University of Wisconsin men's basketball coach Bo Ryan loves the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion practice facility inside the Kohl Center, but he had a special request this week.

Ryan said he asked to have the walls knocked down, to simulate the shooting background for the Midwest Regional at Ford Field in Detroit.

"We're going to be shooting without any background, for quite a distance," Ryan said Monday. "They turned me down on that request."

Basketball games played in football stadiums can provide a challenge for shooters anyway, but nobody is sure what is awaiting the third-seeded Badgers this week for their game Friday against 10th-seeded Davidson in the Midwest Regional.

That's because the NCAA is experimenting with a new-look configuration during the regionals in Detroit and Houston's Reliant Stadium, which are considered preludes to future tournament games played in football stadiums.

The basketball court will be set up in the middle of the field and surrounded by newly created risers designed to provide better sight lines. Also, the court at Ford Field, home to the Detroit Lions, will be 27 inches off the ground in an attempt to create a staging effect.

This year's Final Four at San Antonio's Alamodome is expected to be the last one in which the court is placed near an end zone, with bleachers on one side and curtains used to cut off some sections.

The Final Four will be in Detroit next year and it is expected to be the same court setup as the one being debuted this week.

"The NCAA has done a great job at looking at the next generation of this event," Shea Guinn, president of Houston's SMG-Reliant Park, told the Associated Press. "What's happening here and in Detroit is the next step in the evolution of what has become one of the biggest sporting events in the entire country."

The games in Detroit could break the NCAA tournament attendance mark of 64,959, set in 1987 in the Louisiana Superdome when Indiana beat Syracuse in the title game. About 49,000 tickets were sold for Ford Field even before it was known what four teams will be playing. Top-seeded Kansas meets 12th-seeded Villanova in the second regional semifinal.

The NCAA attendance record for a single game was set at Ford Field Dec. 13, 2003, when 78,129 fans watched Michigan State and Kentucky in a regular-season game.

The Badgers will get a chance to get acclimated to the background during a shootaround Thursday.

"No matter what, it's still a basket," UW senior forward Brian Butch said. "It changes, but we'll be able to get there on Wednesday and practice on Thursday, then have enough time to adapt to it.

"The nice thing about it is both teams have to do it. I don't think either one team has experienced that before. It's a pretty unique thing, but the best thing I see about it, you can fit more people in to watch Wisconsin basketball. I think that's a positive right there."

Scheduling benefit

After enduring a quick turnaround last week before their opening NCAA tournament game, the Badgers get the benefit of an extra day this week.

They don't play until six days after clinching their Sweet 16 berth by beating Kansas State. Davidson defeated Georgetown Sunday to advance.

"It's nice to get that rest, it's nice for our bodies," Butch said. "With school starting up again (on Monday after spring break), it's nice to have extra time to get some homework done and take care of the things that have piled up over the last couple days."

In the paint

Davidson won the only previous meeting against UW, 67-63, on Dec. 12, 1980, in the opening round of the First Union Classic in Charlotte, N.C. ... UW is 6-1 all-time against Southern Conference opponents. ... UW leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing 53.9 points per game. In its first two NCAA tournament wins, it held Cal State Fullerton and Kansas State to their lowest point totals of the season. Those two teams averaged 55.5 points and shot 37.8 percent from the field (42-of-111). ... Under Ryan, UW is 10-1 in the NCAA tournament against lower-seeded teams.