WASHINGTON, March 17 (UPI) -- Juan Dixon scored 29 points for the second consecutive game Sunday as the top-seeded Maryland Terrapins cruised into the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 with an 87-57 rout of Wisconsin in the East Region.
Maryland (28-4) moved into the regional semifinals for the fourth time in five years. The Terrapins are hoping to go even further after reaching their first Final Four last season.
"The thing about this team, from Juan Dixon on, is that everybody on our team is about winning," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "We are going to win the game any way we can and that was our attitude going into today's game."
Wisconsin (19-13) led for most of the first half before Dixon put the Terrapins ahead for good with a three-pointer for a 26-23 edge with 5:20 left before halftime. Maryland held a 38-30 edge at intermission.
The Terrapins started the second half with a 14-3 run, leaving the Badgers searching for answers. Dixon, the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, scored seven points and capped the burst with a layup with 14 minutes for a 52-33 cushion.
"I just wanted to come out and be aggressive," Dixon said. "We had an eight-point lead at the half and we wanted to stay aggressive offensively and keep the pressure on them."
The onslaught continued for Maryland, which set a school record for largest margin of victory. Wisconsin also set a school mark for its worst loss in the NCAA Tournament history.
"I think you'll have to look real hard across the country to see a team with a front line that can take two 6-10 and 6-9 guys out and replace them with two more 6-10 and 6-9 guys," Wisconsin guard Travon Davis said. "That was very impressive to me. And they also know how to score points."
Williams is in the Sweet 16 for the sixth time since 1994, second only to Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith's seven appearances. The Terrapins next face Smith and Kentucky on Friday in Syracuse.
Dixon broke a pair of scoring record for the Terrapins, becoming the all-time leading scorer as well as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Tournament games. He has 2,172 points to surpass Len Bias' mark of 2,149 with 197 coming in NCAA play.
"It's a great accomplishment, especially in my situation coming to Maryland," said Dixon, a Baltimore native. "A lot of people knocked Gary Williams for recruiting me. I just wanted to go out there and prove a lot of those critics wrong."
Chris Wilcox scored 18 points and Lonny Baxter added 16 for Maryland, which shot 52 percent. Baxter, a Washington native, played his final game in his hometown and also added seven rebounds.
The Terrapins were bolstered by the crowd of 18,789 spectators, which included mostly Maryland fans. They improved to 4-0 at the MCI Center this season, including two victories in the BB&T Classic in December.
Charlie Wills scored 17 points and Davis netted 15 for Wisconsin, which made just five of 19 shots from beyond the arc.
The Badgers concluded their first season under coach Bo Ryan, their third coach in as many years, after sharing the regular-season title in the Big Ten Conference.
"I just want to tell the players that I'm extremely proud of the season that they've had, the committment that they made and what they've done this season," Ryan said. "They had a heck of a year, and I'm extremely proud of them."
