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NCAA Final Four: Wisconsin Badgers History on College Basketball’s Biggest Stage

By Taylor Johnson

Mar 24, 2017; Glendale, AZ, USA; Signage for the NCAA Men’s Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. The court is made from 397 4’ x 7’ panels of Northern Hard Maple, weighing approximately 188 pounds each. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK
Mar 24, 2017; Glendale, AZ, USA; Signage for the NCAA Men’s Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. The court is made from 397 4’ x 7’ panels of Northern Hard Maple, weighing approximately 188 pounds each. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK /
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Final Four weekend is fast approaching and although the Wisconsin Badgers will not be in Arizona playing for a national championship, it doesn’t mean we can’t look back on their history on the game’s biggest stage.

No Final Four in the works for the Wisconsin Badgers this season. And even though it has been two years since their last appearance, that’s nothing compared to how it used to be. Here are all four of Wisconsin’s Final Four appearances, starting with the lone national championship team of 1941.

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Times were much different back in 1941. Instead of the 68 teams we see today, there were just eight teams in the tournament then, split up in a West and East region.

Coached by Bud Foster, Wisconsin would compile a Big Ten record of 11-1 and 20-3 overall. The Badgers hosted the East regional that year and would defeat both Dartmouth and Pittsburgh en route to the national championship game in Kansas City, MO. There they would go on to defeat Washington State 39-34 for the program’s lone championship.

Fast forward 59 years later to Wisconsin’s next Final Four appearance. It was 2000 when the Badgers made one of the most unexpected runs in tournament history. The Badgers would wind up in the West Region in Salt Lake City, UT as an eight seed with a 19-13 record. Wisconsin would take down Fresno State first before taking down top-seeded Arizona to move onto the Sweet 16. In Albuquerque, NM the Badgers would cruise to a victory over LSU before taking down Big Ten foe Purdue. The Final Four that year was held in Indianapolis, IN where Wisconsin would face off against conference rival Michigan State. There the Badgers magical run would end, falling to the Spartans for the fourth time that season before Tom Izzo’s group would go on to win the national championship.

Wisconsin would not have to wait almost six decades for their next appearance in the Final Four. The 2014 team wound up as a two seed in the West Region. They coasted to a victory over American before taking down Oregon to reach the Sweet 16 in Anaheim. The Badgers took down Baylor 69-52 before needing overtime to take down top-seeded Arizona 64-63 in one of the most thrilling games I have ever seen. The victory would notch Wisconsin’s third trip to the Final Four. In that Final Four game the Badgers would face a hot Kentucky team that was seeded eighth, but played at a much higher level than that. Thanks to an Aaron Harrison three with 5.7 seconds left, the Badgers season would end in heartbreak.

Wisconsin would not wait long to get back to the big stage with the majority of their 2014 Final Four returning. Wisconsin earned a one seed in the West Region (seems like a theme) and would play their first two games in Omaha, NE. There they would take down Coastal Carolina and then Oregon (again) to advance to the Sweet 16 at the Staples Center. In Los Angeles, Wisconsin would take down fourth seed North Carolina before once again defeating Arizona to advanced to their second-straight Final Four, fourth in the program’s history. Wisconsin got revenge on Kentucky, this time beating the Wildcats to end their perfect season and to play in the school’s second national championship game.

That 2015 national championship game against Duke still lives in every Badgers fan’s minds. It was a very tough-fought game that went back and forth throughout. It was also the introduction to Grayson Allen who was not quite tripping everybody yet. But the Blue Devils were the one’s cutting down the final nets of the season as Wisconsin was left with a bad taste in their mouth.

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Even though Wisconsin missed out on the Final Four for the second year in a row, the recent success of the program does not go unnoticed. They are one of the most successful programs in the past four years, but there is still just one thing missing that future teams will be striving for. Being the last team to cut down the nets on college basketball’s biggest stage.

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