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How Wisconsin upset defending champs Villanova

Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

No. 1 Villanova became the latest champions to flop in its title defense.

The focus will be on the Wildcats for failing to mount much of a title defense, but credit No. 8 Wisconsin for executing a clever strategy. An experienced side like Villanova wasn't going to be beat itself or be fazed by the pressure - it took a careful and determined Badgers effort to send Villanova packing.

Here's how Greg Gard's side got the result.

Exploiting Villanova's weakness

Jay Wright's teams have always been small dating back over a decade. The Wildcats pride themselves on a swarming defense and beating their opponents by trotting out multiple players who can shoot, pass, or create off the dribble.

That strategy comes with a cost, and Wisconsin made them pay through the nose for being undersized. The experienced combination of Nigel Hayes and Ethan Happ feasted upon Villanova's undersized frontcourt.

Hayes collected five offensive rebounds - largely on his own baseline drives - as he bullied an overwhelmed Darryl Reynolds down low. Meanwhile, Happ exploited the Wildcats as a vertical threat in the pick-and-roll who could finish at the rim or find the open shooter when the help came.

Hayes and Happ combined for nearly half of Wisconsin's points while shooting a combined 57 percent from the field. Their interior scoring, combined with Bronson Koenig's dead-eye shooting, powered the Badgers' offense.

Protect the paint

Wisconsin's interior dominance also extended to its defense. A two-pronged strategy limited the third-ranked offense in the nation to just 41 percent shooting on the afternoon.

The first step for the Badgers was to cut off the transition game. Villanova thrives in the open floor, but it wasn't able to run since the Badgers always managed to get at least three bodies back in transition. Most of that stems from Wisconsin's offense - attacking the paint produced short rebounds that maintained strong floor balance.

The second step saw Wisconsin shut down the halfcourt offense by taking away the rim at all costs. The Badgers collapsed the paint at every opportunity, as the wings bodied up drives and guided them towards help defense at the rim.

Villanova's shooters going ice-cold from deep played into this strategy. Nobody aside from Donte DiVincenzo could make a shot. Toward the end, the Wildcats wouldn't even look at a jumper, opting instead for predictable drives into double teams that produced nothing but turnovers and contested shots.

End-game execution

Wisconsin had an answer for each one of Villanova's runs and ultimately outlasted the defending champs with a 15-5 run to close the game.

The Badgers could have easily folded when DiVincenzo drilled a pair of jumpers to put Villanova up seven with five minutes left. But a battle-tested Wisconsin side fresh off three deep tournament runs simply turned to its veterans.

Hayes worked a post-up into a layup, followed by a pair of jumpers by Koenig, then Happ made a driving floater for the lead. Villanova restored a tie, but Koenig continued his brilliant tourney run by nailing a three for the lead.

The Badgers' defense dug in their heels on the other end. The Wildcats made several drives to the hoop, largely through Josh Hart, but Wisconsin collapsed on the inside and snuffed out dribble penetration. The only thing keeping Villanova's predictable offense alive down the stretch were a few borderline foul calls.

Finally, with less than 20 seconds left in tie game, Gard called timeout to arrange a play for his most trusted soldier in Hayes. The senior center worked a post-up reminiscent of Michael Jordan for the final nail in Villanova's coffin.

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