The Wisconsin men’s basketball team (29-7 overall, 12-6 Big Ten) is heading to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005.
UW took an early lead against Baylor Thursday night in Anaheim, Calif. and would not look back.
Despite the recent slow starts by the Badgers, they came out hot in the first half.
Baylor showed a zone defense and junior forward Frank Kaminsky took full advantage. The Wisconsin guards were able to find Kaminsky down low early and often, and he converted on 5-of-8 field goals in the first half for a team-leading 10 points.
Kaminsky also tallied four rebounds and four blocks in the half.
The Bears, on the other hand, shot only 21 percent from the field and failed to get anything going against the tough UW defense.
The Baylor zone left gaps for the Wisconsin offense and senior guard Ben Brust capitalized on it by going 2-for-2 from 3-point land for the Badgers.
At halftime UW held a convincing 29-16 lead over the Bears.
The Badger defense held Baylor’s go-to center Isaiah Austin to only two points and one rebound in the first half.
The second half began with much of the same for Wisconsin. They sliced through the zone defense, until the Bears finally switched to a man-to-man defense a few minutes into the second half.
The defensive switch by the Bears did not have much effect on the Wisconsin offense. It countered the man defense with great ball movement and offensive patience.
Everyone was contributing to the UW offense. Redshirt junior Duje Dukan hit a tough shot and was fouled in the process, putting the Badgers up 46-28 midway through the first half.
Baylor did not look like the team that has performed in the first two rounds of the tournament and failed to get anything going offensively.
The Bear’s 3-point specialist Brady Heslip would finish the game with only a single 3-pointer, while Austin was able to scavenge together 12 points and five rebounds in the second half.
Wisconsin would lead by as much as 21 points in the second half and strolled to a 69-52 victory over Baylor.
Kaminsky lead the Badgers in scoring with 19 points on 11 attempted field goals. Close behind was Brust, who finished 3-for-5 from beyond the arc for 14 points.
UW has now won 11 of their past 13 games as they advance to the Elite Eight. They will take on the winner of Arizona and San Diego State Saturday.
