NFL Tickets
After two hard-fought, narrow wins, the much expected and highly-anticipated rematch in the West regional final has been set. The No. 1-seeded Wisconsin Badgers will take on the No. 2-seeded Arizona Wildcats on Saturday with a spot in the Final Four on the line for the second year in a row.
Both teams had to come back from deficits with about five minutes remaining. The North Carolina Tar Heels controlled much of the game over Wisconsin and held a seven-point lead late into the second half. With star center Frank Kaminsky on the bench, Wisconsin took the lead with a 19-7 scoring run to put the Badgers ahead 65-60. Marcus Paige did everything he could for Roy Williams’ Tar Heels in the last couple minutes, but the No. 1 seed prevailed 79-72.
Arizona struggled to pull away from a scrappy Xavier team all night. Just like Wisconsin in the game before, the Wildcats went on a 19-7 run to grab hold and earn the win. Chris Mack frequently went to a 1-3-1 zone that frustrated Arizona head coach Sean Miller and point guard T.J. McConnell, but the crafty point guard caught fire and pushed his team to the Elite Eight. Neither of the top two teams played their best basketball, but like all the great teams do, they figured out a way to come out on top in the end.
What To Watch For
The big storyline is that this is a rematch from the Elite Eight last year. Don’t think for a second the selection committee didn’t do that on purpose. Wisconsin advanced to the Final Four in 2014 with a thrilling overtime 64-63 victory over Arizona.
The seeds were flipped last year, as the Badgers pulled off the mini-upset. Kaminsky dominated with 28 points and 11 rebounds, and Sean Miller will need to find a way to contain the versatile seven-footer if Arizona wants to reverse the result on Saturday.
Brandon Ashley missed last year’s game with an injury and his presence should be a huge boost for the Pac-12 champions. Arizona center Kaleb Tarczewski was unable to stay with Kaminsky around the perimeter last year, so expect Miller to give Ashley the nod and matchup with “Frank the Tank.”
Junior forward Sam Dekker was Wisconsin’s best player against North Carolina. He scored a career-high 23 points on 10 of 15 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds to complete the double-double. For Arizona to leave Los Angeles with the victory, they’ll need to make sure Dekker doesn’t catch fire for a good portion of the game. Limiting the duration and severity of Wisconsin’s rapid fire scoring runs will be key to an Arizona win.
Prediction
Arizona has the size to match up with Wisconsin and should be more than motivated enough to avenge last year’s heartbreaking loss. They’ll need to play better than they did on Thursday to win, but Wisconsin’s defense won’t be as bothersome as the stingy Xavier defense that frustrated the Wildcats. If T.J. McConnell can penetrate the middle of the Badgers defense and set up his athletic forwards for easy buckets like I expect he’ll be able to do, Arizona will need to book a flight to Indianapolis for the Final Four.
Arizona 67 Wisconsin 65
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