ANAHEIM, Calif. – Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, a long-ago point guard himself, sees a lot of similarities in how he and Sean Miller view basketball these days. Their teams – No. 2 seed Wisconsin and No. 1 seed Arizona – square off Saturday in the West Regional final, with a spot in the Final Four at stake.
Neither Ryan, who has 703 career victories, nor Miller, with 249 wins to his credit, has ever gotten that far.
“It’s hard to get to a Final Four,” said Miller, who started his coaching career as a Badgers assistant in 1992. “You can be really good and not make it, both as a coach, a team and a player.”
The Wildcats (33-4) have not advanced out of the regional in Anaheim in three previous tries, dating to 1998. With eight weeks at No. 1 and 21 consecutive victories during the season, they want to deliver for Miller, who has restored the program’s luster in his five years.
“What we have done during the season has validated how good we are,” said 7-foot center Kaleb Tarczewski, who was in foul trouble in their semifinal comeback win over San Diego State.
The Badgers (29-7) haven’t been to a Final Four since 2000, shortly before Ryan took over in Madison. They’ve reached just one regional final during 13 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, making it every year since Ryan assumed control of a program where he was an assistant from 1976-85.
He turned 69 earlier this week, and the team is feeling a sense of urgency to deliver for a coach, who in the words of guard Josh Gasser, is “getting up there.”
“He deserves it,” Gasser said. “We all want it and we all want it for him.”
The only 1-2 matchup in the Elite Eight features two teams with similar defensive styles who rebound with abandon.
“We are tough, nasty and relentless,” said Arizona freshman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
The Badgers could say the same about themselves, but when asked how Arizona might describe them, Frank Kaminsky deadpanned, “White guys.”
