Wisconsin Bank Shot Tops Iowa at the Buzzer

CHICAGO —  Everybody seemed to want to ask Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker the same thing after his leaping, leaning, falling-down three-pointer at the buzzer beat Iowa in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament Saturday.

“Did you call bank on that?”

As the celebration of Wisconsin’s 59-56 victory subsided, even Coach Bo Ryan chimed in with the question.

“I said after it went in I called backboard,” said Tucker, who took a long inbounds pass from Zach Morley from the other end with 3.7 seconds left, drove toward the basket and stepped back to launch a 22-footer to avoid overtime as an Iowa defender tried desperately to stop him.

“We practice situations like that all the time to prepare for situations like this,” said Tucker, who ended up watching the shot bank in off the backboard from his backside.

“With three seconds, Coach says you have three legitimate dribbles and a chance to shoot it.... I just tried to take long deliberate strides. Then I tried to jump in and draw a foul.”

He made the shot instead, and a quick conference of the officials decided he got it off in time, sending Wisconsin (22-7) into the Big Ten tournament final against Illinois (31-1) today in the United Center.

Wisconsin already was a solid choice for an NCAA tournament at-large bid, but Iowa must wait until today’s NCAA selection show to learn its fate.

The Hawkeyes (21-11) defeated Louisville and Texas early in the season but in February dismissed leading scorer Pierre Pierce, who is awaiting trial on burglary and assault charges after allegedly attacking an ex-girlfriend in her home. Iowa finished 7-9 in the Big Ten but has won five of its last six games overall.

“We didn’t have a key injury. We had a key departure,” Coach Steve Alford said. “In a lot of ways, we’ve gotten better. Our turnovers are down, our scoring percentage is up, and our defense has been consistent.

“When you’re an at-large selection, you’re at the mercy of the selection committee.... When you take into consideration the whole package, I definitely think we’re one of the 64 best teams and I think we’re a dangerous team.”

Wisconsin held off Iowa despite leading scorer Mike Wilkinson’s foul trouble.

Limited to 24 minutes because of four fouls, Wilkinson went back in with 2:30 minutes left and scored two key baskets, including an 18-foot baseline jumper for a two-point lead with 33 seconds left after a trapped Tucker found him with a wraparound bounce pass.

On the other end, Iowa tied the score with 3.7 seconds left when Greg Brunner -- who led Iowa with 18 points and seven rebounds -- tipped in a missed jumper, setting up the final desperate shot by Tucker, who led the Badgers with 20 points.

“It was one of those games you hate to see somebody lose,” Alford said. “Obviously, it hurts losing on a bank fade ‘three’ at the buzzer.”