Mar 18, 2007, 22:00 GMT
Chicago, IL - Wendell White scored 22 points as UNLV stunned Wisconsin, 74-68, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the United Center.
Kevin Kruger added 16 points and a couple of huge three pointers in the second half for the seventh-seeded 'Runnin Rebels (30-6), who were coming off their first NCAA Tournament win since 1991, a 67-63 first round win over Georgia Tech.
UNLV will now move on to face Midwest Region third-seed Oregon in the Sweet 16 on Friday in St. Louis.
Kammron Taylor poured in 24 points for the second-seeded Badgers (30-6), who ended their season with a school record 30 wins. Alando Tucker finished with 17 points and Michael Flowers had nine in the loss.
The Badgers played poorly in the first half for the second consecutive game. Wisconsin trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half of their first round meeting with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before pulling out the 76-63 victory against a program that has been playing basketball for less than a decade.
Today, Wisconsin trailed by as many as 13 in the opening half and entered the final frame down by a dozen points. But, they slowly chipped away and evened things at 46 when Jason Bohannon got loose for a layup with 10:44 left.
Wisconsin kept the pressure on from there and less than three minutes later, Greg Stiemsma converted a three-point play to put the Badgers on top, 53-48.
The Rebels refused to let Wisconsin runaway, however. A jumper by White stemmed the momentum and Kruger followed with a three to deadlock things at 53 with about 7 1/2 minutes to go.
A little over two minutes later, Kruger drained another bomb and UNLV was back in control 59-54.
Wisconsin continued to struggle on the offensive end and showed its frustration on the defensive side. Taylor was whistled for an awful foul when Kruger was attempting yet another three. The sharp-shooting guard then went to the line and drained all three from the stripe to give the Rebels a 64-56 advantage with only 3:06 left.
UNLV remained in control as the game headed toward the stretch. Taylor converted a three-point play with about a minute left to make it a one- possession game, 70-67, and give Wisconsin hope.
But, Curtis Terry answered with a mid-range jumper in the lane with about 30 seconds left and UNLV hung on for the win.
UNLV took control of things with a 10-0 burst late in the first half. Michael Umeh's lay-in capped the run and gave the Rebels a 29-16 edge with 5:55 remaining before intermission.
The 'Runnin Rebels managed to hold most of that lead until the half and took a 39-27 advantage into the locker room. White paced UNLV at the break with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, while Tucker had 11 for Wisconsin.
Game Notes
The Rebels are now 32-13 in the tournament all-time...Wisconsin fell to 17-12 in the tournament all-time.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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