ANAHEIM, Calif. — It took 13 seasons and an extra five minutes, but Wisconsin is taking coach Bo Ryan to the Final Four.
The Honda Center was the site of a true heavyweight fight between the No. 1 and No. 2 seed in the West Regional, playing for the right to go to the Final Four.
Wisconsin (29-7) and Arizona (33-5) exchanged haymaker after haymaker in a regional final that couldn’t be decided in regulation.
Frank Kaminsky would not be denied as the 7-foot junior put Wisconsin’s fate on his back, scoring a game-high 28 points.
Nick Johnson led the scoring for Arizona with 16 points.
The Badgers owned the last possession in the second half, but junior point guard Traevon Jackson came up short on a jumper that would have sealed it.
In overtime Kaminsky took over, scoring 6 of Wisconsin’s 10 points and punching the Badgers’ ticket to Dallas and the Final Four for the first time since 2000.
Wisconsin will play the winner of Michigan and Kentucky.
- Video:Only minutes after the final buzzer, hundreds of students flock to State Street in Madison to celebrate the Badgers’ win.
[Photos via Joey Reuteman/The Badger Herald]
