OMAHA, Neb. — A major storyline going into the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team's NCAA tournament second-round round game against Kansas State revolved around how the Badgers' frontcourt would fare against Michael Beasley, the Wildcats' 6-foot-10 scoring and rebounding machine.

The major storyline coming out of UW's 72-55 victory at the Qwest Center was the sheer dominance displayed by the Badgers' starting backcourt of sophomore Trevon Hughes and senior Michael Flowers.

"They put on a show. That was awesome," UW junior Joe Krabbenhoft said of Hughes and Flowers, who combined for 40 points. "I can't even describe how awesome it was to watch Trevon and Mike operate out there. ... Those guys are really quick from Kansas State, they play like on the playground — they're very quick, very physical, get up in your face. But Trevon's from New York. He didn't back down. Either did Michael Flowers. Our guards really played well."

And thanks to that, the Badgers will have the opportunity to play again this season.

Sixth-ranked and third-seeded UW (31-4) will face the winner of Sunday's game between second-seeded Georgetown and 10th-seeded Davidson in a Midwest Regional semifinal Friday at Ford Field in Detroit.

It marks the fifth trip to the Sweet 16 in program history, the third in coach Bo Ryan's seven seasons as coach, and first since 2005.

"This team is very deserving," Flowers said. "It's just a moment where everybody is proud of themselves and proud of each other. We worked hard, we sweat and we bled for each other, we lifted weights at the crack of dawn and ran hills and did everything to get to this point. And we want to seize the opportunity."

It was Flowers (15 points) and Hughes (25 points) who helped the Badgers seize control of what turned out to be a school-record 31st victory.

The duo combined for 21 first-half points, and the 6-2 Flowers (11 first-half points) was a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range over the first 20 minutes.

Flowers' 3-pointers at 6:09 and 4:39 turned a 26-20 UW lead into a 32-20 advantage, and his final 3-pointer of the half — which came with 43 seconds to play — provided the Badgers with a 39-33 lead at the break.

"He brought it on both ends of the floor and he really helped propel that run for us in the first half," UW sophomore guard Jason Bohannon said of Flowers. "He hit those shots, he was shooting lights out in that first half. We were telling him to keep shooting."

While Flowers only took — and made — one shot in the second half, it was the 6-foot Hughes that delivered the main scoring punch during that portion of the game. Hughes, who scored 10 first-half points, made five of eight shots in the second half en route to matching a career-high scoring output.

"He just had a great night," UW junior forward Marcus Landry said of Hughes, who along with Flowers outscored Kansas State's starting backcourt 40-4. "His shots were falling. It's just a great thing. ... He took some shots and they went down."

And it was a flurry by Hughes early in the second half that helped the Badgers build a more comfortable advantage.

After a putback by UW senior center Brian Butch to open the half, Hughes scored eight straight UW points — via a 3-point play, a jumper and a 3-pointer — to give the Badgers a 49-35 lead with 15:17 to play.

"Here's the thing with Wisconsin," said Kansas State coach Frank Martin, whose team finished 0-for-13 on 3-pointers. "If you're down 10 to them, it's the equal of being down 25 to somebody else."

The Wildcats (21-12), never got closer than nine points the rest of the way, due in large part to an improved defensive performance against Beasley over the final 20 minutes.

Though Beasley finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds, he scored just six second-half points while again being guarded by Krabbenhoft, Landry and senior center Greg Stiemsma.

"I don't think we did anything differently," Butch said. "We just kept on having guys in front (of Beasley) and the weak-side guy (for help)."

The 6-11 Stiemsma's contributions, however, weren't limited to the defensive end of the floor.

He finished with a career-high 14 points to go along with seven rebounds in 14 minutes.

"Greg played great," Landry said. "It was just awesome, and it was just good to see him out there. He seemed happy, he seemed full of joy."

And afterward, so were the rest of the Badgers.

"We're very happy with the win, but we're wanting to go as far as we can in this tournament," Bohannon said. "We have a lot of potential as a team and we're not satisfied with just the Sweet 16. We'd like to get a little further than that."