Participating in the Pandemonium of Wisconsin's Upset of Kentucky in Indianapolis

With full realization that you will think this is utter nonsense, the key turning point in Wisconsin’s program-defining win over Kentucky on Saturday night had nothing to do with any of the players or coaches involved in the game. With eight minutes remaining, Kentucky had scored on two straight possessions to make it 56-56. A Josh Gasser offensive foul away from the ball negated a Bronson Koenig 3-pointer, Aaron Harrison made a lay-up, Frank Kaminsky missed the front end of a one-and-one, and a Karl-Anthony Towns jumper put Kentucky up 60-56. The Badgers were reeling, and the Duke fan to my left was annoying the shit out of me.

“REMEMBER THIS,” he kept yelling, noting that these crucial moments would loom large in Wisconsin’s inevitable loss. I wanted to offer him $40 to never talk again for the rest of the game. He was messing with my juju to influence the outcome. I never made the proposal, and instead telepathically willed him to leave early to beat traffic, which he did shortly thereafter. The rest of the contest featured just one field goal from Kentucky, whose 38-0 start will be remembered as a trivia button alongside 1991 UNLV the next time an undefeated team loses in the Final Four, as opposed to a legendary season that had felt inevitable 6.5 minutes of game time earlier.

Did I swing the game? Perhaps so, probably not. However, it felt to me like I did. This stupid superstition (it’s genetic; my dad believes he swung the game by putting on his lucky sweatshirt), along with the not-otherwise-possible bonding with thousands of Badgers in the seats and streets of Indy after Wisconsin slayed the dragon, is the whole reason to care about sports in the first place.

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We rightfully rip on the NCAA for its tax and compensation avoidance schemes. But, Frank Kaminsky is the prime example of somebody who has extracted incalculable value out of his time at Wisconsin. Not heavily recruited out of high school, Kaminsky averaged 7.7 minutes and 1.8 points per game as a freshman, and 10.3 minutes and 4.2 points per game as a sophomore.

Now, Kaminsky is a presumptive first round pick, he’s been on national magazine covers, and his name has scrolled on ESPN’s ticker for approximately two dozen different player of the year awards. When he dances, it goes viral. He’s spent a year as the de facto king of Madison, which sounds more enjoyable in a vacuum than being a ninth man on an NBA team. (He agrees.) Nevertheless, the Badgers were fortunate to get him back. There aren’t many players who could get drafted in the first round but return to school, but Kaminsky is of that temperament.

Sam Dekker’s emergence has come at an opportune time. Though it would be unfair to say that Dekker was bad for much of his first three seasons, he was a disappointment relative to the lofty expectations for the rare Wisconsin five-star recruit. There was a bizarre mixture of lacking a killer instinct, and getting a quick hook from Bo Ryan each time an aggressive risk failed to pan out. Each time Jason had Dekker near the lottery in his mock drafts, I’d privately ask him what the hell he was doing. I didn’t even think Dekker was ready to leave school.

For whatever reason, a flip switched in the Sweet 16 against North Carolina. Dekker had 23 points, which became his career high (this was weird — shouldn’t he have gone off against like UW-Parkside at some point?), and then 28 in an explosive performance against Arizona. He had 16 against Kentucky, and sparked the Badgers’ last run with a huge three-pointer and a drawn charge. The ruthless Dekker of the past three games has been one of the most pleasant surprises of my life.

Wisconsin has also had really fortuitous injury luck, but not nearly in a conventional manner. They’re supremely lucky that Josh Gasser tore his ACL in the 2012 preseason, enabling him to bolster their defense as a sixth-year senior. The depth behind him is no bueno. At point guard, a Traevon Jackson foot injury paved the way for Bronson Koenig, who has a nearly 3-1 assist to turnover ratio and makes 40% of his 3’s, to take over the starting job. There’s no way to know, but I don’t think that Bo would’ve benched a senior for a better sophomore without those circumstances.

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I found a single ticket on StubHub for about $365 last week, which is much more than I would’ve liked to have paid, but was way less than even the worst seats were going for on the secondary market. After going to a huge joint Wisconsin/Michigan State tailgate for a few hours before the game, I entered the arena. From my 500-level seat, I could see across the stadium which ushers were less diligent about checking tickets, and decided to make my move.

A few twists and turns later, I was five seats away from Andy North and Barry Alvarez for the Duke-Michigan State game. Between the games, I tried to chat up North about my theory that the Badgers had a good chance to win if they hit shots from the outside (profound!), and he politely nodded that it would be a good game. Shortly thereafter, the jig was up. The proper ticketholder arrived, the two large women to my left who were occupying three seats refused to consolidate to accommodate me, and I spent much of the Wisconsin game as a vagabond. Desperate times, etc.

Because this always comes up, yes, perhaps I could’ve gotten a press pass. But, that would’ve required about eight bureaucratic hoops to jump through, they’d stick me in some undesirable corner, I would’ve had to dress presentably instead of in Wisconsin gear, and I would’ve gotten dirty looks from no fewer than 200 old white men for having the audacity to cheer for my alma mater. No thanks. I have this job because I love sports, and anything that would muzzle that is not worthwhile.

Eventually, I landed at the top of lower level center court, next to the annoying Duke fan.

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After the game was pandemonium. Big Blue Nation, which had seemingly comprised half of Lucas Oil Stadium, was almost nowhere to be found (the next morning Kaylee Hartung reported that they were abandoning their mandatory four-night hotel stays in droves). I unfortunately didn’t partake in the raucous scene in Wisconsin’s hotel, but when you win on the road every like-minded fan becomes your best friend. High fives galore. Jubilation. A delusional feeling that we all accomplished something together.

This was the best Badger football or basketball win since I entered the university in 2005. There might have been better performances — a 70-31 drubbing of Nebraska in the 2012 Big Ten football championship game and last week’s lights-out second half against Arizona come to mind — but there has been nothing like simultaneously exorcising the Aaron Harrison demons, ending Kentucky’s undefeated run, and reaching the national title game all at once. This was truly special.

Unfortunately, they still have to beat Duke. I know that the Badgers are favored tonight and were underdogs on Saturday, but I’m much more personally concerned about this matchup. Duke came into the Kohl Center and left with a 10-point victory that felt like more of a blowout than the final score indicated. Justise Winslow and Jahlil Okafor, by my eyes, are more formidable than Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein (who was relegated to a complete afterthought the other night). Tyus Jones is the type of speedy point guard who always gives the Badgers fits.

Also, and I know this might sound dumb, it’s worrisome to me that everybody is talking about Wisconsin and nobody is talking about Duke. I get why this group of Badgers is resonating naturally, and that there is some fatigue with the joyless Coach K and his blue blooded program. But, they destroyed a Michigan State team that had been playing great basketball for a month. Am I incorrect that Wisconsin seems to be getting a disproportionate share of the attention?

In any event, tonight’s game will come down to …. whether Wisconsin hits its outside shots. They’re going to need Kaminsky and Nigel Hayes to draw Winslow and Okafor away from the rim, and for Sam Dekker to continue wreaking havoc on the inside and outside. It’s certainly not impossible for the Badgers to win, but tonight will go a long way in defining how this team is remembered nationally as the years march on.

[Photos via Getty and USAT Sports Images]