The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team last made an appearance in the Final Four in 2015 with a roster featuring Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, who both went on to play in the NBA. DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win” played throughout the arena as Wisconsin beat undefeated Kentucky to earn a spot in the finals against Duke.
The Badgers have made an appearance in the Final Four a total of four times: 2000, 2014 and 2015 in addition to the championship they received in 1941.
Relive the historic run in 2015
Fans crowded bars and restaurants in Madison on April 4, 2015 to watch the Badgers take on the University of Kentucky in the NCAA tournament semifinals.
The West Region No. 1-seeded Wisconsin ended the final four with a 71-64 win in thrilling fashion to end the No. 1 seed Kentucky’s undefeated season. Kentucky fell through the odds of making it to the NCAA finals as the Badgers came with a crushing victory.
Fans jumped around and cheered to DJ Kahlid’s “All I Do Is Win,” flooding State Street as chants of “Let's go Badgers” echoed through Madison.
“It was not the mindset to try and end their streak,” Badgers star forward Nigel Hayes said after the game. “The fact that we wanted to win a national championship and they were the team we had to play, inevitably we would’ve had to end that streak if we wanted to reach our goal.”
Later during the press conference, Hayes mentioned the word “momentum.” That word is key to a successful and championship-winning team. So, where has that momentum gone?
Some would say the idea of momentum left with head coach Bo Ryan after leaving the coaching world for retirement. After a solid effort from Bo Ryan and the rest of the Badgers, the Duke Blue Devils were able to take the win, ending March Madness with 68-63.
So what did head coach Bo Ryan’s Final Four teams have that Greg Gard’s team has been missing?
The Badgers' 2014 and 2015 rosters featured two key players: Kaminsky and Dekker, who both went on to play in the NBA.
Kaminsky won numerous honors in his time as a Badger, including the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, Kareem Abdul Jabbar Award and Big Ten Player of the Year. These are just a few of the titles Kaminsky earned as a Badger, contributing to Wisconsin’s success in the March Madness tournament.
Forward Sam Dekker overlapped with Kaminsky’s career. The forward earned the NCAA West Region's most outstanding player, the Julius Irvin Award, and earned a spot as a finalist for the preseason Wooden and Naismith awards.
