Despite the prestige and winning reputation of Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, he is yet to make it to the Final Four in his 12 seasons with the Badgers.
He will attempt to change that tonight when UW (29-7 overall, 12-6 Big Ten) squares up against Arizona in Anaheim, Calif.
The Badgers are coming off one of their most dominant performances of the season, beating Baylor handily by 17 points as they shot an impressive 52 percent from the field.
They will need to continue the hot shooting if they hope to get past the Wildcats, who are possibly the most complete team in the tournament.
Arizona has lost only four games this season and features wins over Michigan, Duke and San Diego State.
Junior guard Nick Johnson leads the Wildcats in scoring, tallying over 16 points per game, while they have one of the most prolific freshman in the country in Aaron Gordon.
Gordon, who is often compared to National Basketball Association-star Blake Griffin, is a high-flying forward that can hurt his opponents from anywhere on the court, but spends most of his time above the rim. Gordon is averaging 12 points and eight rebounds per game this season.
As if Gordon wasn’t enough, Arizona also has a 7-footer in sophomore center Kaleb Tarczewski. Junior forward Frank Kaminsky will most likely take on the role of guarding the big man that also averages nearly 10 points and seven rebounds per game.
Wisconsin will look to continue their offensive command they have showcased in the tournament thus far. It has averaged over 50 percent shooting from the floor in its first three games.
The last time Wisconsin made it to the Final Four was in 2000 when it was a No. 8 seed under head coach Dick Bennett. Coincidentally, UW beat the Wildcats in the tournament that season on their path to the Final Four.
Arizona came out on top the last time these teams met in the tournament in 2006.
Tipoff is set for 7:49 p.m. Saturday and the winner will earn a spot in the Final Four in Texas.
