No. 12 James Madison Controls No. 5 Wisconsin 72-61 in NCAA ...

Story Links

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – James Madison built an early double-digit lead and never trailed, repeatedly forcing turnovers and scoring clutch buckets in knocking off Wisconsin 72-61 in the First Round of the 2024 NCAA Championship on Friday night at Barclays Center. JMU, the No. 12 seed in the South Region, improved to 32-3 and advances to face fourth-seeded Duke on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. on CBS. No. 5 Wisconsin, the highest-seeded team ever defeated by JMU in the NCAA Tournament, dropped to 22-14 to conclude its season. The Dukes pressured the Badgers from start to finish, forcing JMU postseason records of 14 steals and 19 opponent turnovers, also a Wisconsin season high for a team that averaged 9.7 all season. JMU posted a 27-10 advantage in points off turnovers. James Madison improved to 5-5 all time in NCAA postseason games, winning in the round of 64 for the first time since 1983. The 11-point margin of victory was the first double-digit win ever by a Sun Belt Conference member since the tournament expanded to 64 teams. It was also the first SBC NCAA win since No. 12 Little Rock topped No. 5 Purdue in 2016. JMU used balancing scoring with four players in double figures in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, led by Terrence Edwards Jr. with 14 points. T.J. Bickerstaff and Julien Wooden each had 12, with Bickerstaff adding nine defensive rebounds, while Bronx native Michael Green III added 11. With the victory, JMU rejoined tournament No. 1 seed UConn with the best winning percentage and most wins in all of Division I. The Dukes improved the nation's longest active winning streak to 14 games, matching their 14-0 start to the season for longest streaks in program history. The last JMU loss came on Jan. 27. Max Klesmit led Wisconsin with 18 points and led the effort to keep the Badgers in it, going 5-for-9 from the arc. AJ Storr tallied 13 points and Steven Crowl contributed 10. HOW IT HAPPENEDFirst Half

• JMU built a 33-20 lead at the half and led by as many as 17 in the opening stanza at 33-16 with 1:07 remaining.
• Noah Friedel opened with a 3-pointer on JMU's first possession as the Dukes vaulted out to a 9-2 early edge, forcing five turnovers.
• James Madison built a lead as large as 13 at 18-5 halfway through the first half at the 10:21 mark on a Wooden made three.
• The Badgers closed to as close as five points at 21-16 on a three-point play with 7:03 remaining in the half.
• That three-point play was the final field goal of the half for Wisconsin, which missed its final nine field goals of the half.
• JMU responded with a 12-0 run to move ahead 33-16 with 55.8 seconds remaining in the half before UW had four free throws in the final minute.
• The Dukes forced 13 Badgers' turnovers, leading 20-4 in points off turnovers in the half and registering 10 steals. Wisconsin entered the game averaging just 9.7 turnovers per game.
• The 20 points for the half were the fewest scored by Wisconsin this season.
• JMU had balanced first-half scoring led by Edwards with eight followed by Bickerstaff and Green with six and Wooden with five.
• JMU held Wisconsin to 26% shooting in the period, including 17% (1-6) on 3-pointers.
• It was JMU's largest lead ever in a NCAA Championship first half as JMU led Florida by four in 1994.

 Second Half

• Wisconsin used a pair of 3-pointers early in the second half to cut within 36-28 in the opening minutes.
• JMU responded with a quick 6-0 burst on a pair of Xavier Brown jumpers and an Edwards layup to not let the Badgers gain momentum.
• Wisconsin chipped away at the JMU lead and cut it to within six at 52-46 before a big Friedel trey in transition put it back to nine points, 55-46, with 7:49 remaining.
• Raekwon Horton was fouled on a 3-point try and converted all three to extend the lead to 63-49 with 5:24 remaining.
• Wisconsin got no closer than nine the rest of the way as JMU converted key opportunities to squash any comeback. A trey at the 4:44 mark made it 63-54 but Green responded with a three and a Bickerstaff putback quickly pushed the advantage back to 68-54.
• Wisconsin did not convert a field goal for a key four-minute stretch from 8:58 to 4:44 remaining before the made three.

 GAME NOTES

• This was JMU's first game in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship 11 years to the day when it played top-seeded Indiana on March 22, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio.
• It was JMU's first NCAA win since the First Four win over LIU-Brooklyn in a 16-seeded matchup in 2013 and first win in the round of 64 since a win over No. 7 seed West Virginia, 57-50, on March 17, 1983 in Greensboro, N.C.
• The 72 points were the most scored by JMU in a NCAA Championship game while the 11-point margin of victory was second, trailing the 68-55 First Four win over LIU-Brooklyn in 2013.
• JMU improved to 27-0 when leading at the half this season while Wisconsin dropped to 1-12 when trailing at the break.
• James Madison earned two ranked wins in the same season for the first time in program history, having opened the season over No. 4 Michigan State to go along with topping AP No. 23 Wisconsin.
• The wins over Michigan State and Wisconsin also upped JMU's mark to 2-0 this season against Big Ten squads. The Dukes also improved to 2-1 all-time against Big Ten teams in the NCAA Championship, falling to Indiana in Dayton in 2013 and topping Ohio State 55-48 in 1982 in Charlotte.
• JMU Head Coach Mark Byington earned his first career NCAA win in his tournament debut.
• The Dukes will face Duke on Sunday for the first time in program history.
• Edwards broke the single-season JMU record for made free throws with 163, topping Steve Stielper with 162 in 1978-79.
• Bickerstaff's nine rebounds moved him into first in season-season program history with 297, topping the 290 by Denzel Bowles in 2010-11.

 POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE