Wisconsin has to put semifinal victory in rearview mirror

INDIANAPOLIS - The scene will bring smiles to many for a long time. Players chest-bumping and hugging. Fans on the fringe of delirium. A celebration perfect for highlight reels and posters.

It has to end in a hurry, though. There's another game to be played.

Wisconsin has joined the list of teams which won a game of historical proportions only to be faced with a game that will decide how great the magnitude of the event will be.

The Badgers beat Kentucky 71-64 on Saturday night, ending the Wildcats' pursuit of an unbeaten season and avenging a bitter loss in last year's national semifinals.

Now, they face Duke tonight for Wisconsin's first national championship in 74 years. If the Badgers can't find a way to beat the Blue Devils - a team they lost to by 10 points at home in December - how will the upset of the top-ranked Wildcats be remembered?

"We know we've got 40 more (minutes), as I've said a thousand times," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "But we know we've got some work to do. I think last night's game simply says, "OK, it puts you in position now to go after the championship.'"

Duke is one of two teams that managed the great win only to have to follow it up days later with the game that decides a place in history.

Duke, the team that is trying to throw a wrench into Wisconsin's dream weekend, faced the same situation in 1991, in the same city.

The Blue Devils beat UNLV, another team seeking the perfect season, in the national semifinals. The year before, the Runnin' Rebels beat Duke by 30 points in the title game. The Blue Devils celebrated as the soon as the buzzer sounded. Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill were on the court enjoying a moment for a lifetime when reality set in in the form or coach Mike Krzyzewski.

He ran onto the court moving his arms in a "knock it off" motion. There was a title game against Kansas to be played in less than 48 hours.

"When you win a Final Four game, no matter who you beat, it's huge," said Krzyzewski, who is looking for his fifth national championship. "And we're all human beings. You have to fight human nature of wanting to stay in that moment for a little bit longer before moving on to the next moment."

Krzyzewski said it's important the players stay grounded. The anecdotes flow from 24 years ago about him yelling at the team for the way they approached the Sunday practice, that they had already won something besides a semifinal game.

"It wasn't just the emotion in the locker room. I thought we handled that well," Krzyzewski said. "It was the emotion in the hotel, where our fans were literally delirious. It was so packed, they were right next to you. They didn't think we would beat Vegas. We were the ones who thought we could beat Vegas. We had to make sure we didn't go into their environment, into their place."

On Saturday night Wisconsin faced the same problem when the Badgers returned to their hotel. What seemed like thousands of red-clad "Cheeseheads" were waiting in the lobby and anywhere else there was room for a few more people.