UWM whips Butler, gains automatic NCAA bid

FLAMES AWAIT LIKELY CALL FROM NIT

(3/11/03)

Wisconsin-Milwaukee senior forward Clay Tucker wouldn’t let this final opportunity for an NCAA tournament slip and a Horizon League title through his fingers.

Tucker and the Panthers survived a major scare from UIC in last Saturday’s semifinals and took it to Butler immediately in Tuesday night’s championship game at U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee.

Tucker scored a game-high 23 points with 18 coming in the first half as the Panthers opened the game with a 14-0 burst as Wisconsin-Milwaukee (24-7) defeated Butler 69-52 and advanced to its first NCAA tournament bid.

“We wanted to jump on them, throw the first punch and never let them back up,” Tucker said. “And that’s just what we did.”

The victory gave the Panthers revenge for a 76-74 loss on a buzzer-beating loss to Butler March 1 on Avery Sheets’ three-point shot.

Milwaukee’s press rattled Butler most of the night, forcing 19 turnovers, and helped to put Butler squarely on the bubble.

“I think at first the pace was so frenetic that it took them out of the rest of the game,” UWM coach Bruce Pearl said.

Butler (25-5), which had the exact same record after losing in last year’s Horizon League tournament, was not selected for an at-large bid last year and will have to wait until “Selection Sunday” to learn its fate.

“I really hope this isn’t it,” said Butler center Joel Cornette, who had 10 points. “I hope people take note of what we’ve done and put us in the dance.”

The Panthers jumped out to a 21-4 lead and were ahead by as many as 22 points in the first half.

Ronnie Jones added 16 points Nate Mielke contributed nine points for UWM, while Darnell Archey led the Bulldogs with 14 points.

FLAMES HOPE FOR NIT: UIC, with a 21-8 record, will have to wait until all the NCAA tournament bids are announced Sunday night to find when and if it will play in the National Invitation Tournament.

Early indications have the Flames playing DePaul in a first-round game at the Allstate Arena early next week, but Valparaiso also became a possible opponent after falling to IUPUI 66-64 in the Mid-Continent Conference championship game.

The Flames, while playing in two NCAA tournaments, have never played in the NIT. The closest UIC came was 1994 and 1995 when the Flames won 20 and 18 games, respectively, but were snubbed.