put on No. 4 Syracuse and No. 14 Bucknell put on No. 3 Kansas Friday night. And so No. 12 Milwaukee over No. 4 BC may not have qualified as the biggest upset of this upset-filled tournament, just the biggest of the day.
"Absolutely," gushed Panthers coach Bruce Pearl, a 1982 BC grad who sent his alma mater's team back to Chestnut Hill smarting from its fifth second-round exit in its last six NCAA appearances. "Boston College might have been the best team in the country. They were 20-0 at one point and there was a time when they were the best team in the country. I think it was an upset. The Horizon League playing the Big East. We were not afraid and we never doubted for a second that we could win if we played well."
If the Panthers stood any chance against the forces of nature patrolling BC's paint -- namely bruising junior forward Craig Smith (25 points on 11-for-19 shooting, and five rebounds) and scrappy sophomore Jared Dudley (22 points, including a career-high 18 of 21 free throws) -- it was apparent they were going to have to knuckle up and put the Eagles through the same unrelenting full-court pressure they subjected No. 5 Alabama in Thursday's 83-73 first-round triumph.
"Everybody tries to bring it to us every game," said Smith. "Since we climbed in the rankings, everybody has been gunning for us. They came at us just like every other team."
Led by Joah Tucker (23 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds) and Ed McCants (18 points, 3 steals), Milwaukee turned up the withering defensive heat and forced the Eagles into 16 first-half turnovers (8 steals), leading to 23 points. The Panthers' press gave new meaning to March Madness. It was so suffocating that BC struggled to inbound the ball, committing five straight turnovers that led to five straight Milwaukee baskets.
"It's clear in the first half our ballhandling wasn't what it needed to be, and that gave them a lift," said BC coach Al Skinner, whose team committed 22 turnovers overall that led to 28 Milwaukee points. "It gave them a lot of confidence in what they were doing. In the second half, we did a much better job handling the basketball. We tied the game up and even went up a point."
But, it seemed, the Panthers always had an answer.
In the first half, BC erased a 30-23 deficit by going on an 11-3 run -- sparked by six consecutive foul shots by Dudley -- to take a 34-33 lead. But, after Boo Davis hit a pair of foul shots to make it 35-34, the Panthers got back-to-back 3-pointers from Mark Pancratz and Adrian Tigert (7 of 7, 16 points) to take a 41-37 lead at halftime.
Then, in the second half, James Wright seemed to send a message the Panthers were not going to back down when he was whistled for an intentional foul against BC senior center Nate Doornekamp, who tumbled to the ground after an apparent low blow. Later, in BC's locker room, Doornekamp admitted Wright did not hit him that hard.
"I think they stayed aggressive," Skinner said. "We made mistakes defensively and they took advantage of it. They pushed the ball up the court every time we scored and, for whatever reason, we got out of position and gave up some easy baskets."
Trailing, 67-66, the Eagles went to Smith in the paint and fought back to twice lead by 1 (73-72 and 75-74), but became unraveled in the final 1:32 when Wright went to the line for a pair of foul shots that gave the Panthers a 76-75 lead. On BC's ensuing possession, Doornekamp allowed Louis Hinnant's pass to squirt through his hands and out of bounds.
"For us to turn the ball over that late in the game was a tremendous mistake," Skinner said.
It led to another when Tucker drove the lane hard, inducing Smith to gamble on a steal, and made a crisp feed to Tigert for an easy basket that, for all intents and purposes, sewed up Milwaukee's Sweet 16 berth. BC, meanwhile, was sent home to stew on another NCAA opportunity lost.
"I think it was an upset, but I thought we were going to win the ballgame," Dudley said. "We were a 4 seed playing whatever seed they were. There were high hopes and expectations for us to move on, but we didn't." 