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Minneapolis • Frank Kaminsky had 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting, Sam Dekker added 20 points and No. 6 Wisconsin became Big Ten regular season champions with a 76-63 victory over Minnesota on Thursday night.
Nigel Hayes had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Badgers (27-3, 15-2), who had at least a tie for first place already wrapped up last weekend. This is their fourth title under coach Bo Ryan and the first in seven years.
The Badgers made seven of their first 10 attempts from 3-point range and finished with 18 assists against just nine turnovers.
Nate Mason had 15 points and Carlos Morris added 11 points for the Gophers (17-13, 6-11), who fell behind by 20 points in the first half and couldn't fully recover.
With the Big Ten not as strong as it was the last few years and the Gophers stuck in the bottom half of the conference standings all winter, this was the first buzzworthy game at the old barn this season. Ohio State, which was No. 22 in The Associated Press poll at the time, was the only other ranked team to visit. The Gophers furiously rallied that night to force overtime but fell 74-72.
Two months later, with seven losses in Big Ten play by six points or less still stinging, the Gophers brought some momentum into the final week of the schedule coming off a rare win on the road over Michigan State. But even an upset of the Badgers wasn't going to be enough to put them in the NCAA Tournament conversation.
No. 18 Arkansas 78, South Carolina 74 • In Columbia, S.C., Bobby Portis scored 24 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead Arkansas victory over South Carolina.
The Razorbacks (24-6, 13-4 Southeastern Conference) trailed by 11 points with 7 minutes left in a wild game during which they led by 20 in the first half
With the win, Arkansas clinched second place in the SEC and will be on the opposite side of the league tournament bracket from No. 1 and undefeated Kentucky.