Saturday afternoon, the Badgers grabbed firm hold of that improbable dream by beating Purdue 64-60 in the West Regional final here at The Pit, and now it's on to the RCA Dome in Indianapolis for a coach whose system was thought to have as many holes as Swiss cheese by many back home.

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That teary-eyed satisfaction could be seen in the eyes of Badgers coach Dick Bennett, his manager son Tony, his wife Anne, and his daughters Kathi and Amy.

At the foundation of Bennett's system are depth and defense, which don't appeal to your average McDonald's All-America player these days. It's straight out of Hoosiers, and it's appropriate for a Final Four to be played in the Hoosier State.

"I'm so happy for my dad," said Kathi Bennett, the women's coach at Evansville. "He's coached his whole life in Wisconsin, and to do this is incredible. He deserves it so much. He has a gift of knowing how to put things together and knowing what needs to be done.

"It's defense, defense, defense. And to have that team go to the Final Four, it's so sweet."

The eighth-seeded Badgers (22-13) are the lowest seeded team to reach a Final Four since 11th-seeded Louisiana State advanced to the national semifinals in Dallas in 1986. Villanova was the last No. 8 seed to go to a Final Four, and the Wildcats won the championship in Lexington, Ky., in 1985.

The improbability of Wisconsin's run to Indianapolis is its 13 losses, the most by any Final Four team. The previous high was by Southern California, which had a dozen defeats when it made the Final Four in Kansas City, Mo., in 1954.

"We've had two miracles this season," said Bennett's other daughter Amy, cradling her 1-year-old daughter Sarah. In November, Sarah dodged a life-threatening kidney ailment.

Wisconsin athletic director Pat Richter said he thought the same thing as he watched the Badgers players, Bennett and Bucky Badger, the Wisconsin mascot, climb a ladder at both ends of the court to snip down the nets.

"Never even thought about it," said Richter, who has watched football coach Barry Alvarez win three of the last six Rose Bowls, of taking his basketball team to a Final Four. "We just wanted to get better and get some tradition."

Richter got just that when he hired Bennett five years ago, and Richter said a padding of Bennett's five-year rollover deal that currently has a base salary of $146,000 will be imminent once this season ends.

Richter said he began preliminary talks with Bennett on that subject last year. But enough of about the past. The Badgers are going where they haven't been since 1941, when they won three games to claim the NCAA's third basketball championship, because of grit and guile.

"They gutted it out," Bennett said.

The Boilermakers (24-10) shot 39.6 percent in losing to the Badgers for the third time in four meetings this season. In the other three, Purdue shot .362, .286 and .404.

"They dictated the tempo most of the game," said Boilermakers coach Gene Keady. "I think their team defense and (Jon Bryant's) 3-pointers really cut our throats."

Bryant hit five of his nine 3-point attempts to finish with a game-high 18 points and garner West Regional MVP honors.

Keady took over in West Lafayette, Ind. a few months after coach Lee Rose took Purdue to its lone Final Four in 1980 -- in Indianapolis. Rose left for South Florida after that and wasn't heard from again.

But the noise the Badgers made Saturday was heard from coast to coast.

"This has been the extension of a great regular season," said Craig Thompson, the chairman of the NCAA Tournament selection committee and commissioner of the Mountain West Conference.

"Wisconsin's an eight seed, and Sunday a seven (Tulsa) or an eight (North Carolina) will also go to the Final Four. That's parity. Wisconsin played its way into the tournament, wins four and is now going to the Final Four. That's incredible."

Incredibly, the Tar Heels could also make the national semifinals with 13 defeats.

Wisconsin led most of Saturday.

Forward Maurice Linton gave the Badgers the lead with a 3-point shot with a bit more than seven minutes left in the first half, and the Badgers held tight, keeping a couple of fingernails on the dream, for more than 20 minutes.

Throughout that stretch, Purdue senior forward Brian Cardinal tried his best, and dirtiest, to keep the Boilermakers in it. His lean-in drives and flops were intriguing, but twice he coyly yanked down Badgers under the basket after teammates missed jumpers.

Those calls went Cardinal's way, but the game didn't.

He nailed a nifty turnaround jumper from the right side on Charlie Wills to give Purdue a 50-49 lead with 6:56 left, the Boilermakers' first advantage in more than 20 minutes. And 25 seconds later, the Boilers could have padded that margin when Roy Boone, a Badgers junior guard from Madison, missed two free throws.

Then the Wisconsin system put the clamps on Purdue.

Ace defender Mike Kelley stripped the ball from Boilers guard Carson Cunningham, and Boone circled underneath the baseline, emerged on the left side and drilled a 3-pointer to give Wisconsin a 52-50 lead.

Cardinal tied it with two free throws, after he pulled down Linton on an errant shot by Jaraan Cornell. Somehow, refs thought Linton's body got in the way of Cardinal's paw, perhaps, and Cardinal sank both free throws.

After a television timeout, Bryant, the former walk-on guard, pulled off the play of the game. He fielded a pass on the left side and drew an immediate double team, but he deftly fed the ball to Andy Kowske, who sliced in for an easy layin that gave the Badgers the lead for good.

But the drama hadn't ended. Boone picked the ball clean from Cardinal, who paid for trying a turn-around dribble in the lane. Boone sprinted in for a rare fast-break layin, which he blew.

Purdue coach Gene Keady has not reached the Final Four since he took over in 1981.(AP)

However, Boone sank a 15-foot jumper from the left side a minute later to give Wisconsin a 56-53 edge, and Purdue scored only one more field goal until there were less than 20 seconds remaining.

And right after that, Boone sank a couple of free throws to make it 63-57.

"I knew I missed the layup, and I knew that was kinda huge," Boone said. "And I knew I couldn't miss those free throws, either. I just tried to block everything out. I knew they were critical, and I didn't want to let anyone down. But, yeah, that jump shot felt great. I ain't been hitting too many of them, so it felt good to hit a big shot."

Indeed, Boone had missed all 16 shots he had attempted in his previous four games, and he was 0-for-12 from 3-point range in his last 10 games. But he's been fine at the line, sinking 26 of his last 31 free throws. He was 3-for-6 from the field and 6-for-10 at the stripe on Saturday.

"I never thought I'd be there," Boone said of the Final Four, "but I always dreamed of going."

Don't be surprised when the Badgers start touching the outer walls of the RCA Dome when they arrive next week, just to be sure it's true.