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MILWAUKEE -- A sea of fans wearing Wisconsin red roared after every stop and every score, growing more exuberant as the Badgers NCAA opener became a historic rout. Sean Poppen Twins Jersey . Playing the first two tournament games close to home was a goal all year, and Wisconsin players fed off the energy to extinguish any upset hopes of 15th-seeded American. Ben Brust scored 17 points and the No. 2 seed devastated the Eagles with a 22-5 run to close the first half in a 75-35 victory Thursday in Milwaukee, barely 90 minutes from their campus in Madison. No. 2 seed Wisconsin (27-7) recovered from a brief first-half rut as the Eagles (20-13), champions of the Patriot League, built a seven-point lead with their Princeton-style offence. "It was good to get the building loud," Brust said. "I said, Hey, theyre up. We better wake up." Trailing 17-10 about midway through the first half, the Badgers took away the backdoor cuts, forced turnovers and otherwise flustered American into 4-of-26 shooting over the final 29 minutes. One field-goal drought lasted nearly 14 minutes. "Thats pretty crazy," guard Josh Gasser said. "That must mean you did something well." The Eagles dont encounter the type of execution and athleticism displayed by Wisconsin in the Patriot League. "Theyre a No. 2 seed for a reason," coach Mike Brennan said. After Wisconsin was ousted in the first round last year as a fifth seed, Brust made sure his senior season didnt end the same way. He attacked the glass for buckets on back-to-back possessions, ending with a 3-point play to give Wisconsin a 23-20 lead. The rout was on. The Badgers hit 57 per cent of their shots in the second half on the way to their largest margin of victory in the schools 44 NCAA post-season games. John Schoof and Tony Wroblicky each had 11 points for American. "We were excited. We were playing well. We were making them take tough shots," said Wroblicky. "We were scoring, then we kind of hit a rut." Schoof hit two early 3s and Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Tony Wroblicky proved to be handful on the offensive end to help the Eagles build a surprising lead. But this year, offence isnt as much of a problem for the Badgers, even with leading scorer Frank Kaminsky on the bench with foul trouble at the end of the first half. Anyone on the floor can score. On Thursday, it was Brust. After hitting two 3s earlier in the half, Brust drove the lane and pumped his fist after getting a bucket and drawing a foul. Traevon Jackson later added a 3. Gasser posted up and got fouled, walking away with an angry look before returning to the line to hit two foul shots. By then it was 28-22 Wisconsin, and Jackson raised his arms to implore the crowd to get loud. It was basically over. American opened the second half shooting 1 of 11, and coach Bo Ryan started going to his backups with 5 minutes left and the Badgers up 38. The reserves didnt waste what might be their only chance in the tourney floor time. "Right away, when a couple guys took shots, they knew right were the camera was," Ryan joked. Jackson finished with a game-high 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Sam Dekker finished with 11. Florida Gulf Coasts NCAA tournament run last year as a No. 15 seed has given all underdogs hope. And for a while in the first half, American was on a similar roll. But Ryan was confident his team could handle the Princeton offence, a scheme the Badgers had faced successfully when playing Northwestern in recent years under Bill Carmody. Ryan said he was even awoken by a few nightmares last night of his team getting beat on backdoor cuts. They figured it out and earned another game in friendly surroundings. "We couldnt score," Brennan said. "They stopped us stone cold." Mitch Garver Twins Jersey . Keenum will make his first appearance in a regular-season game against the rugged defence of the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, where the fans just set a Guinness record as the noisiest outdoor stadium in the world. Luis Arraez Twins Jersey . For the first time all night, as the Raptors were on the clock to make the 20th overall selection, no one had the slightest idea what was about to happen. No leaks, no whispers, nothing. https://www.cheaptwins.com/ . The Marlies surrendered two power-play goals and failed to score on six man-advantage opportunities en route to a 4-1 defeat in American Hockey League action on Saturday.Its been over two weeks since the Toronto Maple Leafs last picked up a point, dropping the club from contender in the Atlantic Division to the outside of the current wild card race. With their chances at a second straight playoff berth quickly disappearing, the Leafs look to snap a six-game losing streak on Friday night when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers. You can listen to the game live tonight on TSN Radio 1050 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. The Maple Leafs held a three-point edge for second place in their division following a victory over the Los Angeles Kings on March 13, but have failed to notch a victory since. The clubs current 0-6-0 drought has knocked it out of the playoff picture as Toronto is one of four clubs tied for the two wild card spots with 80 points. However, Toronto has the fewest games remaining on its schedule with just eight, while the Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings have nine games remaining. Detroit is the current occupier of one of the playoff spots, along with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have 10 games left to play and host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight. The Caps and Red Wings are idle. Toronto, of course, snapped a franchise-worst seven-year playoff drought last season. The first five games of the Maple Leafs losing streak came without No. 1 goaltender Jonathan Bernier, sidelined with a groin injury. He returned to action on Tuesday against the NHL-leading St. Louis Blues and made 44 saves, but the Leafs lost a 5-3 decision. Carl Gunnarsson and James van Riemsdyk scored third-period goals to pull Toronto to within one before St. Louis iced the game with an empty-net goal. Joffrey Lupul also scored. "The whole year weve thought we were a playoff team, and we still believe that now," said Lupul. "Realistically were still right there with these other teams." The Maple Leafs nnow try to avoid losing seven in a row for the first time since an 0-6-2 slide from Oct. Ryan LaMarre Twins Jersey. 28-Nov. 13, 2010 and have a chance to sweep their season set from the Flyers. Toronto notched a 3-1 victory in Philly on Oct. 2 before recording a 4-3 overtime victory at home on March 8. The Leafs have won four of their last five versus the Flyers overall and two in a row in Philly, where they have still lost eight of their past 12. Bernier is 2-1-0 with a 3.86 goals against average in three meetings with the Flyers, who try to avoid a third straight loss overall tonight. Philadelphia won five straight to grab hold of second place in the Metropolitan Division, but has since lost games to the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers to fall into third. A 3-1 setback to New York on Wednesday moved the Flyers three points behind the Rangers for second place, but Philadelphia does have two games in hand and New York is visiting the Calgary Flames tonight. The Flyers also are three points ahead of the Blue Jackets and Capitals for the third and final automatic playoff berth out of the Metropolitan Division. Philadelphia failed to solve New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist on Wednesday until Jakub Voracek scored with 1:53 to play. It was Voraceks 100th career goal as he tallied for a third straight game. Steve Mason made 26 saves as the Flyers dropped their eighth straight game at Madison Square Garden. "I think we didnt play our game. Its like we didnt have any energy," said Flyers forward Claude Giroux, who is tied for fourth in the NHL with 75 points after notching an assist. The Flyers practiced today with veteran forward Vincent Lecavalier skating on their fourth line. Lecavalier has just six points through 12 games in the month of march. Mason is 2-3-1 with a 3.96 GAA in six career meetings with the Leafs. ' ' '