Wisconsin ends Kentucky’s bid for an undefeated season
INDIANAPOLIS — They stood in stunned silence in the Kentucky student section, some with hands clasped atop their head and others with their tear-stained faces buried in their shirts.
So many times this season the undefeated Wildcats escaped with victories in games just like this one, games they trailed deep into the second half. This time the team that seemed destined never to lose ran out of late-game magic.
Kentucky overcame a nine-point first-half deficit and an eight-point second-half deficit in a classic national semifinal against fellow No. 1 seed Wisconsin, but the Wildcats’ offense went cold after they built a four-point lead with just under seven minutes remaining. They only scored four points the rest of the game, enabling Wisconsin stars Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky to rally the Badgers for a stunning 71-64 victory on Saturday night.
Wisconsin’s victory avenged its one-point loss to Kentucky in last year’s Final Four and ended the Wildcats’ bid for perfection two wins shy of the first 40-0 season in college basketball history. Another rematch awaits the Badgers in Monday night’s national title game as they will face a Duke team that defeated them in an ACC-Big Ten Challenge game in Madison earlier this season.
It was Dekker who made the biggest plays down the stretch that swung the game in favor of Wisconsin.
He ended a 16-4 Kentucky second-half run with a jumper with 4:26 to go that pulled the Badgers within two after the game appeared to be on the verge of getting away from them. He gave Wisconsin the lead for good a few possessions later when he buried a deep 3-pointer. Then he took a charge on freshman Trey Lyles on Kentucky’s next possession, drew a foul on Wisconsin’s ensuing possession and sank 1 of 2 free throws to give the Badgers a four-point lead with 1:06 to go.
Aaron Harrison brought Kentucky within one on a 3-point play, but Kaminsky and Bronson Koenig clinched the victory with seven clutch free throws in the final 24 seconds.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
