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Wisconsin's Ryan seeks 500th career win

Nov 24, 2006 - 2:42 PM Missouri St (3-0) at No. 7 Wisconsin (4-0) 12:00 pm EST

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (Ticker) -- Bo Ryan is on the verge of win No. 500.

The coach of seventh-ranked Wisconsin leads his team against Missouri State on Friday in the semifinals of the South Padre Invitational.

Ryan got his 499th career victory in Tuesday's 64-52 triumph over Delaware State in the quarterfinals of this tournament. Alando Tucker scored 25 points and Brian Butch added 18 and 10 rebounds for Wisconsin, which has beaten its first four opponents by an average of 26 points.

The Badgers bounced Southern in their first-round game.

If Ryan is to become the 15th active Division I coach to record 500 wins, his squad will have to beat a Missouri State squad that eliminated Wisconsin from the 1999 NCAA Tournament. The Bears beat the No. 18 Badgers, 43-32, in the first round.

Missouri State is coming off an 88-56 rout of Division II Lincoln on Tuesday. Nathan Bilyeu and Devon Mitchell scored 12 points apiece.

The winner will play the Oklahoma State-Auburn winner in the championship game Saturday. The losers also will meet Saturday in the third-place contest.