Wisconsin Final Four Outlook - Frank Kaminsky Key As The Big Ten Looks For Another SEC Showdown

On Friday night, the Big Ten had 3 teams in the Elite 8 and a few great shots to make it 3 teams in the Final Four.  There was a lot of discussion about how incredible it would be if this happened.  Well, on Saturday night, Wisconsin scored an incredibly impressive OT win over Arizona to secure its spot in the Final Four.  Big Ten and Badger fans were excited about the potential for a 3rd game with Michigan in Dallas.  Of course, both Michigan and MSU would fall short, making Wisconsin the conference's only team playing this week.  Still though, Wisconsin was able to take care of business and have a pretty good shot at taking it all home as well.

Before we get into Wisconsin's chances to make it to Monday and potentially win on Monday, let's just look at some raw numbers evaluating the teams that made the Final Four.  This should give everyone an idea of how good every team is that actually makes it to the final weekend.  Here's the chart:

Certainly some impressive numbers for each team there.  Some of those numbers are a little dated, but each of these teams have played some tough competition this season and each has beaten some quality teams in order to get to Dallas.  Regardless of your opinion on Wisconsin, this will be a tough task.

On Saturday, Wisconsin will face off against Kentucky.  On paper, it's tough to argue against Wisconsin.  The Badgers have certainly been better over the course of the season and the computers even lean toward them, but Kentucky did have to go through a gauntlet to make it to Dallas.  They beat Kansas State in the 1st round, were the only team to beat Wichita State this year, beat arch-rival Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen, and narrowing defeated Big Ten Champion Michigan to earn their Final Four bid.  They did this primarily off improved play from the Harrisons and dominant play upfront from Julius Randle.

The good news for Wisconsin is that they have faced some quality teams as well and teams that have similar strengths as Kentucky.  Baylor has one of the strongest frontcourts in the nation and Wisconsin handled them pretty easily.  Along with that, Arizona is a dominant rebounding and defensive team and the Badgers were still able to get by them.  Plus, Frank Kaminsky was great against Arizona so it's hard to see him not having another big game on Saturday.  It will be a tough task, but this could actually be an easier game for Wisconsin than they had in the Elite 8.

After that, it's likely going to be Florida.  These two teams already played this season, but things are going to be much different than they were in November.  The teams are playing differently and rosters are different.  Florida has not lost since December either.  Honestly, there's no much to say about this game other than good luck.  Wisconsin is a great team with depth and talent, but Florida is stacked.  If Wisconsin wins, they will more than deserve the national title.

Overall, Wisconsin has more than a decent chance to make the NCAA Championship Game and certainly more than just a chance to beat Florida considering that Wisconsin already beat them this year.  A lot will depend upon Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, but the special year might just continue on Saturday.