Wisconsin looks dominant in NCAA rout of Baylor

[undeterred]

ANAHEIM, Calif. — There were those who were wondering how a team that started 2-8 in the Big 12 Conference could have advanced this far in the NCAA tournament. They can stop wondering now, as the Baylor Bears showed all their warts in losing for the 12th time this season, getting mauled by Wisconsin 69-52 in an NCAA tournament West Region semifinal Thursday night.

The second-seeded Badgers (29-7) built a big lead early and kept it, dominating on both ends of the court, to move on to a regional final Saturday against No.1 seed Arizona.

BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 69, Baylor 52

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LOCKER ROOM: Aaron Rodgers celebrates

"Nobody makes more ball fakes or pump fakes than Wisconsin," Ryan said. "Shot fakes and ball fakes work. It's not that hard, yet it's amazing how many people do not use them."

After a disastrous first half, Baylor trailed by 13 and then gave up a dunk by Sam Dekker and a three-point play by Kaminsky, and Wisconsin was ahead 34-16.

Baylor (26-12) flipped a switch offensively in this one, and not in a good way. In the Bears' last game, a 30-point destruction of No. 3 seed Creighton, they shot 63.8%, making 30 of 47 shots.

FRANK KAMINSKY: Final Four key?

But the Honda Center turned into a house of horrors for Baylor in the first half. They missed inside and outside and on offensive rebounds. They missed 24 of 29 shots in the first half, including five of six three-pointers. For the game, they shot 31% (18 of 58).

Baylor never could make a run because it couldn't consistently score or get stops. "Defensively, we broke down a lot," Jefferson said. "We gave up a lot of things we normally don't give up. You have to credit them. We lost to a great team."

A lot of things went well for Wisconsin. The main theme, though, was that early and often, Kaminsky just carved up the Baylor defense. "We knew he would be critical against that zone," Ryan said. "I think Frank knew from watching film and going over the scouting report that he was going to be critical in that zone. Frank set the tone."

Kaminsky's expression never changed. He looked like he was just beating up on the walk-ons in practice. "They left the middle of the zone open a little bit," Kaminsky said. "We just kind of hammered it into the middle and made some things happen."

Baylor had hoped that 7-1 center Isaiah Austin, who had 18 blocked shots in the Big 12 tournament, would be a better deterrent. But Kaminsky scored on an assortment of fakes and step-throughs. "He's a great shot blocker, but we knew we needed to go at him," Kaminsky said. "It's just something we made a pint of doing, and we went out there and did it."

And it was Kaminsky who ended up being the big shot-blocker, with six. Austin had two. It was that kind of game for Wisconsin, and for Baylor.

Next game: Saturday night against Arizona

[Scuba]

1. I was suprised at how easily Bucky handled the Bears. Kaminski was indeed a force ....

... but credit has to go to Bo for preparing his team to destroy the Baylor zone.

Only two days 'til Zona. Can't wait!

[OffWithTheirHeads]

2. U of A!

[undeterred]

3. Aaron helps to defeat da bears...