Kaminsky, Dekker lead Wisconsin past Arizona and into Final Four

Frank Kaminsky scored 29 and Sam Dekker added a career-high 27 points, leading Wisconsin to an 85-78 win over Arizona and into the Final Four.

It's the second year in a row the Badgers have topped the Wildcats in the Elite Eight, with Kaminsky combining for 57 points in those two games.

Wisconsin started strong, opening the game on a 10-2 run before Arizona stormed back and eventually exited the half with a four-point lead. After going 2-of-6 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes, the Badgers found their collective deep shot, connecting on eight of their first nine 3-pointers in the second half.

The Badgers shot 66.7 percent from beyond the arc overall with Dekker going 5-of-6, including a ridiculous dagger in the game's final seconds.

Dekker had set his career high with 23 points in the Sweet Sixteen victory over North Carolina, but blew that out of the water with his outing Saturday. He scored  20 points in the second half, including 11 of Wisconsin's final 14 to seal the win.

It's the first time in school history the Badgers have reached the Final Four in back-to-back seasons and the sixth time overall the program has reached that benchmark. 

The Wildcats have now lost their last five trips to the Elite Eight, losing the five games by a combined total of 14 points. 

Fouls proved to be a double-edged sword for Zona. The Wildcats went 28-of-30 from the free-throw line, but also racked up the fouls individually. Freshman phenom Stanley Johnson fouled out with three-and-a-half minutes left. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson also fouled out late and Brandon Ashley sat for a large portion of the first half after picking up two fouls in 81 seconds to start the contest.

Ashley and Hollis-Jefferson led the way for Arizona with 17 points apiece as seven Wildcats reached double digits in scoring. It wasn't enough, though, as they'll have a second straight offseason to think about what they could have done differently to topple the Badgers.

Wisconsin will take on Kentucky in next Saturday's Final Four in a rematch of last year's national semifinal which the Wildcats won 74-73.