Wednesday’s game between No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 4 Duke was just the second top-five matchup in Kohl Center history and arguably the most highly anticipated matchup of the college basketball season thus far.
While both teams went back-and-forth in the first half and the majority of the second half, the Blue Devils (8-0) eventually pulled away from the Badgers (7-1) — shooting 65.2 percent from the floor in the process — to hand UW its first loss of the season, 80-70.
“We beat a really good basketball team today,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Our defense was good and then our offensive efficiency was incredible tonight.”
In the second half, Duke opened up their biggest lead of the game of nine points when senior guard Quinn Cook hit a jumper to put the Blue Devils up 58-49. But the Badgers battled back with senior guard Traevon Jackson leading the charge.
Jackson scored 13 of UW’s next 16 points including two free throws that pulled the Badgers within three at 60-63. However Duke would continue to hit its shots and free throws at the end, preventing UW from getting within six points the final 3:42 of the game.
“It was close but we never made them nervous at all,” Jackson, who finished with a career-high 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting said. “They always had like a comfortable six-point lead.”
Other than Jackson, the only other player in double figures for the Badgers was forward Frank Kaminsky who finished with 17 points. Forwards Nigel Hayes and Sam Dekker — who came into Wednesday’s game both averaging 13.6 points — finished with a combined nine total points.
Early on, Kaminsky was double-teamed in the post whenever he touched the ball but that eventually led to him getting some early open looks from beyond the arc. He hit his first two three-pointers of the game but after that he would only attempt two more threes, missing both attempts.
“I was able to get some things early,” Kaminsky said. “But that closed off pretty quickly and we were able to do some other things. [Jackson] did a great job of playing off the ball screens. He was able to knock down some shots and make some big plays but at the end of the day it wasn’t enough.”
Overall, the Blue Devils went 30-for-45 from the field and 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Duke hit its shots when they counted the most, shooting 71.4 percent in the second half.
For Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, he didn’t see his team playing poor defense; it was just a matter of Duke having a strong shooting night.
“They hit some tough shots, but they have good enough players that can do that at times,” Ryan said. “To have as many do it in the same night, that’s just not fair. They were lights out.”
Coming into Wednesday’s game, all the hype was surrounding Duke freshman Jahil Okafor who is considered one of the best players in the country and picked by many to be the first pick in the NBA Draft this summer. While Okafor did finish with 13 points, it was another freshman, guard Tyus Jones, who stole the show for the Blue Devils.
Jones went 7-for-11 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 6-of-8 from the free throw line to lead Duke in scoring with 22 points. Junior Rasheed Sulaimon (14) and senior Quinn Cook (13) rounded out the Duke players scoring in double figures.
But it was simply Okafor’s presence that opened things up for his teammates, specifically Jones.
“They do a good job on their ball screens with Okafor. You have to compensate something for him,” Jackson said. “Good players are going to make plays in big moments like that so [Jones] played a heck of a game.”
Early in the first half, the Badgers had trouble working the ball inside but more than made up for it, scoring their first 12 points on four three-pointers. Kaminsky scored the first six points for UW and freshman guard Bronson Koenig knocked in a three from the corner to put Wisconsin on top 12-9. Despite their four early threes, the Badgers did not make another one of their 13 total attempts in the first half.
After Koenig’s three, the Blue Devils came back, tying the score at 12 on a Sulaimon three. Eventually Duke took a 26-20 lead — their largest of the first half — before the Badgers came roaring back on a 6-0 run to tie it at 26 thanks to four points from sophomore forward Vitto Brown and two from forward Duje Dukan.
Following the 6-0 run by UW, Duke responded and knocked down back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to finish the half shooting 15-for-25 (60 percent) from the floor, taking a 35-32 lead into halftime.
Despite the loss, Ryan and his team will use what they learned in this game to improve going forward. It was a strong early-season test for the Badgers that should pay off as conference play approaches.
“[Duke’s] better than us right now. There’s no question,” Ryan said. “We have to shore some things up but a great game to have clips of things that we need to work on.”
The Badgers will get their next opportunity to pick up their eighth win of the season Saturday in Milwaukee when they take on in-state rival Marquette.
