As one would expect, Saturday’s national semifinal between No. 1 Wisconsin and No. 1 Kentucky garnered a lot of attention across the country. The Wildcats entered the game 38-0, two wins away from a 40-0 mark that had never been reached in Division I men’s college basketball, and John Calipari’s team was seen as the prohibitive favorite heading into the Final Four.
On the other side of the equation was No. 1 Wisconsin, which entered the game with a 35-3 record and had its mind set on avenging a one-point loss to the Wildcats in last year’s Final Four. The Badgers got the job done, winning 71-64 to advance to the national title game where they’ll play No. 1 Duke Monday night.
Below are some Twitter reactions to the outcome, beginning with former Badger Mike Bruesewitz.
The Kentucky student section was completely devastated after the Karl-Anthony Towns missed free throw. pic.twitter.com/5wfP1p1qCW
— Scott Phillips (@phillipshoops) April 5, 2015
Perfection is over!! So hard to run the table in college basketball. #WISvsUK #FinalFour
— Wally Szczerbiak (@wallyball) April 5, 2015
The Badgers head back to the locker room.
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 5, 2015
We will see them Monday night! #FinalFourhttps://t.co/wQDptF0Agf
Unbelievable season for Kentucky, so happy for Wisconsin though🔥 #FinalFour
— Sean O'Donnell (@TheSeanODonnell) April 5, 2015
.@BadgerMBB closing in on Monday night. Defense and Rebounding did it..What an effort by Bo's team!! Impressive !!@CBSSportsCBB #FinalFour
— Clark Kellogg (@ClarkKelloggCBS) April 5, 2015
One more chance to #MakeEmBelieve. pic.twitter.com/hPvCIiiS0V
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) April 5, 2015
Sam Dekker: We wanted to win a national champ. We set those goals out before the season. We were very vocal about it." #B1GMBBall #FinalFour
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) April 5, 2015
Reporter says UK was "arguably" the best team in the country. Wisconsin's Josh Gasser cuts him off: "They were the best team in the country"
— Jeff Greer (@jeffgreer) April 5, 2015
The Kentucky players had a great, great season. I hope they're proud of it, despite the disappointment. #FinalFour
— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) April 5, 2015
Calipari: "I'm proud of these kids. They took us on an absolute ride as a coach, our staff, our university, our state." #FinalFour
— Zach Osterman (@ZachOsterman) April 5, 2015
Barkley: "Kentucky did not lose this game. Wisconsin won it." #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/Ts8dPgQVOV
— Warner Bros. Discovery Sports U.S. PR (@WBDSportsPR) April 5, 2015
Sports Illustrated cover from 39 years ago today. pic.twitter.com/HKSkJCJafl
— Jeff Rabjohns (@JeffRabjohns) April 5, 2015
Our lights are now shining in the colors of @DukeU and @UWMadison to celebrate their #FinalFour victories! pic.twitter.com/mSBa00WUTf
— Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) April 5, 2015
And the win will be a lucrative one for the Wisconsin coaching staff:
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan picks up $100,000 bonus for Badgers advancing to the NCAA championship game #WISvsUK
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) April 5, 2015
Each Wisconsin assistant coach gets bonus equal to 10% of his base salary for Badgers advancing to NCAA final #FinalFour
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) April 5, 2015