Tuesday, April 7, 2015

The Badgers captured a nation's heart and fell just short of a title

Shocked. That's the only way to put it for fans and players of the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team after losing that close of a game to the Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA National Championship game.

The team of destiny was ready to get back to the throne they were oh so close to last year. They went through the gauntlet of tests this year and passed every one with flying colors. They were the lovable jokers and comedians that the fans and media adored.

From Nigel Hayes' constant tests of the stenographer with words like: catawampus, onomatopoeia, antidisestablishmentarianism, soliloquy, quandary, zephyr, xylophone, prevaricated, syzygy, prestidigitation, logorrhea and succedaneum, to Frank Kaminsky's goofiness and all the fun times this team has in between, the Badgers seemed loose and unflappable.

They dominated the Big Ten regular season and were ranked in the top ten nationally all year. Going into the Big Ten tournament as the No. 1 seed, the Badgers had work to do to secure a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament. They looked shaky against Michigan, but pulled out the win in the end and then dominated Purdue the entire way.

It was then down to the Michigan State Spartans, who had a disappointing season up to that point. With Tom Izzo at the helm though, you couldn't count them out of anything, especially in March. Those pesky Spartans controlled the game and had an 11 point lead with under seven minutes left. That is when the Badgers got hot, scoring 11 straight to take a 60-59 lead with 4:16 left after a Bronson Koenig three-pointer.

The game remained close down the stretch before the Spartans' Brandon Dawson's jumper fell short at the buzzer to bring the game to overtime. From there, the Badgers dominated, shutting out the Spartans in the overtime and scoring at will.

I remember being a nervous wreck for that game sitting there with my girlfriend sitting by my side. This was only a small glimpse of how intense the rest of the postseason would be for the Badgers.

As I walked my girlfriend across the street to the bus station so she could go back to Madison, I learned the good news. The Badgers were the No. 1 seed in the West! My excitement waned when I saw they had to face the same foes from last year's Final Four run and were stuck on No. 1 overall seed Kentucky's side of the bracket.

After a quick dispatch of No. 16 Coastal Carolina University where the game was never in doubt in the first round of the tournament, the Badgers moved on to play the Oregon Ducks. The previous year as a 7-seed, the Ducks gave the 2-seeded Badgers all they could handle in a thrilling game in Milwaukee. The Badgers were able to hold on and go on a run to the Final Four.

This time around, Ducks leading scorer Joseph Young led his team in nearly every category including shooting but was very inefficient from the field. The Badgers knew they would have to try and contain while neutralizing the Ducks other attacking options. Frank Kaminsky, the player who was set to win every national player of the year award, matched Young shot for shot as Young shot his team out of a chance for victory and Wisconsin prevailed in a foul fest.

It was then on to the upstart North Carolina Tar Heels that were hot at the right time. The Tar Heels were full of people that were all able to drive, push the ball up the court and shoot inside whenever they wanted, but they had very few players that could shoot outside.

So of course, the Tar Heels proceeded to shoot 61.5 percent from behind the arc. Watching this with my girlfriend and her father in what only could be described as the quintessential man cave filled with Badger pictures and decorations all over the place was a surreal experience. I sat there watching the game and her father just as much because he was so nervous that he nearly gave himself a heart attack. It was tough to watch, but also extremely cool to see someone take sports just as seriously as I do.

In a close 79-72 contest with the final score buoyed by late free throws, the Badgers were able to pull through at the end thanks to a career high 23 points from local product Sam Dekker. It was crazy that it was his career high because after playing against him in high school, I felt he could have done so much more, That game was exactly what I wanted to see out of him though as he was an unstoppable force driving to the hoop and finishing through contact.

Senior guard Traevon Jackson returned from missing nearly 20 games with a fractured foot and calmly drained a three-pointer in his first minute back in action. Sophomore guard Bronson Koenig filled in admirably in his place throughout the year and looked like he was a better player than Jackson ever was.

It was then onto the 2-seeded Arizona Wildcats for a trip to the Final Four. Last year, the seeds were switched with the Wildcats the 1-seed in the West bracket. That is when the legend of Frank the Tank was born. Inside, outside, driving to the hoop or posting up, the Wildcats had no answer for the 7-foot Kaminsky. It was an insane game that left your stomach in knots the whole time as the Badgers pulled ahead. After a long review with two seconds left in overtime, the Wildcats got the ball with a chance to win the game. Guard Nick Johnson's shot fell short at the overtime buzzer and the Badgers advanced.

This time around, the Badgers dominated down low early and got most of Arizona's front line in foul trouble, but the Wildcats battled back and took a 33-30 lead into the half.

That is when the Badgers caught fire. They hit 10 second-half three-pointers, five of them from Sam Dekker as he bested his career high for the second straight game with 27 points. The Badgers were also anchored by Kaminsky again who had 29 points for the game.

Every time the Wildcats got close, the Badgers responded, typically with a Dekker three-pointer. It was a tense first half, but a great second half to watch as a fan. As soon as a shot went up, you knew it was going to be in. People in Madison were going nuts for the chance to have a rematch against Kentucky.

Say the word Harrison around Badgers fans and they instantly get angry. They have good reason to after Andrew Harrison hit a game-winning three-pointer in the closing seconds in last year's Final Four matchup between the two teams.

This time around, Kentucky was the heavy favorites going into the tournament after an undefeated 38-0 regular season. Kentucky's team was miles better than last year's underdog version. This year's Wildcats team featured nine McDonalds All-Americans led by Karl-Anthony Towns who is a consensus top five pick in the NBA.

The Badgers hung tough throughout the first half with the Wildcats and were able to keep the score tied at 36 going into the half. Watching at home with my girlfriend and family, we were very superstitious, wearing everything the same clothes we had on the last game (washed of course), switching our seats at the half, and even dressing up the family shitzu in the same clothes.

The superstitions must have worked as the Badgers hung tough through a six minute scoreless stretch and went on an 8-0 run to pull back ahead 64-56 with 6:37 left in the second half. Dekker closed the game out again as he drained a step-back three-pointer with 1:42 left and then took a charge the following possession. The Badgers salted the game away at the line, and the revenge they had waited exactly one year to avenge was complete.

The championship game was a carbon copy of all of the other games in the tournament as it was once again tied at the half. This time, that was a disappointment though as the Blue Devils were able to go the final seven minutes without their stars Justice Winslow and Jahlil Okafor on the floor due to foul trouble.

After the Badgers came out scorching hot in the second half, the Blue Devils were forced to call a timeout after a Frank Kaminsky layup stretched the Badgers lead to 48-39 with 13:25 left. Enter barely used freshman guard Grayson Allen who scored the next eight points for the Blue Devils to make it a close game once again.

After trading buckets down the stretch, the Wisconsin offense, which was the most efficient in NCAA history according to Ken Pomeroy's advanced statistics, stalled when it was needed the most. Duke was able to pull away and walk away with a five-point championship victory.

There were two close calls that probably went against the Badgers that many fans are unfairly saying went against the Badgers, I do not believe that you can blame it solely on them though. Winslow stepped out of bounds with a few minutes left before making a layup and then had the ball deflect off his middle finger with under two minutes left. The first call is understandable to be missed as his foot just barely stepped out, and the officials are bound to make mistakes.

The second one should have been called out on Winslow which would given the Badgers the ball with a chance to bring it back to a one-possession game. The problem was, the replay technology that the referees used did not have the enhanced angles that the audience at home could see. The referees even admitted it after the game. After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was only one minute and 45 seconds, the referees gave Duke the ball back and Tyus Jones proceeded to hit a three to stretch the lead to eight. The NCAA better fix that for next year, otherwise there will be many more close calls that could decide seasons once again.

As much as Badgers fans would love to say it, the referees did not blow the game. The Blue Devils defense stepped up when it needed the most and forced the Badgers to put up some wild shots down the stretch. That doesn't take anything away from this historic Badgers team that had the most wins in school history with 36, and won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles. They took their fans on a ride that won fans all across the country with their good-natured humor, general goofiness, and on-court success. They were my favorite team that I have ever seen play in college up to this point and were even able to dispel my first love of the 2004 Marquette Golden Eagles with Dwyane Wade, Steve Novak, Travis Diener, and Robert Jackson, all future NBA players. I wish nothing but the best to this lovable team in their future successes as a few have an NBA future.

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