Wisconsin 61, LSU 48

Thursday, March 23rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Wisconsin is still winning ugly, with the plodding but productive Badgers beating LSU 61-48 on Thursday night to make it an all Big-Ten final in the West Regional.

The Badgers (21-13) will meet Purdue (24-9) on Saturday for a spot in the Final Four. The Boilermakers beat Gonzaga 75-66 in the other semifinal.

Coupled with Michigan State's win over Syracuse in the Midwest, the Big Ten has three teams in the final eight.

Jon Bryant led Wisconsin with 16 points. Stromile Swift and Jabari Smith each scored 12 for LSU (28-6).

LSU, which used its speed and frontline duo of Swift and Smith to beat Southeast Missouri State and Texas in the first two rounds, hit a wall against a Wisconsin team that forced its deliberate, halfcourt offense and man defense on the frustrated Tigers.

The 48 points were the fewest scored by LSU this season. The previous low was 57 in a loss to Florida in January.

Wisconsin scored the final 11 points of the first half to take a 22-14 lead. LSU went scoreless over the final 5:03.

Wisconsin took twice as many shots as LSU in the first half and the Tigers had as many turnovers as points. LSU finished with 23 turnovers to Wisconsin's 9.

It got uglier in the second half.

An offensive rebound basket by Lamont Roland got LSU within 26-18, but the Badgers used a 10-0 run to take a 36-18 lead with 13:44 left. Bryant's 3-pointer got the run going and Duany Duany's 3-pointer ended it. Bryant also scored on a layup and Maurice Linton added a jumper from just inside the arc.

Wisconsin advanced despite missing 18 of its first 23 shots and shooting 38 percent. But while the Badgers were having trouble scoring in the game's first 15 minutes, LSU was having a difficult time holding onto the ball.

The turnovers also kept the ball away from Swift and Smith, the Tigers' leading scorers. The pair got off just three shots between them in the first half and Swift finished with just five shots.

Swift's only attempt in the first half was a 3-pointer for the game's opening basket at the 17:36 mark.

A 3-pointer by Bryant got Wisconsin's late first-half run rolling. Mark Vershaw added two free throws, Bryant scored on a reverse layup, Mike Kelley scored off a steal and finished the half with a bounce-pass assist to Julian Swartz for a layup with four seconds left.

Wisconsin, which finished sixth in the Big Ten during the regular season, got into the NCAA tournament with a late-season run. The Badgers have won 10 of their last 13 games, with the three losses all to Michigan State.

Wisconsin has won three tournament games for the first time since winning the 1941 national title.

The eighth-seeded Badgers beat Fresno State 66-56 in the first round and upset top-seeded Arizona 66-59 in the second.