March 17, 2002

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By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer

WASHINGTON - Juan Dixon stepped into the Maryland record book, and the top-seeded Terrapins methodically marched into the NCAA tournament's final 16 for the sixth time in nine years.

Dixon scored 29 points to break two school scoring records, leading Maryland past eighth-seeded Wisconsin 87-57 Sunday in the second round of the East Regional.

Chris Wilcox had 18 points for Maryland (28-4), which will next face fourth-seeded Kentucky on Friday in Syracuse. The Terrapins, who have won 15 of 16 since Jan. 17, matched the 1998-99 team for most wins in a season and set a school mark for margin of victory in an NCAA tournament game.

Dixon, a senior guard, broke Len Bias' team record for career points and also eclipsed Bias' mark for career points in the NCAA tournament. Dixon has 2,172 points overall and 197 in his four trips to the tourney.

Dixon was 10-for-19 from the field, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range, and 5-of-6 on free throws - a suitable encore to his 29-point performance against Siena in the tournament opener.

Wisconsin (19-13), which tied for the Big Ten regular-season title, closed its first season under coach Bo Ryan by losing two of three. The Badgers were seeking to duplicate their tournament run of two years ago, when they advanced to the Final Four after defeating No. 1-seeded Arizona in the second round.

Charlie Wills scored 17 points for Wisconsin, which absorbed its worst beating in 18 NCAA tournament games.

The Badgers had no answers for Dixon or a defense that caused them to miss 28 of their first 40 shots while Maryland built a 60-35 lead.

Up 38-30 at halftime, the Terrapins opened the second half with a 22-5 run to thrill the sellout crowd at the MCI Center, which was filled predominantly with Terrapins fans.

Dixon scored 15 points in the run, including a pair of 3-pointers and a layup off a steal.

The game was tied five times in the opening 13 minutes before Maryland used its inside-outside attack to take control.

After Lonny Baxter and Wilcox scored in the lane to make it 23-all, Drew Nicholas and Steve Blake hit successive 3-pointers to put Maryland ahead for good.

Wills stopped the 10-point run with a layup before Dixon topped Bias' record with a 3-pointer for a 32-25 lead. Minutes later, Dixon hit a jumper and added two free throws to cap a 19-5 spree and put the Terrapins up by 10.