Arizona and Wisconsin played an overtime classic in Anaheim tonight, and unfortunately, a questionable late foul call would up being a deciding factor in the Badgers’ victory. With under five seconds remaining and Wisconsin ahead 64-63, Arizona guard Nick Johnson took the ball to the rim for what would have been a go-ahead shot attempt. Instead, Johnson was whistled for a very debatable offensive foul, giving Wisconsin the ball with the lead, and under three seconds remaining.
The next play featured a very close call on a deflected inbounds pass, and Arizona was awarded possession after a long monitor review. Nick Johnson received the ball with 2.3 seconds, but was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer, and Wisconsin came out victorious.
The foul was called by Tony Greene, the same official who made a similar in the Syracuse-Duke game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Orange forward CJ Fair late in the game. That call caused Jim Boeheim to flip out, and the Orange coach was ejected from the game. Sean Miller was able to keep his cool in crunch time, and his team got a second shot at a game winner, but Johnson was unable to make a play.
Wisconsin advances to its first Final Four under Bo Ryan, and will face the Michigan-Kentucky winner. Frank Kaminsky was the star for the Badgers, scoring 28 points on 20 shots, and pulling down 11 rebounds.
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