Wisconsin routs UNC, Williams falls to 29-1 in NCAA openers

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — North Carolina coach Roy Williams lost his first opening-round NCAA Tournament game in 30 tries as ninth-seeded Wisconsin blew out his eighth-seeded Tar Heels 85-62 on Friday night.

Brad Davison scored 29 points for the Badgers, who negated North Carolina’s size advantage by draining 13 of 27 3-pointers. The Badgers (18-12) had lost four of five entering the tournament.

Davison made 5 of 7 3-pointers and 10 of 15 shots overall. D’Mitrik Trice scored 21 points for Wisconsin, which advanced to play the South Region’s top seed, Baylor, on Sunday.

Although Williams had won all 14 of his first-round games with Kansas and his first 15 with UNC, the loss by this uneven Tar Heels team was hardly a shock. North Carolina came in on a three-game winning streak but did not win four in a row all season and had just one victory over a ranked opponent — beating then-No. 22 Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Armando Bacot scored 15 points for North Carolina (18-11).