National Basketball Association
Wisconsin 69, Baylor 52
When: 7:47 PM ET, Thursday, March 27, 2014
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Officials:
# Jeff Anderson, # Roger Ayers, # Antinio Petty
Attendance:
N/A
By SportsDirect Inc.
Wisconsin 69, Baylor 52: Frank Kaminsky led the way with 19 points and a career-high six blocks as the Badgers cruised into the Elite Eight with a convincing win over the Bears in Anaheim, Calif.
Kaminsky shot 8-of-11 from the field and Ben Brust added 14 points to help propel second-seeded Wisconsin into Saturday's West regional final against top-seeded Arizona. The Badgers (29-7), who led by double digits for the final 25 minutes, also received 10 points off the bench from freshman Nigel Hayes.
Cory Jefferson recorded 15 points and seven rebounds to lead sixth-seeded Baylor (26-12), which did not reach 10 points until less than seven minutes remained in the first half and did not reach the 20-point plateau until there were a little over 17 minutes left in the game. The Bears' athleticism was expected to cause problems for the Badgers, but Baylor shot only 31.6 percent from the field, including 2-of-15 from 3-point range, and was outrebounded 39-33.
Baylor scored the game's first basket and held the lead for 36 seconds until Kaminsky's layup evened the score for the final time as Wisconsin suffocated the Bears in the first half, holding them to 20 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes en route to a 29-16 advantage at the break. Kaminsky had 10 points and four blocks in the first half and added a three-point play early in the second half as the Badgers continued to pour it on.
Brust's 3-pointer pushed the lead to 51-30 with a little over 10 minutes left and Wisconsin was never threatened down the stretch. Brust finished 3-of-5 from behind the arc and chipped in six rebounds while backcourt mate Traevon Jackson recorded seven points, seven rebounds and five assists to help the Badgers to their 12th win in 14 games.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Wisconsin is in the regional final for the first time since 2005, when it lost to eventual champion North Carolina. ... Kenny Chery and Isaiah Austin added 12 points apiece for Baylor, which had averaged 79.5 points in tournament-opening wins against Nebraska and Creighton. ... Badgers G Josh Gasser, who was instrumental in his team's third-round win over Oregon with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, missed all five of his shots in this one and finished with four points. He also had a team-high eight rebounds.
Top Game Performances
Baylor |
|
Wisconsin |
Cory Jefferson 15 |
Scoring |
Frank Kaminsky 19 |
Royce O'Neale 4 |
Assists |
Traevon Jackson 5 |
Kenny Chery 8 |
Rebounds |
Josh Gasser 8 |
Kenny Chery 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Josh Gasser 4 |
Gary Franklin 1 |
Steals |
Josh Gasser 1 |
Isaiah Austin 2 |
Blocks |
Frank Kaminsky 6 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Baylor
|
52 |
31.6 |
2-15 |
14-18 |
10 |
30 |
3 |
5 |
6 |
Wisconsin
|
69 |
52.0 |
6-16 |
11-20 |
18 |
35 |
6 |
1 |
10 |