New Zealander has chance to make Final four

Steve Addy

Friday, March 24, 2000 | 9:17 a.m.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- UNLV guard Mark Dickel was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round last week, but there is still a New Zealand player with a chance to reach the Final Four.

Wisconsin freshman guard Kirk Penney will carry his homeland's banner Sunday afternoon when the Badgers (21-13) battle Purdue (24-9) in the all-Big Ten final of the West Regional at The Pit.

Penney, from Auckland, New Zealand, has had moments of glory as a backup shooting guard for the Badgers. Sunday's game will be his 33rd appearance of the season, breaking Wisconsin's freshman record, and he has scored in double-figures three times. He had a career-high 17 points on Jan. 15 against Purdue in the first of six starts.

In the Badgers' 61-48 victory over LSU on Thursday night, Penney had five points in 12 minutes, hitting 2-of-6 shots off the bench.

"It is a thrill to have a chance at the Final Four," Penney said Friday. "I don't think they can get the games on CBS back in New Zealand, but they're keeping up with the results. They get everything on the Internet."

Penney (6-foot-5, 205) was recruited by Wisconsin last year after playing for player-coach Tony Bennett, the son of Badgers coach Dick Bennett, in the New Zealand developmental league. Dickel played in the same league two years ago and his Wellington club beat Penney's North Harbor team in their only meeting.

"I don't know Mark too well because he's three or four years older, and he was already at UNLV when I was coming up," Penney said. "I paid attention to UNLV because of Mark and I was happy to see him have such a big season. I was hoping we could play each other in the Tournament, but we went to different regionals."

Penney and Dickel might soon be teammates, however. Dickel is already on New Zealand's national team that will play in the Sydney Olympics, and Penney plans to participate in tryouts in June.

** WHAT A RIOT: Reports of campus uprisings back home didn't sit well with Purdue and Wisconsin players and coaches.

At West Lafayette, Ind., police used tear gas to control rowdy fans after Purdue's victory over Gonzaga. Fires were set and cars damaged. In Wisconsin, fans caused disturbances on the Madison and Oshkosh campuses before order was restored.

"No matter if Wisconsin or Purdue wins, I think students on both campuses need to back off and relax," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "We appreciate your enthusiasm. Have fun. Make a lot of noise. But don't start burning cars or throwing stuff. That's ridiculous. We don't need that."

Though Wisconsin won the 1941 NCAA Tournament, it was only an eight-team event, so there's much pent-up enthusiasm over the current team's success. The Badgers have never gone this far in the modern tournament.

Coach Dick Bennett frowned over the rioting, but said, "I have a suspicion people in Wisconsin might party whether there was a game or not."

Badgers guard Mike Kelley was discouraged to learn that Wisconsin students have begun playing a drinking game named after him, in which they drink a shot of booze every time he makes a steal. Kelley led the Big Ten in steals with 87.

"I don't want to be part of that," he said. "I'm not trying to win here just so people back home can go riot."

** THIS AND THAT: Veteran experience means everything to the Big Ten's three Elite Eight teams. Of the 15 starters for Wisconsin, Purdue and Michigan State, eight are seniors and the rest are juniors. ...

Wisconsin has allowed only eight fast-break points in its three Tournament wins. ...

The 22 combined losses of Wisconsin (13) and Purdue (nine) are the most ever for two teams in a regional final.