Wisconsin heads to Final Four with different feeling

LOS ANGELES — Last year, Wisconsin beat Arizona by one point in overtime in a thrilling West Regional final to get to its first Final Four in 14 years.

Saturday, Wisconsin beat Arizona by seven points in a somewhat dominant West Regional final to get to its second consecutive Final Four.

Last year, Wisconsin's two best players, center Frank Kaminsky and forward Sam Dekker, were potential NBA draft picks who after the season decided to come back for another year with the Badgers.

This year, Kaminsky is a senior and Dekker a junior, and both of them look as if they'll be playing in the NBA next year.

So, this year's Final Four trip is different, right?

Right, says fifth-year senior Badgers guard Josh Gasser.

"Last year, it was a great feeling getting to the Final Four," Gasser said after the Wildcats' 85-78 victory Saturday. "It was almost like we were on top of the world. This year, we've kind of got an attitude like, 'What's next?'

"It's a little different feeling. We know we've got more to accomplish. We obviously have had a really good year thus far, but we've got bigger goals and stuff on our minds."

Kaminsky and Dekker spoke with their games Saturday about how determined they are to keep playing.

Kaminsky, who scored 28 in last year's Arizona matchup, scored 29 Saturday, again giving a variety of Arizona post defenders fits with his spins, baseline drives, reverse layups and feathery outside touch.

"I don't really care who is guarding me at this point," Kaminsky said. "I'm just going to try to do whatever I can to help our team. However they want to play us is fine. We'll make adjustments. We're just going to figure out a way to win the game."

Dekker has had back-to-back career highs, scoring 23 Thursday against North Carolina and 28 Saturday. He made all five of his three-pointers in the second half, including a high-archer in the final minute that made it an eight-point lead.

He seems to have found a new level of confidence in the tournament.

"I just try to stay aggressive and play my game," Dekker said. "Try to be an attack-first guy. I have the ability to use my athleticism. Sometimes I don't use it the way I should. When I'm in tune with that and doing it and using it to my advantage, it makes the game come a lot more smoothly and naturally.

"It also helps to have (Kaminsky) get a lot of attention. Some guys turn their heads and I'm able to get some easy looks. The guys keep telling me to stay on top, be aggressive and look for my shot when I get it."

Last year, forward Nigel Hayes came off the bench. Now he's a starter, and Saturday he made two big three-pointers in the second half, when the Badgers made 10 of 12 three-pointers.

So that's different, too.

"I would say last year our goal was to get to the Final Four," Hayes said. "Now we are a year older, a year stronger and better than last year. We have a different goal and that's to win it."

Reserve forward Duje Dukan is a forward, and he feels the difference, too.

"I'm just trying to take advantage of every opportunity with this team," he said. "Everybody and especially the seniors didn't want this to be our last 40 minutes. We did a great job of taking care of business and now we are getting ready for Indy.

"We've been through this before. We are not so giddy or as excited and not knowing what to expect. Now it's a matter of taking care of business. Last year we were happy to be there. This year, we expected to be there."

They're there thanks to a nearly perfect game Saturday. They shot 55.6% for the game. They shot 66.7% from the three-point line. They made 12 three-pointers. They scored 85 points. All of those were season highs for an opponent of Arizona, which won 34 games this season.

Coach Bo Ryan's teams have played some awfully good games in the NCAA tournament over the years. Saturday was one of the best.

But maybe the best is yet to come.