Wisconsin-Milwaukee upsets Oklahoma in first round, 82-74

The Horizon League champions pulled off their third shocker in two years.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Wisconsin-Milwaukee wavered, but never cracked. The Panthers almost never do at this time of the year.
Once again showing why they've stopped surprising themselves in the NCAA tournament, the Horizon League champions pulled off their third upset in two years by eliminating No. 6 seed Oklahoma 82-74 in the Minneapolis Regional Thursday.
Boo Davis scored 26 points and Joah Tucker had 24 for Milwaukee (22-8), which blew a 10-point lead only to rebuild it to double-digits again and hold off the favored Sooners to advance to a second-round matchup against No. 3 seed Florida.
Five fifth-year seniors
"That's where experience comes in," said Tucker, one of five fifth-year seniors who start for Milwaukee.
"You know there's going to be runs in the game. You've got to find a way to stop the runs. We had to find ways to get baskets and get to the free-throw line. But the most important thing is that we stayed poised."
Tucker, one of the stars in Milwaukee's stunning run to the round of 16 last season, scored nine during a 23-7 surge that carried the Panthers to a 60-46 lead with just over seven minutes to go.
The closest Oklahoma (20-9) got the rest of the way was six. Terrell Everett led them with 21 points on 10-for-20 shooting, but most of his production came after it was too late.
"It was hard to play catch-up," Everett said. "They made their free throws. They did everything right to win the game."
Four starters remained from the team that upset Alabama and Boston College before losing to eventual national finalist Illinois in last year's tournament. But Milwaukee got it done this time without former coach Bruce Pearl, now at Tennessee.
First-year coach Rob Jeter instituted the necessary changes to begin putting his signature on the team, but was also careful to listen and find a way to coexist with the team's veteran leadership.
Been around the block
"You have a group of freshman, you can just tell them what to do," Jeter said. "With seniors who have been around the block, of course they are going to see how far they can go. But with this team, it's all in fun."
The Sooners played the last three minutes of the first half without Kevin Bookout, who walked off clutching his already taped left wrist after getting tangled with a Milwaukee player and tumbling to the floor.
The Oklahoma forward returned for the start of the second half with his wrist taped even more heavily and finished with 14 points. David Godbold had 15 points and leading scorer Taj Gray had 13 before fouling out in the closing minutes.
Michael Neal, another key to Oklahoma's offense, played with a sore foot and was limited to three points on 1-of-8 shooting.