We made it. The Sweet 16. Where all of the effort put in by the nation's best teams culminates into three more rounds of thrilling basketball. 

#1 seed Wisconsin made it past Coastal Carolina and Oregon in their first two tourney games, led by 7-foot SI Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky and forward Sam Dekker. The #4 seed UNC Tar Heels beat Harvard and Arkansas just slightly in their two tournament games coming into their clash with the Badgers, led by point guard Marcus Paige and forward Justin Jackson. At 7:47, the two tipped off in a thriller that had all watching on their feet and wondering who would win.

Frank Kaminsky having a strong performance was a key for Wisconsin. And in the first half, Kaminsky had only 4 points. Not a good start. At least Sam Dekker picked up the slack. He attacked the UNC defense in the first half to end the half with 15 points, a game-high. He also had 6 boards at the half. 

North Carolina actually won the first half, 33-31. They scored 8 fastbreak points, the most at halftime by any of Wisconsin's opponents all season, and really controlled the tempo of the contest. They were passing the ball well, they shot 50% from the field in the first half, and were shooting open high-percentage shots. On defense, they didn't stop much penetration, but made up for it on the other end. The Tar Heels probably would have run away with this game had Sam Dekker not carried Wisconsin along in the first half. 

The second half started and the two sides traded basket after basket, until with 11 minutes remaining, UNC took their largest lead of the night, a 51-44 advantage. Wisconsin would negate that with a three pointer by Bronson Koenig and an and-one by Nigel Hayes. At the 7 minutes left mark, North Carolina held a 60-56 lead. Then Wisconsin made their move.

It started with a Frank Kaminsky three. Then role player Zak Showalter, who does not average many minutes for the Badgers, hit two buckets in a row, first a shot inside and then a fastbreak layup. Dekker hit a layup, and the next thing you knew, Wisconsin was up 65-60 over the stunned Tar Heels. 

Interesting stat: this season, if Wisconsin led with 5 minutes remaining, they didn't lose. 32-0 in those situations. That stated increased to 33-0 on Thursday night in this game. No matter how hard UNC tried to take back the momentum and the game, Wisconsin came back with their slow offense, and countered UNC's baskets with scores of their own. WIth 2:49 left, the Badgers went up by 5, 69-64. 

Marcus Paige caught fire then for the 'Heels. He buried a 3 with 1:42 remaining to cut the lead to 69-67, and then with 54 seconds remaining, after a Sam Dekker layup, North Carolina ran the same play. Down 71-67, Paige once again ran around a double screen, caught a pass beyond the arc, and buried a deep fadeaway three. At 71-70 with 54 seconds left. The Tar Heels saw hope. That disappeared only seconds later.

Bronson Koenig got fouled on a bad play by Hicks, and hit both shots of his 1-and-1. With a 73-70 advantage, Wisconsin fouled Hicks in the paint on the other end. And guess what happened. He tragically missed both shots. 

The game continued with all free throws until the final score of 79-72 was cemented. Nigel Hayes hit a pair from the stripe. So did Joel Berry for UNC. Paige airballed a three, and Frank Kaminsky iced the game by hitting the final four free throws. The Wisconsin Badgers escaped.

Don't be confused. This was not a good showing by Wisconsin; at least for the first 33 minutes of the game. The final 7 minutes were terrific, as Wisconsin implemented their slow-paced style of play, and really stopped letting Carolina penetrate. The result was a spot in the 2015 Elite Eight.

Sam Dekker led the Badgers with a career performance. He recorded 23 points and 10 rebounds, a double-double that probably saved his team from elimination. Frank Kaminsky recovered in the second half, and finished with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Nigel Hayes added 12 points and 6 rebounds for the Badgers. Bronson Koenig scored 9 as well.

As you may see from these stats, Wisconsin grabbed a lot of rebounds. They dominated the glass, to say the least, outboarding the Tar Heels 35-28. In other numbers, the teams equaled each other exactly in field goals made and attempted, with both making 26-56. The difference was free throws. Wisconsin was 20-23 from the charity stripe. UNC was 12-18.

UNC played their hearts out. They had amazing transition numbers and their fast-paced style worked to perfection for most of the game. They just ran out of gas. 

Justin Jackson and Brice Johnson led UNC with 15 points each. Marcus Paige added 12 points and those two forementioned three pointers. Joel Berry, off the bench, scored 9 in addition. Had North Carolina controlled the paint better and controlled Dekker's penetration, they would have completed their upset of Wisconsin. That's just now how it was meant to be.

The Badgers will face the winner of the Xavier-Arizona matchup in the next round, the Elite Eight. They will have to improve a bunch between Thursday night and that Elite Eight matchup.

The Tar Heels finish the season 26-12, with a solid Sweet 16 appearance to end their season. They had a very young team this year, and next year should the same roster, but with more mature versions of their current players. Marcus Paige is a junior, so he can return to UNC if he'd like to. The future sure looks bright for Roy Williams and his squad. 

The future is also bright for this NCAA tournament. With many more matchups left, and Kentucky still unbeaten, we have not witnessed even close to all the thrill this event will offer. Time to sit back, relax, and watch some crazy college basketball.