Size and experience served the University of Wisconsin well at the start of its NCAA Tournament run.

The third-seeded Badgers' relentless defense and attacking of the interior wore down the champions of the Big Sky Conference. Wisconsin advanced with an 85-66 victory over No.14 Montana at Denver's Ball Arena Thursday afternoon.

Improving to 12-1 against mid-major opponents in the opening round since 2003 and 5-2 in opening NCAA Tournament games under head coach Greg Gard, the Badgers (27-9) will await the winner of No.6 BYU and No.11 VCU in the NCAA Tournament Second Round on Saturday.

Guard John Blackwell scored a game-high 19 points, one of five players who reached double figures for the Badgers, which broke the game open with a 14-3 run after Montana closed to within four early in the second half and kept the pedal down.

Having the second-best team shooting percentage in the country at 50.2 percent, the Grizzlies (25-10) struggled against Wisconsin's defense and shot 39.7 percent from the floor, their lowest shooting percentage since January 18.

For Wisconsin, it was its fifth straight game holding an opponent under 40 percent from the floor.

Wisconsin came out flat a year ago after playing four games in four days after advancing to the Big Ten Tournament championship game. This season, playing an early tip on one day less rest, the Badgers looked fresh and ready.

Wisconsin's game plan to attack the undersized Montana interior was evident from the opening minutes. The Badgers' first seven baskets were layups or points in the paint, a mixture of forwards Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter taking advantage of undersized matchups and guards Blackwell and Kamari McGee slashing to the rim.

Ten of Wisconsin's 18 baskets in 34 first-half possessions came in the paint, as the Badgers went 8-for-11 on layups. That production made up for UW going 4-for-12 on threes and attempting four free throws in the first half, as the Badgers led by eight after averaging 1.176 points per possession.

Crowl finished with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting while Winter had 10 points (4-for-6) and a team-high six rebounds, as UW scored 38 points in the paint.

The Grizzlies went 8-for-21 on two-point shots in the first half with leading scorer Money Williams scoreless on one attempt. He finished with eight points on 2-for-8 shooting.

Wisconsin started pulling away in the second half once Montana started racking up the fouls. Leading rebounder Joe Pridgen picked up his fourth foul with 14:36 remaining and starting guard Kai Johnson followed suit with 11:38 remaining.

With Pridgen needing to be passive, Wisconsin outrebounded the Grizzlies by six over the final 14-plus minutes as it steadily pulled away.

Johnson and Te'jon Sawyer led Montana with 15 points each.

What it means: Wisconsin exploited its size advantage by attacking the rim offensively and being actively defensively with six blocks (tying a season-high) to win its first opening-round game since 2022 and avoid a second consecutive NCAA Tournament defeat to mid-major opponent.

Star of the game: Reserve Xavier Amos had his best game of the season, finishing with 11 points, four rebounds, and two blocks. The junior had six points, three rebounds, and two blocks in only seven first-half minutes.

Stat of the game: Wisconsin's 55.4 percent shooting percentage was its best shooting performance in an NCAA Tournament game since the 2015 Elite Eight win over No.2 Arizona (55.6)

Reason to be Concerned: The Badgers were 7-for-23 from three-point range. UW's 30.4 shooting percentage was its worst in a win since winning at Minnesota on March 5.

Don’t overlook: Montana has cut the lead to 51-47 with 15:47 left to give its fan base something to cheer about, but the Grizzlies weren't prepared for Carter Gilmore. The fifth-year senior hit a three-pointer from the top of the key, stood his ground to draw a fourth foul on Pridgen, and scored inside out of the timeout to push the lead back to nine on the 14-3 run.

What’s next: Looking for its first regional semifinal appearance since 2017, Wisconsin will face either the Atlantic-10 regular season/tournament champion VCU or the third-place team from the Big 12 in BYU. The Badgers are 2-0 against BYU, last playing the Cougars in the 2011 Chicago Invitational championship game, and won the lone meeting against VCU in the third-place game of the 2K Classic.

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