March 12, 2005

CHICAGO - There is no better time than March for a college basketball player to get hot. That was exactly the case for several players in Saturday's (March 12) semifinal match-up between the University of Wisconsin and the University of Iowa.
 
For the Badger's their may be no one playing better basketball at the moment than Zach Morley and Alando Tucker. A senior, Morley was instrumental in the Badger's quarterfinal victory over Ohio State on Friday (March 12). In the contest the Maryville, Missouri native tallied a game-high 23 points along with seven rebounds to power UW to a 60-49 win over OSU. Tucker scored 12 points and seven  rebounds in the game to help his team advance.

"Today I was fortunate enough to knock down some shots," Morley said. "With Mike Wilkinson in foul trouble we knew we had to pick up our game. Everyone picked up their energy."

In Saturday's quarterfinal game Morley continued to shoot with a hot-hand. Coming off the bench, the 6'8" forward scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds to make-up for the absence of Mike Wilkinson who was in foul trouble throughout the game. Tucker scored a game-high 20 points including the game winning three to propel Wisconsin into the tournament finals.

The Hawkeyes have some hot-handed players in presence of forwards Adam Haluska and Greg Brunner. In the Hawkeyes first round victory over Purdue, Haluska poured in 17 points along with six rebounds and five assists while Brunner scored nine points and pulled down nine rebounds. In Iowa's quarterfinal nail-biting win over Michigan State the pair was also productive. Haluska added 10 points and five rebounds before fouling out while Brunner tied for the team high with 17 points and pulled in seven rebounds. In Saturday's quarterfinal game versus the Badger's Haluska and Brunner were two of the Hawkeyes top three scorers with 10 and 18 points respectively.

With 27 seconds remaining in regulation the Hawkeyes - down 56-54 - had the ball and decided to hold for a last-second shot attempt. As the last seconds ticked off the clock Haluska was open in the corner and took a potential game-winning three. The ball bounced off the rim and was rebounded and put back in by Brunner to tie the game up at 56 with less than three seconds remaining.

However, just when it had appeared that Iowa's dynamic duo of the tournament had brought the Hawkeyes back, it was another player who had the shot of his life. Morley inbounded the ball to Tucker who took the ball and dribbled the length of the court and hoisted up a desperation-three that banked in for the game winner to send Wisconsin to the Big Ten tournament finals. While Tucker may not have had the best conference tournament to that point, it was certainly a display of getting hot when it mattered most.
 
"We practice situations like that all the time to prepare," Tucker said. "With 3.8 seconds, coach always said, you have three legitimate dribbles and a chance to shoot, or tow dribbles and a pass. I tried to jump and draw a foul. Morley made a great pass, and I created a shot."
 
Haluska and Brunner will try to stay hot if Iowa receives an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament while Tucker and Morley will both need to carry-over their good play into Sunday's (March 13) finale versus top seeded Illinois. Tip-off for the contest is set for 2:30 p.m. central time at the United Center in Chicago with the Big Ten's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament on the line.