University of Wisconsin junior Joe Krabbenhoft went into Saturday's game expecting to be matched up on defense against Kansas State freshman Bill Walker, an athletic 6-foot-6 perimeter player who was coming off a 22-point game.

But after starting out on Walker, Krabbenhoft soon found himself on 6-10 forward Michael Beasley, who might be the best player in college basketball.

The Badgers won the game 72-55, advancing to Friday's date with Davidson in the Midwest Regional semifinals of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, in part because of a cooperative effort on defense, spearheaded by Krabbenhoft. Beasley, who came in averaging 26.3 points per game, scored 23, but only six in the second half.

Afterward, Krabbenhoft shrugged off the difficulty of preparing to defend Walker and winding up on Beasley.

"You go from probably the 10th pick in the draft to the first pick in the draft, so it wasn't much of a difference," Krabbenhoft said with a straight face.

Actually, the 6-7 Krabbenhoft's ability to defend almost anybody, from the perimeter to the post, has been a big factor in the Badgers leading the nation in scoring defense, allowing 53.9 points per game.

Senior guard Michael Flowers justifiably gets credit as UW's shutdown defender on the perimeter, but Krabbenhoft's versatility might be just as important. Both players were named to the Big Ten Conference's All-Defensive team.

"(Krabbenhoft) has a mind-set that he's going to do anything and no one is going to score on him," Flowers said. "He's a tough guy. You've seen him get stitches and cuts and bruises playing. He doesn't care. He just will do anything for a win, and that's vital."

In his first two seasons at UW, Krabbenhoft played mostly the four (power forward). He had a conversation with UW coach Bo Ryan at the end of last season and was told if he wanted to play on the perimeter more, he had to get better at guarding smaller, quicker players.

Krabbenhoft dropped some weight and did footwork drills to improve his quickness. He also watched game tapes and studied the defensive work of some of the top players in the program, from Flowers to former guard Clayton Hanson.

"Clayton Hanson, there's a great example," Krabbenhoft said. "You don't always have to be the quickest guy. I know he won't be mad at me for saying this, because he wasn't the quickest guy. But he was as good a defender as anybody because he was so smart."

Krabbenhoft learned from watching Flowers, too, how studying tendencies can help a defender be in the right position most of the time.

"If he's going to go right every time, maybe you can step in, take a charge and get him on the bench," Krabbenhoft said.

The Badgers started with junior forward Marcus Landry on Beasley, then briefly tried 6-11 senior center Greg Stiemsma. But in two possessions against Stiemsma, Beasley got the ball outside, drove to the basket and scored.

When Landry picked up his second foul with 6 minutes, 36 seconds left in the half, that left Krabbenhoft as pretty much the only option left to guard Beasley.

There was a critical stretch in the first half, when Krabbenhoft picked up his second foul with 3:45 on the clock. Ryan had little choice but to keep Krabbenhoft in the game and on Beasley.

"Coach Ryan just looked in (Krabbenhoft's) eyes and said, 'Be smart and let's try to finish this half off on a positive note,' " UW assistant coach Howard Moore said. "That's exactly what he did."

The Badgers saw a 12-point lead dwindle to three, but they got out with a 39-33 halftime lead and no more fouls. Landry ended up playing 24 minutes because of his foul trouble, but it wasn't a big factor because of the solid job Krabbenhoft did on Beasley.

Whether chasing smaller players on the perimeter or banging with bigger bodies inside, Krabbenhoft doesn't have a preference.

"That's why I enjoy what I'm doing, because I get to do both," he said. "I don't think I'd like to do either for a full (game). That's why I have such appreciation for Michael, because he chases guys all day long.

"And that's why you have to appreciate what Greg and Brian (Butch) do, banging in the post. I get to do both. I get to take a little break on my upper body, from banging with the big guys, and put it on my legs and chase the little guys around. I'm lucky, I think — I get to guard all kinds of guys."

While Krabbenhoft isn't as fast as some of the perimeter players he defends, and not as strong as some of the post players, he still manages to play good defense, no matter who it is against.

"I'm not as strong, or as quick, usually as the guy I'm guarding," he said. "If I combine them both, maybe I can stay with them."