Wildcat Athletics Wildcats Fall to Wisconsin, 66-59

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3.18.2000
Wildcats Fall to Wisconsin, 66-59

Arizona's Luke Walton (4) leans into Wisconsin's Mark Vershaw. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)

Box Score
Post-Game Quotes

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Slowly but surely, Wisconsin lured another speed-loving opponent into playing its deliberate pace.

Freshman Gilbert Arenas led the Wildcats with 21 points and Mark Vershaw scored 15 points as the eighth-seeded Badgers upset No. 1 seed Arizona 66-59 on Saturday to advance to the final 16 for the first time since the NCAA tournament went to its current format.

The Wildcats (27-7) are the first No. 1 seed in two years to lose in the second round, where they hadn't lost since 1990.

The Badgers (20-13) hadn't won a second-round game under the current 64-team format. They were NCAA champions in 1941 when it took just three games to win the title.

Five times Arizona closed within six points in the final 1:51 only to have Wisconsin reserve Maurice Linton answer.

Linton scored nine of his 14 points in the final 2:57, when the Wildcats hit three 3-pointers, but still couldn't overcome after trailing virtually the entire game.

The Wildcats had a 6-4 record when scoring in the 60s this season, but they were limited to 49 percent field-goal shooting against the nation's fourth-best scoring defense.