Badgers built toward rematch with unbeaten Kentucky

Bo Ryan can appreciate the pressure Final Four coaches are under even if this is just his second at Wisconsin.

Ryan’s Badgers (33-3) draw Kentucky in the main event on Saturday’s card in Indianapolis, following Duke-Michigan State, a matchup of coaches who’ve gone to 19 Final Fours combined.

Ryan previously won four Division III national championships in 16 seasons at Wisconsin-Platteville, where he was the winningest coach in college basketball for a decade – 266-26 in the 1990s. He understands what it means to be a “marked” team.

Kentucky definitely qualifies as the favorite, and with that comes a giant target, one the Wildcats have carried all season to stunning results – a 38-0 record and another trip to the Final Four under John Calipari.

“The main thing is just to be themselves and not worry about the expectations from John’s standpoint in his job, just to coach and make sure players understand that everybody is out to get ‘em, they’re marked,” Ryan said. “We were marked this year, Duke was marked to some extent, Michigan State had ups and downs and now is playing really well. Making sure the expectations are the ones that you have control over. As a coach. Not outside ones. That’s what John has done, a great job of.”

Senior guard Josh Gasser had a shot in the final seconds to beat Kentucky in the 2014 Final Four matchup – a game he still hasn’t watched – and is placing plenty on his own shoulders as Saturday’s rematch approaches.

“It’s one of those moments you just don’t want to think about,” Gasser said. “I think we did a good job of learning from a game like that and really, you know, pushing momentum forward and learning from it and getting better from it. Obviously, you know, it was a heart breaking loss, but I think it’s made this team this year what it is, so we’ve got to take the positives from.”

The vivid memory for most college basketball fans is Aaron Harrison’s 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds from what seemed to be a half-mile away, the deciding bucket in the 74-73 epic.

Forward Nigel Hayes went as far as to say the loss to Kentucky drove individual improvement in the offseason – for him and for teammates. It was a rallying cry for 6 a.m. workouts, and the defeat still bothers a team leaving an umatched legacy in Madison.

Now, to do something about it when staring the giant in the pupils.

Wisconsin’s offense is based on spacing and unselfish ball movement. Gasser and junior Sam Dekker — on a tear in the tournament and scored 27 points in the regional final win over Arizona last week, his third 20-plus point game in the 2015 NCAA Tournament — said the game plan doesn’t change even though Kentucky’s size and depth has a big impact defensively. Whereas the 2014 Kentucky team was built largely around the inside punch of Julius Randle, this year’s model thrives on its depth of star power and mix-and-match options for Calipari.

“You’ve got to be able to react to the situation and play our style of basketball and not get moving too fast, because they’re going to try to throw a lot at you,” Dekker said. “But if we be ourselves and play our style of basketball and not move the game in our minds too fast, it should be all right.”

Kentucky’s most versatile post player, Willie Cauley-Stein, missed last year’s meeting. It’s expected the springy shot-swatting center will draw the initial assignment on Wisconsin senior forward Frank Kaminsky, a matchup of First-Team All-Americans.

“We know Kentucky has a lot of guys that will be first rounders and good players at the next level, but I think we have guys that are going to be good, too, and Michigan State as well, and Duke as well,” Dekker said. “I don’t think it matters. You have good teams, good players, and we’re here in the Final Four for a reason. You don’t get here without talent and it’s going to be fun to play against those guys.”