Kaminsky and Dekker help Wisconsin top Arizona again to reach Final Four
LOS ANGELES — Breaking down No.1 seed Wisconsin's 85-78 victory over No.2 seed Arizona in the NCAA West Region final Saturday in Staples Center.
THE BIG PICTURE: Coach Bo Ryan, Player of the Year candidate Frank Kaminsky and the Wisconsin Badgers (35-3) are heading back to the Final Four. For the second consecutive season, Wisconsin defeated Arizona in the West Regional final, this time a little more handily.
Last year, it was a 64-63 overtime win. This year, Wisconsin dominated the second half, with Kaminsky scoring inside and several Badgers making one big three-point shot after another to build a double-digit lead. The Badgers made 10 of 12 3-pointers after halftime. Wisconsin, which lost by a point to Kentucky in a national semifinal last year, will play the winner of Kentucky and Notre Dame. Arizona (34-4) again falls short of the Final Four. This was coach Sean Miller's fourth trip to the Elite Eight, where he is 0-4.
"I know it's hard for somebody like me to be speechless, but the way we shot the ball in the second half and to win by the margin that we did, we were very fortunate," Badgers coach Bo Ryan said.
"Sometimes we have guys that are pretty smart, and what they're trying to figure out in the first half is where we need to go, what we can do to get good shots, because in the second half they've done a much better job of getting the good looks. Then guys got hot. You don't shoot 79% every day in a half. But they were good shots and probably shouldn't have missed the other four."
WHAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT: Frank the Tank. Again. Last year, Kaminsky scored 28 points in Wisconsin's 64-63 overtime victory against Arizona. This year, he had 29, and again displayed a variety of spin moves in the paint, baseline drives, reverse layups and a feathery touch outside. Kaminsky scored an old-fashioned three-point play on his first touch and was aggressive throughout, drawing fouls and knocking down clutch shots. We'll also talk about his teammate Sam Dekker, who continued his fearless hot streak in the tourney, scoring 27.
"You come back to school for moments like this, to share it with your teammates, your friends, the people you've been with the last four years of your life, very significant people that are going to be in the rest of your life as well," Kaminsky said.
"A moment like this is the most memorable moments of our lives, and I'm sure we'll remember this for a very long time, every single guy on this team. I can't be more grateful for the opportunity that the school has given me to be put in this position. I'm just so happy right now."
BREAKOUT PLAYER: With some of his teammates struggling offensively, sophomore forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led all Arizona scorers and rebounders in the first half (eight and five), and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.
TOP PLAY: Amid a barrage of three-pointers by the Badgers in the second half, guard Josh Gasser gave Wisconsin its first double-digit lead with a driving layup that made it 62-51 with 8:47 left.
KEY STAT: Wisconsin crushed Arizona from the three-point line — 36-6.
THE TWEET: Even Wisconsin basketball's Twitter feed had to concede that Kaminsky got away with a flop in the first half.
AND-1: For the record, Arizona guard Gabe York, who scored one point in 29 minutes in last year's Elite Eight game, vowed to be better this year. He was. He had a nice driving layup and two three-pointers and ended up with 11 points.
