Duke has outscored its opponents by 31.3 points per game this season. Wednesday will provide a better indicator of how the Blue Devils stack up against the nation’s elite.
No. 4 Duke will tip off against No. 2 Wisconsin at 9:30 p.m. at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., in the marquee matchup of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Badgers enter the contest undefeated, looking to prove that they are a serious contender to make a repeat trip to the Final Four.
The Blue Devils’ top-ranked recruiting class has been nothing short of sensational so far this season, but Wednesday presents a challenge the quartet of Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow and Grayson Allen has not encountered in college—the hostility of a true road game.
Visitors are just 21-199 at the Kohl Center since the dawn of the Bo Ryan era in 2001, making it one of the country’s most unfriendly venues for opponents. With such a young roster unaccustomed to executing in an opponent’s gym, Duke’s captains have made sure the squad has some idea of what to expect.
“[Preparing for that atmosphere] started [Monday] in practice, making sure guys know the game plan in and out, because things are going to go wrong,” junior forward Amile Jefferson said. “If guys aren’t ready, they’re going to get lost in the noise.... Those can be back-breaking plays if you’re not paying attention.”
Jefferson and fellow captain Quinn Cook have played their fair share of big games, and stressed communication in practice to make sure the Blue Devils stay on the same page when they take the floor in the middle of what Jefferson called “a sea of red.”
A full 50 percent of Duke’s scoring comes from its freshmen, so the Blue Devils will need the rookies to adapt well to the road setting. Cook said he expects the quartet to be just fine.
“This is why they came to Duke, big-time games like this,” Cook said. “It’s been advertised on ESPN all week. They’ve seen it, and this is what they all signed up for.”
To have a chance against the fundamentally-sound Badgers (7-0) in a hostile road environment, Duke must continue to be efficient on the offensive end. The Blue Devils (7-0) score 90.4 points per game—fourth-best in the country—but Wisconsin only allows 50.6 points per contest, meaning something will have to give Wednesday.
As it has all season, that offensive productivity starts with Okafor. Averaging 17.7 points per game, the freshman will get a chance to prove himself against 7-footer Frank Kaminsky in a matchup of the top two centers in college basketball. The Okafor-Kaminsky hype has dominated the build-up to Wednesday’s game in the same way that last year’s Duke-Kansas clash in Chicago revolved around the Jabari Parker-Andrew Wiggins dynamic.
For his part, Okafor has sought to diffuse the attention centered on his matchup in the post with Kaminsky. But the battle between the big men will likely be a deciding factor in which team wins the war.
“It’s really just about us playing the No. 2-ranked team in the nation,” Okafor said. “We’re excited to go down to Wisconsin.... I’ve never really played in any game like the one I’m going to Wednesday night.”
If Kaminsky is able to slow down Okafor inside—something no opponent so far has been able to do for a full 40 minutes—it will fall to the freshman’s teammates to knock down open shots from the outside to relieve some of the congestion in the paint. After not making a field goal in Duke’s previous two games, Jones broke out in a big way Sunday against Army, notching his first double-double with 16 points and 10 assists.
As the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, Kaminsky receives the bulk of the attention for Wisconsin, but the Badgers have a deep lineup of veteran talent more than capable of picking up the slack if the senior has an off night against Okafor. Deep threat Ben Brust was the only key contributor to depart from last year’s Final Four team after Kaminsky spurned the NBA for one more season in Madison.
Head coach Bo Ryan runs a methodical half-court offense, utilizing lots of screen action and backdoor cuts. But with all the athletes on this year’s team and the ability of Wisconsin’s posts to stretch the floor, Ryan has allowed the Badgers to push the pace more than in years past, defying the traditional Big Ten mold.
“They can all shoot the ball from outside, so we’ll have to be ready for that adjustment,” Jones said. “They’re a really fundamental team and play really well together.”
Junior Sam Dekker and sophomore Nigel Hayes combine for 26.3 points per contest, both of them versatile forwards with some range.
At 6-foot-9, 220 pounds, Dekker attacks the rim well off the dribble and has a flare for the big-time play. The 6-foot-7 Hayes provides another physical presence inside, pulling down 8.3 rebounds per game playing opposite Kaminsky.
“They move a lot. They pull a lot of guys—especially their bigs—out of the post,” Jefferson said. “[It’s important] for all our bigs to move with their guy and always be in a stance and always being aware. They catch a lot of guys sleeping for threes and backdoors.”
Redshirt senior Josh Gasser has never averaged more than nine points per game, but the guard is the quintessential glue guy for the Badgers, bringing the grit and intangibles that made Tyler Thornton a valuable asset for the Blue Devils during his time in Durham. Operating behind the curtain of the show in which Kaminsky and Dekker are the stars, Gasser’s consistency and toughness make him the leader of Ryan’s club—he was also the first true freshman in the Big Ten to record a triple-double since Magic Johnson did it in 1977.
“They’re not just run through Kaminsky,” Cook said. “They were in the Final Four last year for a reason. They’re a great, great all-around team, a well-coached team.... They know how to win.”
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