The wait is over for Bo Ryan and the Wisconsin Badgers.
Wisconsin advances to Final Four with 64-63 overtime win over Arizona
Bo Ryan clinched his first trip to the Final Four in a thriller out west.
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan has led his team to the NCAA Tournament every year since taking over as Wisconsin head coach in 2001-02 and on Saturday clinched his first trip to the Final Four as the Badgers beat the Arizona Wildcats, 64-63 in overtime in the Elite Eight.
In a tight game throughout, Arizona jumped out to a quick lead and stayed ahead for nearly the entire first half. The Badgers scored the final five points of the opening 20 minutes to cut the deficit to 28-25 at the break.
They finally drew even with Arizona on a three from Frank Kaminsky and took the lead a minute later on a jumper from Bronson Koenig with 15:13 to play.
Kaminsky led all scorers and had a double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Kaminsky was also 3-5 from three-point range, including this one, which put the Badgers ahead with 4:30 to play.
For Arizona, forward Aaron Gordon struggled mightily from the field. The freshman came into the game averaging 12.5 points per game and enjoyed a 7-9 shooting night on Thursday against San Diego State, but he was just 3-11 from the field on Saturday, managing to tally eight points. He was still effective on the glass, however, hauling in a game-high 18 rebounds.
Nick Johnson and Kaleb Tarczewski also came up big for the Wildcats. Johnson, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, had 16 points and Tarczewski contributed 12 more underneath on 5-8 shooting.
But it was a somewhat unexpected hero who came up in the clutch for Arizona to keep the season alive for five extra minutes. With the Badgers leading 54-52 with under a minute to play, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson found himself in the right place, at the right time. Johnson missed a jumper badly, but Hollis-Jefferson was there to grab the ball out of the air and throw it down to tie the game with 30.9 seconds left.
Traevon Jackson missed a jumper on the ensuing possession to give this year's tournament a record-setting seventh overtime.
The game stayed close in the extra session. With Arizona trailing by one with time winding down, Johnson drove right and before he had the chance to attempt a game-winning shot, he was whistled for an offensive foul after extending his left arm into his defender.
The Wildcats actually got the ball back after a botched Wisconsin inbounds play and official review, but Johnson’s would-be game-winner missed and appeared to come after the buzzer anyway, setting off a celebration for the team in red.
The Badgers will take on the winner of Kentucky and Michigan in the National Semifinals on Saturday. The Wildcats and the Wolverines will fill in the last Final Four spot Sunday evening in a game that will tip at 5:05 p.m. ET.
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