Episode Details

Mark Vershaw | Wisconsin Badgers | Creating a Tradition | Constant Underdogs

Published 4 years, 6 months ago

In March 2000, the eighth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers rushed through the West Regional, defeating Arizona, LSU, and Purdue to claim the Badgers first Final Four appearance in more than 59 years.
Though the Badgers Cinderella run ended with Final Four loss in Indianapolis to Big Ten foe and eventual national champ Michigan State, that Wisconsin squad helped elevate the Badgers, long a middling Big Ten program, into a March Madness regular..
Wisconsin would make the Big Dance every year over the next 17 seasons, including two additional Final Four runs under Bo Ryan.
Today, we’re going to discuss that memorable Badgers run with the team’s leading scorer, 6-9 forward Mark Vershaw, and seek to understand how an 8-8 Big Ten team, one that never cracked the AP Top 25, one that didn’t feature a single all-conference selection – not even an honorable mention nod – defied the odds and captured a spot in the Final Four.

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