Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, March 21, 2015
Wisconsin senior Frank Kaminsky had 27 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in a commanding 86-72 win over Coastal Carolina in a NCAA Tournament second round matchup on Friday night.
Here's BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart's rapid reaction.
The star: Frank Kaminsky fulfilled his billing as the Big Ten Player of the Year, scoring a game-high 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting. The 7-foot senior also had 12 rebounds and four assists. He added a block for good measure. In a word, Kaminsky was sensational.
The stat: The Badgers shot a whopping 54.1 percent, hitting 33-of-61 shots. Wisconsin also scorched the nets from 3-point land, shooting 40.7 percent (11-of-27) as Sam Dekker (20 points) and Nigel Hayes (15) also were in double-figures.
The key to victory: The Badgers were able to attack the rim at will. And that made for myriad easy shots, as Wisconsin shot 54.1 percent from the field and outscored Coastal Carolina 40-24 in the paint. Wisconsin?s size also resulted in a 36-25 edge on the glass. The Badgers were just too big and too good for Coastal Carolina.
It was over when: The moment Coastal Carolina?s bus rolled up to the arena in Omaha. The Chanticleers had no shot. None. Zip. Nada. It was 47-32 at halftime. Wisconsin senior point man Traevon Jackson was held out again. But, he wasn?t needed.
What?s next: The Badgers will take on No. 8 Oregon. Wisconsin knocked off the Ducks in last year?s tourney, 85-77, to advance to the Sweet 16. Kaminsky had 19 points to lead the way for the Badgers.
Notable: Wisconsin set a school record with its 32nd win, as the Badgers are in the tournament for the 17th straight year.
With tonight's win, Wisconsin becomes the first #B1G team with 32 or more victories since OSU had 34 wins in 2010-11 pic.twitter.com/i7sDx4nrHf
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 21, 2015
About Tom Dienhart | BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section. |
And if you want to leave a comment on this post, use the box below. All comments need to be approved by a moderator.