The Arizona Wildcats and Wisconsin Badgers have been in this spot before. The two teams face off with a chance to make it to the Final Four as the Badgers got the one-point win in overtime to advance. Gabe York failed to get the shot off in time for Arizona to win. Now the two teams see each other once again under the same circumstances as the Wildcats hope for different results.
The Badgers continue looking like the No. 1 seed as they defeated UNC to reach the Elite 8. Wisconsin struggled for most of the game as everyone got off to a slow start, but the Badgers pushed in the final 10 minutes to get the 79-72 win in the Sweet 16. Sam Dekker put up 23 points while Frank Kaminsky added 19 to the win. Wisconsin shot 46 percent in the win while improving to 58 percent in the second half which is what got them the win in the end.
Arizona also suffered a slow start in their Sweet 16 win against Xavier. TJ McConnell struggled in the first half before scoring 13 of his 17 points in the second half to get Arizona the win. Kaleb Tarczewski added 12 points and 12 rebounds while the Wildcats were forced to clamp down on defense before going on a 19-7 run at the end of the game. They will need those defensive efforts once again to hold off Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin-Arizona matchup is the first time in 40 years that a pair of teams will meet in the Elite 8 for consecutive years. Last year, Arizona had an answer for everything Wisconsin did on offense. The game was physical and that can be expected to happen once again with the Final Four on the line. McConnell told the media that he has been thinking about that loss ever since the offseason began it has been driving him for his entire senior season. The Wildcats want revenge which could be what gets them the win over the Badgers.
