Wisconsin Gets the Ultimate Revenge with Stunning Final Four Upset over Kentucky

"I don't think a couple good tournament games are enough for me for my career. I still have a lot left to prove and I think we are going to have a great team next season."

That's what Frank Kaminsky told ESPN's Jeff Goodman in late April 2014 when he officially decided to return for his senior year.

Immediately after the heartbreaking 74-73 loss to Kentucky in the 2014 Final Four, both he and Sam Dekker told Goodman in the locker room that they would be back for another year. However, Kaminsky wavered on the decision for a few weeks before ultimately choosing to return.

You don't have to read very far between the lines to pick up on his message:

We have unfinished business.

It's at least partially finished after the 71-64 win over the previously unbeaten Wildcats on Saturday night.

And in case Kaminsky's words from last April weren't clear enough, Dekker reminded reporters on Saturday night of Wisconsin's goal for the year:

Kaminsky could have jumped to the NBA. Dekker could have, too. Neither was a surefire first-round pick, but they almost certainly would have heard their names called if they had declared.

Instead, they spurned the professional circuit for one more shot at a collegiate title—seeking redemption for the chance that was so cruelly stolen from them.

They didn't exactly get a free pass back to the Final Four, though. They had traveled the road once before, but that didn't make it any easier this time around.

The Badgers fought through plenty of injuries this season. Dekker injured an ankle before the season even began and didn't start really looking healthy until mid-December. Kaminsky sat out the loss to Rutgers with a concussion. Senior point guard Traevon Jackson missed 19 games with a badly sprained ankle.

But that only adds to the allure of their story. Despite being battered and bruised, they swept the Big Ten regular-season and conference-tournament titles, eking out that final No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday.

And as luck would have it, the quest for redemption manifested itself into the ultimate opportunity for revenge, as the Badgers once again drew Kentucky in the Final Four—only this time, the Wildcats were undefeated and widely regarded as the favorites to win it all.

It was Wisconsin's turn to ruin something magical for John Calipari's team. According to Reid Forgrave of Fox Sports, the Badgers succeeded:

After 12 agonizingly long months of flashbacks and reminders of Aaron Harrison's dagger, it was fittingly a Harrison air ball with just seconds remaining Saturday night that allowed the Badgers faithful to exhale and rejoice in the fact that they had slain the mighty Kentucky.

Also apropos, it was the two men who chose to give it one more year in Madison who led the way.

Frank Kaminsky led all scorers and rebounders with 20 and 11, respectively, and even added two assists and two blocks. He was the only Badger to grab more than three defensive rebounds, and 10 times he kept the Wildcats from grabbing an offensive board. It was an incredibly efficient and effective night for the man who was named AP Player of the Year just one day prior.

Kaminsky was much more tank-like this year than he was in putting up eight points and only one defensive rebound in the 2014 Final Four.

It was Dekker, though, who really put the team on his back over and over again, finishing the night with 16 points. The amount of strength, confidence and swagger with which he has been playing over the past several weeks has really been something to watch. One of those iconic moments was Dekker's clutch step-back three-pointer that gave the Badgers the lead for good:

Wisconsin's journey isn't finished, though. The Badgers got their sweet revenge—beating the Wildcats who were once considered unbeatable—but they still have the not-so-slight matter of knocking off a Duke team that beat them in the Kohl Center by double digits earlier this season.

But that's merely a formality, right? After beating the Soviet Union in the semifinals of the 1980 Winter Olympics, the U.S. men's hockey team went on to beat Finland to win the gold medal. Even more fitting to Wisconsin's situation, Duke beat Kansas in the 1991 national championship game after putting an end to UNLV's undefeated season in the Final Four.

Kaminsky and Dekker didn't come back to lose to Kentucky in the Final Four again, and they certainly didn't come back to finish runner-up to the Blue Devils, either.

If this truly is the type of redemption story that we've seen in the movies a million times, there's one more win awaiting the Badgers on Monday night.

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.