Bedeviled! Wisconsin Badgers can’t hang on, lose to Duke in final
By Phil Watson
The Wisconsin Badgers knew all about the exploits of freshman guard Tyus Jones, who torched them for 22 points in the Duke Blue Devils’ 80-70 win over the Badgers in Madison on Dec. 3.
And they knew all about freshman center Jahlil Okafor, who ran second in the voting for most of the player of the year honors won by Wisconsin senior center Frank Kaminsky.
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They weren’t counting on less-heralded freshman Grayson Allen demolishing them in the second half.
Allen scored 10 of his 16 points off the bench in the second half and Jones was big again, hitting 19 of his game-high 23 after intermission as Duke (35-4) roared back from a nine-point deficit midway through the second half Monday night to win the program’s fifth national championship, 68-63 in Indianapolis.
Wisconsin (36-4) came up just short in just the school’s second national title game and its first since 1941.
The Badgers scored six straight points to take their biggest lead of the game, 48-39, on Kaminsky’s layup with 13:23 remaining.
That was when Allen went nuts.
The freshman guard from Jacksonville, Fla., who came into the title game averaging four points a game scored Duke’s next eight points on a 3-pointer, a conventional three-point play and a pair of free throws as Duke quickly closed the gap to 51-47.
Jones continued the run with a three-point play of his own to make it a 51-50 game, but a three-point play on the other end by Kaminsky pushed Wisconsin’s lead back to four points at 54-50.
It was Allen’s layup with 5:39 remaining that gave Duke its first lead of the second half, 56-54, with 5:29 remaining, but four quick points from the Badgers, on layups by Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, pushed Wisconsin back on top.
Jones hit a huge 3-pointer from the top of the key with 4:09 remaining to give Duke the lead again and this time, the Blue Devils wouldn’t surrender it.
Instead, Duke ran off 10 straight points, capped by another Jones 3 wrapped around baskets by Okafor, to go up 66-58 with 1:24 remaining.
Wisconsin made one more run, with a 3-pointer from Kaminsky and a dunk by Nigel Hayes to close to 66-63 with 35 seconds left.
But Jones made two more free throws and Bronson Koenig misfired on a jumper at the other end, allowing the celebration to quietly build on the Blue Devil bench.
The Badgers shot just 41 percent and ran into rare foul trouble in the second half, resulting in Duke having a 20-10 edge in free throw attempts and a 16-6 advantage on makes from the stripe—a big key in the win.
Neither team shot the 3-ball particularly well—Wisconsin was 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) while Duke hit just 4-of-11 (36.4 percent).
Many of the players took to social media to express both frustration over the loss and pride for what they accomplished this season.
Never been more proud of a group in my entire life. What we achieved will never be taken away from us. Thank you for having me @UWMadison
— Frank Kaminsky III (@FSKPart3) April 7, 2015
Be an honor wearing the Badger uniform these last 5 years. Love this team #badger4life
— Duje Dukan (@dujedukan) April 7, 2015
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan, meanwhile, said the physicality of the game was at a different level than he had seen before.
“It was a situation where you have to be able to handle all the hands and the checking,” Ryan told The Associated Press. “There was more body contact in this game than any game we played all year and I just feel sorry for my guys that all of a sudden a game was like that and I think they’re struggling with that a little bit.”
Kaminsky finished with 21 points—14 in the second half—and 11 rebounds for the Badgers. Hayes added 13 and Dekker finished with 12 points on 6-of-15 shooting—including 0-for-6 from deep—and eight boards. Koenig chipped in 10 points and four assists.
Jones was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, but got help from Allen’s 16 points. Justise Winslow finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots, while Okafor had 10 points in 22 minutes, limited by foul trouble. Amile Jefferson only scored two points, but had three blocks and seven boards.
ESPN Wisconsin reported after the game that Hayes, a sophomore, already has said he’s returning to Madison for his junior season, while Dekker isn’t sure whether or not he is coming back for what would be his senior campaign.
“You watched that game,” Hayes said. “I’m nowhere near good enough to do anything but come bacl.”
Dekker was more guarded.
“Just take a day at a time here,” Dekker said. “Just have to weigh my options. Make a committed decision and go on from there.”
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Dekker, who was shooting 50 percent from 3-point range before Monday night’s bagel-for-6, saw his national profile erupt after averaging more than 20 points a game through the first five games of the tournament.
“Just got to think what’s best for my future,” Dekker said. “Both options are going to be there, obviously, Been there all along. You never know. Got to wake up [Tuesday], get home with these guys. See what the future holds.”
In its most recent mock draft, Draft Express had Kaminsky as the No. 10 overall pick, Dekker at No. 15 and did not have Hayes going within the 60 picks.
The Badgers will be losing four seniors—Kaminsky, Traevon Jackson, Duje Dukan and Josh Gasser.
The last time Wisconsin had been in the NCAA tournament final was in just the third-ever playing of the event in 1941, when the Badgers beat Washington State 39-34.