MINNEAPOLIS-It was there. It was in their reach.
With two minutes remaining in the Midwest Regional semifinal between Wisconsin and Kentucky, sophomore guard Devin Harris collected a Wildcat turnover and brought the ball upcourt. Then, at the 1:33 mark, sophomore forward Mike Wilkinson knifed through Kentucky's defense and laid the ball in to pull UW within one point of the No. 1 team in the nation at 56-55. Sensing a colossal upset, the pro-Wisconsin crowd erupted and prepared itself for the finish, which was sure to be electric.
That, however, would be as close as the Badgers got, as turnovers and Kentucky foul shooting spelled doom for UW's quest to get back to the Elite Eight.
When it was all over, Kentucky stood on top 63-57, putting an end to Wisconsin's heroic attempt at an upset and also drawing a close to a very successful year for the Badgers.
\I just want to say how proud I am of these guys,"" Head Coach Bo Ryan said after the game. ""It was a great run.""
From the opening tip, Kentucky made it perfectly clear about how they would try to end Wisconsin's run: Feed senior forward Marquis Estill in the post until his hands were black and blue from catching the ball. The 6'9"" bruiser had his way with Wisconsin all game, scoring Kentucky's first six and ending up with a game-high 28. Indeed, throughout the contest, the only person able to contain Estill was Estill himself, as he missed several point-blank shots and went 4-10 from the line. Despite those struggles, Estill proved the difference in squeaking out a game that was tight from the opening tip.
""It's tough to stop him so close to the basket. It's almost an automatic two points,"" Harris said. ""We just tried to make his touches as limited as possible.""
UW was able to counter the Wildcats' inside play for most of the game with effective outside shooting. UK may have outscored UW 40-14 in the paint, but the Badgers hit on eight three-pointers to the Wildcats' one.
Playing in the last game of his spectacular college career, senior guard Kirk Penney put on a show in the first half, scoring 17 points and hitting four three-pointers. Penney's ability to penetrate also caught UK off guard and opened up further opportunities for himself and his teammates. The second half, however, was a different story for Penney. Kentucky focused a huge amount of its defense on the first team all-Big Ten performer, limiting him to only three more points.
""They were chasing Kirk hard,"" Ryan said. ""They made it real tough, even on hand-offs and fades. They just hunted him down, and that made his looks a heck of a lot tougher.""
With Penney not getting his looks, the Badgers were still able to stay in the game thanks to heady play by Harris. Harris scored nine points in the second half, and came up with three huge steals to keep the deficit from getting to be too large. On a couple of occasions, Harris made the Kentucky guards, who came in with the reputation of being quick, look foolish with his usual array of hesitation dribbles, crossovers and aggressive drives to the basket.
Wilkinson also stepped up in the second half, but made two crucial errors down the stretch. Coming out of a timeout at the minute mark trailing 58-55, Wilkinson traveled as he attempted to drive towards the basket. After Estill hit one free throw, Wilkinson was fouled on the other end and the Badgers had another chance to cut into the Wildcats' lead. Wilkinson, though, missed both free throws and Kentucky was able to close the game out from the line.
Yes, Wisconsin lost the game, but even with the loss, UW provided a resounding rebuttal to its many national critics.
""That was Wisconsin basketball,"" freshman forward Alando Tucker said. ""It just goes to show that any team can be beaten. That was proven tonight.\
