LOS ANGELES -- The Wisconsin Badgers advanced to the Final Four with an 85-78 win over the Arizona Wildcats in the Elite Eight at the Staples Center on Saturday.
Here are five observations from that game:
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s impact: In the first half, it was clear early that Arizona would have trouble -- again -- with Frank Kaminsky. His mobility, his range, his size. The Wildcats didn’t have a great answer for him last year, and they faced the same dilemma in Saturday’s game. But Sean Miller’s move to put Hollis-Jefferson on Kaminsky in the first half stalled the Wooden Award favorite for stretches. Kaminsky still played well. But Hollis-Jefferson’s harassment was the best option for the Wildcats, especially after Brandon Ashley picked up two fouls in the first 81 seconds, and it’s also how Arizona kept the game close (Arizona had a 33-30 lead at halftime). By halftime, Hollis-Jefferson had eight points and five rebounds.
Frank Kaminsky being Frank Kaminsky: But Frank the Tank is real. No matter what the Wildcats threw at him, he was ready. He drove by Kaleb Tarczewski without much trouble. Ashley’s two fouls limited him to just seven minutes of action in the first half. By the end of the first half, every Arizona starter not named T.J. McConnell had picked up two fouls. Kaminsky's relentlessness did that. Kaminsky had 13 points (5-for-13) and five rebounds by halftime. Eight minutes into the second half, he’d upped that tally to 21 points. He finished with 29 points, one more than his total from last year’s Elite Eight game.
The atmosphere: There was a lot of red in the building. And most of it was Arizona red. The school, just seven hours from Los Angeles, had the bulk of the representation in the arena. You could hear it in the first half as the Wildcats emerged from an early deficit. There were times when Staples Center felt like McKale Center No. 2. Wisconsin fans were strong, too. The Badgers were in the building. But the Arizona fans flooded downtown Los Angeles and the Staples Center. Wisconsin had to fight through that.
The 3-Ball: Throughout most of the night, Wisconsin was just the better team. Kaminsky excelled. The Badgers were smart, patient and disciplined. And they were hot from the perimeter. With 6:19 to go in the game, the Badgers were 9-for-14 from the 3-point line, while the Wildcats were just 1-for-4 at the same juncture. The Badgers were shooting 64 percent from beyond the arc and 48 percent inside it. It’s that offensive balance that helped Bo Ryan’s squad separate from Arizona in the second half. Sam Dekker’s 3-pointer in the final two minutes was just sick and clutch.
Another thriller: The first half lived up to the hype. The Wildcats and Badgers were battling for every possession. It appeared that we’d have another great game, comparable to the 64-63 overtime game that Wisconsin won over Arizona in last year’s Elite Eight. But the Badgers seemed to ruin that ending with a dominant run midway through the second half (12-3) that changed everything. Josh Gasser’s layup with 8:38 to go put Wisconsin up 62-51. The first half was thrilling. The second half was just proof that Wisconsin is a great team that deserves this spot in the Final Four. That’s how it appeared. And then, a brief Arizona rally that closed the gap to five points gave Wildcats fans hope. But … Dekker (27 points). Back to the Final Four for Wisconsin.