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Wisconsin Stuns Previously Unbeaten Kentucky In Final Four
- Updated: April 4, 2015
Breaking down Wisconsin’s 71-64 victory over Kentucky in the NCAA tournament semifinals at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night. Wisconsin advanced to play Duke in Monday’s national title game.
WHAT WE’LL BE TALKING ABOUT: Sam Dekker. Who else? Wisconsin’s junior wing, who has been blazing hot in the NCAA tournament, made a series of plays down the stretch that ruined Kentucky’s shot at perfection. First, with the game tied at 60-60, Dekker hit a filthy step-back 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Wisconsin the lead. Then on the other end, he baited Trey Lyles into a charge, then hit 1-of-2 foul shots to give Wisconsin a 64-60 lead heading into the final minute.
BOX SCORE: Badgers 71, Wildcats 64
Though Kentucky got the deficit back to one, big man Frank Kaminsky drew a foul spinning around Willie Cauley-Stein with 24.5 seconds remaining and hit a pair of free throws to put Wisconsin ahead 66-63. Dekker finished with 16 points, making 6-of-9 field goals.
THE BIG PICTURE: Kentucky just kept pushing through barriers on its way to a historic season. But this time, the legacy of 1991 UNLV, which reached 34-0 until losing to Duke in the national semifinals, is the one that finally tripped the Wildcats up. Kentucky never got to 39-0 because Wisconsin was tough, physical and more composed down the stretch. Instead of putting together the most impressive season in college basketball history, Kentucky will now occupy a space by those Runnin’ Rebels as semifinal victims against a team it beat the previous year in the Final Four.
For Wisconsin, this will absolutely erase the memory of last year’s stinging defeat to the Wildcats and create a legacy for this once-in-a-generation group of players led by Kaminsky and Dekker. But the Badgers still have plenty more to play for: their first national title since 1941.
THE DECIDING PLAY: In a game with plenty of questionable calls – including a charge against Josh Gasser with 8:01 remaining that wiped out a Bronson Koenig 3-pointer – Kentucky got some serious misfortune with 2:38 left when Nigel Hayes scored off his own putback clearly after the shot clock hit zero, tying the game 60-60. Because the play wasn’t reviewable, the initial call – a good basket – stood. Kentucky seemed a bit rattled by that turn of events and didn’t come back with a good possession. Andrew Harrison, who had a strong first half but played poorly in the second, missed short on a drive toward the rim, giving Wisconsin the opportunity to take the lead. Kentucky never recovered.
BREAKOUT PLAYER: One of the game’s most important shots arguably came at the end of the first half when Wisconsin point guard Bronson Koenig buried a high-arcing jumper just inside the 3-point line to tie the game. Koenig, who averages 8.6 points and 6.8 field goal attempts per game and came off the bench until Traevon Jackson’s injury, became a huge factor in the second half, finishing with 12 points on 4 of 12 field goals. He hit a pair of free throws with 12.2 seconds remaining to put Wisconsin ahead 68-64, which pretty much sealed the deal.
KEY STAT: When Kentucky needed a boost down nine in the first half, it turned to the Harrison twins, who have come up big time and again in NCAA tournament games over the last two years. The Harrisons combined for 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the first half with Andrew accounting for 11 points and just one miss. In the second half, however, they combined for just seven points on 2-of-11 from the field.
