INDIANAPOLIS – Wisconsin doesn’t need to be reminded of last season’s heartbreaking loss to Kentucky in the Final Four or that this year’s Kentucky team hasn’t lost a game all season to be motivated for Saturday’s Final Four rematch against the Wildcats at Lucas Oil Stadium.
For the Badgers, Kentucky is simply another step in the road as they pursue the school’s second National Championship and cap off one of the best season’s in program history.
“Our goal is to win a National Championship, and we know we have to beat good teams if we’re going to do that,” Wisconsin senior forward Frank Kaminsky said. “Arizona was a good team, North Carolina was a good team, Oregon was a good team. So it’s going to be a tough road and we’re looking at it as another very, very good opponent we have to beat if we want to accomplish one of our goals.”
While Kentucky comes into Saturday’s game with a perfect 38-0 record, Wisconsin certainly has had an impressive season of its own, winning both the regular season and tournament Big Ten championships en route to a 35-3 overall record.
The 35 wins are a school record for Wisconsin and even though the opponent that will share the floor with the Badgers in the 71,932-seat Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday doesn’t have a blemish on their record, nothing will change in terms of preparation.
“Well, I think we’ve had a pretty good season also. Our guys believe in a 40-minute contest when they step on the court, that we can get this,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. “When we talk about challenges, we talked about challenges when we played Alabama-Birmingham, UAB, down in Nassau, Battle 4 Atlantis, because we go over every scouting report the same way. We have a process we go through. Every team is treated the same way.”
While it’s undoubtedly a rematch, Wisconsin won’t be facing the same Kentucky team that ended its season in Arlington, Texas just over a year ago. Both of the Wildcats’ top scorers in last season’s game (James Young and Julius Randle) are no longer on the team while perhaps the best freshman class in recent memory has joined Kentucky and propelled them to that blemish-free record.
“They’re a completely different team, to be honest,” fifth-year senior Josh Gasser said. “They’ve got a couple of guys back, but they’re really structurally different.
“They’re a different team, we’re a different team so whatever happens, happens.”
Leading the freshman class for Kentucky is 6-foot-10, 250-pound forward Karl Anthony-Towns who’s averaging 10.1 points per game with 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Both his blocks and rebounding averages are best on the team and his 10.1 points per game is tied for second-best.
But the biggest piece of the Kentucky puzzle that returns this season is seven-foot forward Willie Cauley-Stein who missed the Wildcats’ final three tournament games – including the Final Four matchup against Wisconsin – last season with an ankle injury. Cauley-Stein is averaging 9.1 points and 6.5 rebounds and like Kaminsky, was named an all-American earlier this week.
Both Anthony-Towns and Cauley-Stein are a large presence in the paint with their length and have the ability to alter opponent’s shots. In addition to Anthony-Towns and Cauley-Stein, Kentucky brings seven-footer Dakari Johnson and 6-foot-9 forward Marcus Lee off the bench.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Kaminsky said of going up against Kentucky’s frontcourt. “They’re great shot-blockers. They know how to score on offense. They can run the floor. They can defend in multiple position. It’s kind of like a two-headed monster with their bench and their starters.
“But I think we have a team that’s willing to do whatever we can to make sure we win.”
The winner of Saturday’s Final Four matchup will advance to the National Championship game on Monday to face the winner of No. 1 Duke vs. No. 7 Michigan State. Saturday’s game will tip-off at 7:49 central.
No. 1 Wisconsin (35-3)
How they got here:
Second round – defeated Coastal Carolina, 86-72
Third round – defeated Oregon, 72-65
Sweet 16 – defeated North Carolina, 79-72
Elite Eight – defeated Arizona, 85-78
Probable Starters: G – Bronson Koenig (6-4, 8.6 ppg), G – Josh Gasser (6-4, 6.9 ppg), F – Sam Dekker (6-9, 13.9 ppg), F – Nigel Hayes (6-8, 12.4 ppg), F – Frank Kaminsky (7-0, 18.7 ppg)
Key Reserves: G – Traevon Jackson (6-3, 8.6 ppg), G – Zak Showalter (6-2, 2.1 ppg), F – Duje Dukan (6-10, 4.8 ppg)
No. 1 Kentucky (38-0)
How they got here:
Second Round – defeated Hampton, 79-56
Third Round – defeated Cincinnati, 64-51
Sweet 16 – defeated West Virginia, 78-39
Elite Eight – defeated Notre Dame, 68-66
Probable Starters: G – Aaron Harrison (6-6, 11.0 ppg), G – Andrew Harrison (6-6, 9.2 ppg), F – Trey Lyles (6-10, 8.7 ppg), F – Karl-Anthony Towns (6-11, 10.1 ppg), F – Willie Cauley-Stein (7-0, 9.1 ppg)
Key Reserves: G – Devin Booker (6-6, 10.1 ppg), C – Dakari Johnson (7-0, 6.5 ppg), G – Tyler Ulis (5-9, 5.6 ppg)
Game Vitals
Who: No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 1 Kentucky
When: Saturday, April 4, 7:49 CST
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium (71,932); Indianapolis, Indiana
TV: TBS (Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson)
TruTV (Wayne Larrivee, Mike Kelley, Phil Dawson)
