Traevon Jackson #12 of the Wisconsin Badgers fouls Andrew Harrison #5 of the Kentucky Wildcats in the second half during the NCAA Men’s Final Four Semifinal at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 4, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Andy Lyons/Getty Images/AFP
INDIANAPOLIS—Wisconsin ended Kentucky’s bid to become the first college basketball team to remain undefeated in nearly 40 years, beating the Wildcats 71-64 behind 20 points and 11 rebounds from Frank Kaminsky.
Wisconsin will play Duke, an 81-61 winner over Michigan State in the earlier semifinal, at the same venue on Monday night.
“It gives us another 40 minutes, I know that,” said Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan, who leads the Badgers to their first final since 1941.
And Kentucky has a long ride home, finishing the season at 38-1 — two wins short of becoming the first undefeated team in college basketball since the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers. Instead, these NBA-ready group of Wildcats join the star-studded 1991 UNLV team as the latest to take an undefeated record into the Final Four but lose in the semifinals.
Trailing by four and gasping for breath after going 6 minutes without a bucket, the Badgers (36-3) responded with an 8-0 run to take a lead Kentucky couldn’t overcome.
Kaminsky and Bronson Koenig went 7 for 8 from the line over the last 24 seconds to seal the win.
Kentucky’s last, best chance came while trailing by three with 12 seconds left. But Karl-Anthony Towns received the ball in the post and got fouled. He made only one free throw, and from there, Wisconsin clinched it from the foul-line.
Earlier Saturday, Justise Winslow scored 19 points and Jahlil Okafor added 18 to lead top-seeded Duke to an 81-61 victory over Michigan State on Saturday and a shot at its fifth national championship.
Winslow, who played through some early foul trouble, had nine rebounds and was 5 for 7 from the field, while Okafor grabbed six rebounds and was 7 for 11 from the field.
Senior Quinn Cook had 17 points for the Blue Devils, who dominated the game except for the opening minutes when they trailed 14-6.
Defensively, it was a team effort, just the way coach Mike Krzyzewski has stressed for his 35 seasons at Duke. What had been wide open 3-pointers early for Michigan State became contested shots and when the Blue Devils started getting up and on the Spartans, the points were suddenly tough to come by.
Denzel Valentine finished with 22 points, which included hitting three quick 3-pointers in the first quarter to give the No.7 seed Michigan State an early lead.
Trice scored 16 points and Branden Dawson added 12 for the Spartans.