Hot shooting Wisconsin blows past Arizona and into Final Four

It was a tale of two halves for Wisconsin.

After limping to a three-point halftime deficit against No. 2 seed Arizona, the top-seeded Badgers shot a blistering 78.9 percent from the field (15-of-19) and 83.3 percent from three (10-of-12) in the second half to blow past the Wildcats, 85-78, and back into the Final Four for the second straight season.

Much like in its Sweet 16 win over North Carolina, it was Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker leading the way for the Badgers. Kaminsky dominated on the low post, scoring a game-high 29 points while drilling 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Dekker knocked down five-of-six shots from long distance and scored a career-high 27 points on only 11 shots.

It was Kaminsky who helped the Badgers jump out to a lead in the second half, but it was Dekker who sealed the deal. Dekker’s second half performance looked like something out of a video game. He didn’t miss; knocking down all six shots he took from the field (five threes) and going three-for-three from the line.

In addition to Kaminsky and Dekker, senior Josh Gasser and sophomore Nigel Hayes pitched in with 10 and eight points, respectively, and each knocked down a pair of treys.

In a game that was played almost a year to the day of Wisconsin’s Elite Eight win over the Wildcats in last year’s tournament, the Badgers put up the most points against Arizona in more than two years – when USC put up 89 on the Cats on Feb. 27, 2013.

Though it seemed like Wisconsin couldn’t miss, Arizona never folded and hung tough – predominantly from the free throw line. The Badgers’ lead grew as large as 11 late in the second half, but the Wildcats hit 20-of-22 free throws in the second half (28-of-30 for the game) to stay within striking distance.

Arizona, who were led by Brandon Ashley and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson with 17 points apiece, even cut the lead down to five with under a minute to go, but Wildcats coach Sean Miller curiously didn’t instruct his team to put the Badgers on the free throw line. That allowed the Badgers to let the shot clock wind down before Dekker hit a high-arcing three with 20 seconds left to seal the victory.

The Badgers’ impressive win sets up a Final Four showdown against the winner of Saturday night’s matchup between No. 3 seed Notre Dame and undefeated Kentucky, the tournament’s top seed.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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