LOS ANGELES -- Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan ambled through the bowels of Staples Center on Wednesday afternoon, preparing for a practice, and bumped into Arizona Coach Sean Miller.
The meeting triggered his memory.
"Wait a minute," Ryan thought. "Weren't we just doing this a year ago?"
The proceedings Thursday night at Staples Center provided an even stronger sense of deja vu for Ryan, Miller and everyone else associated with either program.
The Wildcats and Badgers advanced after stiffer-than-expected tests from Xavier and North Carolina. Last year in Anaheim, Wisconsin beat Arizona in the West Region final in what may have been the game of the tournament. Today at Staples Center, Wisconsin will play Arizona in the West Region final in a matchup with the potential to be the game of the tournament.
Frank Kaminsky scored 28 points and the second-seeded Badgers toppled the top-seeded Wildcats 64-63 in overtime last year in Anaheim. The seeds are flipped this year, with Wisconsin entering as the No. 1 seed and Arizona No. 2. Eleven of the 15 players from last year's game will play in the rematch, including seven of Wisconsin's eight. Both teams have 34-3 records, and the winner may pose the largest threat to Kentucky, which it would potentially meet at the Final Four.
It would be a high-stakes, high-level game regardless of the history, but last year's classic and the bitterness that Arizona has carried make it richer.
"We've had all year to think about Wisconsin," Miller said.
Before they played Xavier, the Wildcats gathered in their locker room. A television screen showed the end of Wisconsin's close call against North Carolina. If any of them pulled for Wisconsin or pined for a rematch, it remained a private matter. They had a different team to focus on first, after all.
But once the game ended, Arizona's focus could shift totally toward the Badgers, the team that ruined their season a year ago. Last year backup guard Gabe York couldn't bring himself to watch the Final Four. He looks back on the Wisconsin loss with great individual regret. He said he believes he played poorly, and his team lost by a single point.
"I think any basketball player would want a rematch," York said.
Even still, not all the Wildcats seemed particularly charged to face Wisconsin again. They only wanted to reach the Elite Eight again, and they have. The chance to make the Final Four, and climb a step closer to the national title, is enough.
"I'm trying to be politically correct with my answer," said Arizona assistant coach Joseph Blair, who played on the Wildcats' 1994 Final Four team. "I don't think anybody gives a [expletive]. We're trying to win and go to the Final Four. Whoever it is we play, we're trying to beat them. It's the goal we're after, not the team we're trying to beat."
Now Arizona will try to figure out how to bridge the distance of that one point. Miller said last year's game gives Arizona an edge in preparation. Wisconsin's unique strategy and capability -- the way it moves the ball on offense, its man-to-man defensive scheme, Kaminsky's score-from-anywhere style -- is easier to solve once it's been confronted in person.
"We at least know," Miller said. "I do think that familiarity in some ways has to help us."
They'll also have Brandon Ashley, who watched from the bench last March because a torn knee ligament ended his season in February.
"Only time will tell," Ashley said, whether he can push Arizona past Wisconsin.
But in this tournament he has averaged 9.7 points, and at 6-9 he can guard several positions.
"He gives a different flexibility to our team," Blair said. "What we did last year, if it was a spectrum, he was a missing color on the spectrum. To have him on the team this year, I think, is going to make a big difference. It creates different matchups for Wisconsin as well."
Wisconsin is almost the same as last season, yet different from a couple weeks ago. Thursday night, senior point guard Traevon Jackson played for the first time since he broke his foot Jan. 11 at Rutgers. He played nine minutes spread over three short bursts, including at the end of the game. On his first possession, Jackson drilled a three-pointer from the right corner.
"Just thinking about being aggressive," Jackson said. "I knew I was going to be open for a shot, and I just thought in my mind, 'Shoot it.' That was really cool."
Sophomore Bronson Koenig has established himself as the starter, and Jackson will come off the bench. But he gives Wisconsin an athletic defender to throw at T.J. McConnell and an experienced ball handler for the final minutes.
"Him actually being on the court helps us especially late in games," Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes said. "Clutch Trae, I guess you could call him."
Sports on 03/28/2015