Wisconsin has thoroughly dominated the Big Ten regular season all year long. And on Thursday night, the Badgers earned what was months in the making.
No. 6 Wisconsin eased past Minnesota 76-63 to capture the Big Ten's outright regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. UW (27-3, 15-2) will have a double-bye and play next Friday in the quarterfinals.
1 big moment: No singular moment defined Wisconsin's title-clinching victory. The Badgers established an early 7-0 lead and never trailed. But each time Minnesota put forth any type of run, Wisconsin responded.
The Gophers trailed by 20 points at one stage of the first half and battled all the way back to within 46-40 on a Nate Mason 3-pointer. But Badgers forward Sam Dekker immediately responded with a jumper to give UW an eight-point edge. Later in the half, Maurice Walker's layup cut the Gophers' deficit to seven. On the ensuing possession, Badgers guard Josh Gasser buried a 3-pointer for a 57-47 lead with 9:51 remaining. Minnesota was never closer than 10 points the rest of the game
2 top performances: Once again, Badgers center Frank Kaminsky was sensational. He finished with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds to further solidify his position as the national player of the year frontrunner. Kaminsky made 10 of 15 field goal attempts, including 2 of 4 3-pointers. He added two steals and a block for good measure.
Dekker, meanwhile, contributed 20 points and six rebounds on 7-of-14 shooting from the field. Dekker has now scored at least 20 points in three of his last seven games.
3 key stats: In Wisconsin's last road game at Maryland, the Badgers made only 1 of 11 3-pointers in the first half. But UW came out firing against Minnesota and made 10 of 20 3s in the game.
-- Kaminsky became the first Wisconsin player with at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists since Jordan Taylor achieved the feat in December 2010.
-- Once again, Wisconsin's starters carried the bulk of the offensive load, accounting for 73 of 76 total points. Badgers reserve Duje Dukan, who was in the midst of a 1-for-15 3-point shooting slump, made 1 of 2 3s on Thursday for the only points off the bench.
Said: "The outright title was a goal. Tonight we did it. Give the players credit." -- Badgers coach Bo Ryan
Next: Wisconsin travels to face Ohio State at 3:30 p.m. CT Sunday at Value City Arena in the regular-season finale. The Buckeyes (22-8 11-6) have won three consecutive Big Ten games against Nebraska, Purdue and Penn State.
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