Voice of the Wisconsin Badgers Matt Lepay says players are "fierce competitors" who have fun off the court

INDIANAPOLIS (WITI) -- March Madness begins with the 64 best college basketball teams in the country, and they're all chasing one goal: a national championship. Now, just two teams remain -- the Wisconsin Badgers and the Duke Blue Devils. It has been a magical ride and a magical season for the Badgers, and no one knows that better than the voice of the Badgers, Matt Lepay.

Lepay is the play-by-play voice of the Wisconsin Badgers. So what does he think of the Badgers season?

"It's been a lot of fun, I could tell you, in a great understatement! I thought in the Kentucky game that the Badgers would have a chance, but the way they won it might be a little surprising to some because of how well they played defensively down the stretch, but I thought it would be a fascinating game in the final five minutes, because the Badgers have really owned that -- especially in the post-season. Kentucky, not that it's had a lot of close games, but when it does, it owns the final five minutes too, so it came down to that duel and this time the Badgers were a little better," Lepay said.

FOX6's Brandon Cruz: "What do you think is so special about these guys that makes them such a tight group? I mean, you see Kentucky -- they don't know each other as well. Some of these guys have been together four or five years."

"That has been a plus for Wisconsin. These guys do get along so well. I guess I'm of the belief that you don't have to be close off the floor to play well on the floor -- but if you are, that's a bonus. This is a very close-knit group. They like to laugh. They like to joke around with each other, but when they're on the floor, they're all business. You have guys like Frank Kaminsky who's been around and Josh Gasser. Sam is a junior. Trae Jackson coming back from the injury. But you have some sophomores who have grown up in a hurry as well. Bronson Koenig, Nigel Hayes. This is a group that's very talented. Defensively, they've probably had better teams, but obviously against Kentucky and in a lot of these other games, they've been really good when they've had to be," Lepay said.

FOX6's Brandon Cruz: "Is Wisconsin basketball at a whole new level now that they're headed into a national championship game?"

"You could probably say that, but I think just going back-to-back Final Fours, that's something that I'm  not sure how many Badgers fans would have dreamed of something like that 20, 15 years ago or, you know, beyond that I guess, but it is. You know, the bar is awfully high right now. But this is, what's going on now is really special. What's going on now is what most other programs can only dream of," Lepay said.

FOX6's Brandon Cruz: "This magical ride continues into Monday. For the Badgers though, it seems as if they expected to be here by the 'Make 'em Believe.' Do you, in your heart, think that this team, from Day One, knew that this is where they were going?"

"Well this team knew it had the chance to get here. They're pretty good at all the cliches -- a practice at a time and you know, a day at a time and all that stuff. It sounds cliche. It sounds boring, but these guys -- they live that way. But I think did they know that they would be playing in a title game? I don't know that, but I think they expected to have that chance," Lepay said.

FOX6's Brandon Cruz: "What is it like for you as the team's broadcaster to be along for this ride?"

"It's a lot of fun. I have a great seat for it, and somebody's paying me money to sit there and talk about college kids playing a game. It's a lot of fun. But they're a really good group of kids, and you probably hear that at schools across the country. There are really good kids. There is something special about this group -- a guy like Nigel Hayes, who likes to play with the stenographers and all of that, but he's a genuinely funny guy. Sam Dekker is a genuinely fun-loving guy. They are all fierce competitors on the court. They do it -- they have that switch that I think is a lot easier to talk about flipping than it is doing it. They can be like 12 year olds off the floor, but they are grown men on the floor, and they keep proving it over and over again," Lepay said.

The Badgers face the Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament championship game Monday evening, April 6th at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.