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Baylor's Zone Is No Problem for Wisconsin


ANAHEIM, Calif. - When Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan was in Little League, his father, who coached the team, told the boys to pack up their gear when they came back to the dugout for their last at-bat trailing by five runs. What was the point? They were not going to win the game.


That talking-to lit an I'll-show-you spark, and Ryan and his teammates stormed back to win.


It also left a lasting impression on Ryan, who has an artful way with words for his teams, as he did last week at halftime when the No. 2-seeded Badgers stormed back to avoid an upset by Oregon.


But no emotional hot buttons needed to be pushed Thursday when Wisconsin took apart Baylor for a start-to-finish, 69-52 trouncing in a West Regional semifinal. The Badgers advanced to play Arizona or San Diego State on Saturday for a berth in the Final Four.


Baylor had reached this point on the strength of some torrid shooting and a zone defense, anchored by the 7-foot-1 Isaiah Austin, that befuddled Creighton last week, leaving that team's star, Doug McDermott, as out of sorts as he had been all season.



But The Badgers found the zone an easy riddle to solve. They had no trouble flashing a big man - often the 7-foot center Frank Kaminsky - to the free-throw line. Once the ball got there, or in the low block, the Bears moseyed toward it. That entry pass often kick-started the possession toward one of three conclusions: a drive to the basket, a pass to an open teammate along the baseline, or an open 3-pointer.


Wisconsin did not miss often.


Kaminsky, showing off an array of post moves and head fakes, was at the center of the Badgers' performance at both ends of the court. He scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and also contributed 6 blocks, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.


The Badgers picked apart the Baylor zone so easily, the Bears came out of that defense for a few possessions near the end of the half. Moments after a dunk by Sam Dekker and a lay-in-and-1 by Kaminsky at the start of the second half, Baylor Coach Scott Drew called timeout.


The Bears, trailing by 16, returned to the court playing man-to-man, but they were never slowed the Badgers enough to make them feel uncomfortable.


Nigel Hayes began a telling sequence when he collected one of his three offensive rebounds and found himself on the left block. He passed to Josh Gasser, who was slashing from the left wing. Gasser took the ball to the rim and when the Bears collapsed on him, he wrapped a pass around to Duje Dukan, who was cutting along the right baseline. Dukan then whipped a pass to the top of the arc, where Ben Brust stepped into a wide open 3-pointer.


When it swished through the net, the Badgers fans roared their approval. Wisconsin led, 51-31.


From there, the Bears seemed content to take their beating. Attempts to trap Wisconsin were half-hearted and did little to keep the Badgers from clock-eating possessions. The only encouragement Baylor got was from Wisconsin missing 6 of 7 free throws. But the Bears' own poor shooting - they made just 2 of 15 3-pointers - never allowed them to take advantage.


As the final minutes played out, Ryan stood on the sidelines in front of his bench, his arms folded. It was an unusual position for fiery coach: speechless.


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