The No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers came, they saw and they conquered the Battle 4 Atlantis on Paradise Island, Bahamas. While the tournament and this game didn’t always go as expected, Wisconsin took home the tournament title with a 69-56 win over the Oklahoma Sooners.
Wisconsin (7-0) needed all nine of its rotation to get the job done, as the game became of the stranger we’ve seen. UW had five players in double figures, led by Frank Kaminsky’s 17 points. Joining him were Traevon Jackson (13), Duje Dukan (13), Sam Dekker (11) and Nigel Hayes (10).
Oklahoma was held in check, with just one player reaching double figures. Dinjiyl Walker led the way for the Sooners with 10 points.
The first half was all about senior forward Duje Dukan and the foul trouble Wisconsin found themselves in.
Dukan had 13 points for the game, 11 of which came in the first half, and all of which helped Wisconsin take a 34-33 lead in to the half.
All despite a large disparity in the numbers that matter — shooting percentage, rebounds and turnovers.
Just how strange was the half?
I mean, who would’ve thought that Wisconsin could hang with anyone with preseason All-American Frank Kaminsky sitting out close to 15 minutes of the first half and scoring just three points?
Who would’ve thought that a team shooting exactly zero free throws and giving up 10 points at the line to its opponent would be up 34-33 at the half?
Wisconsin and Oklahoma were never really out of reach of each other in the half, as there were 11 lead changes and four ties.
There were also two massive runs, as the Badgers went on a 10-0 run to go up 12-5 with just under 11 minutes remaining and Oklahoma would answer with a 9-0 run of its own immediately after UW’s run.
It’s those numbers that show you how crazy the first half was. However, things changed in the second half and it all had to do with Kaminsky’s return. He poured in 14 of his game-high 17 points in the second half and Wisconsin went from one-point lead to double-digit lead in a matter of minutes.
UW went on a 16-2 run to start the second half, extending its lead to 50-33 with 12:59 left to play in the contest. Unlike the first half, Oklahoma had no answer and Wisconsin controlled the flow of this game from then on.
It wasn’t all Kaminsky though, and let us introduce you to our player of the game…
Player of the Game: Traevon Jackson
While its tempting to pick Kaminsky because of the 14 points in one half of basketball, there was no way Kaminsky or anyone else gets the job done without the play of point guard Traevon Jackson. He ended the game with a near double-double of 13 points and eight assists, while also adding three steals and 50 percent field goal shooting.
Considering he’s sometimes the forgotten scorer on a team full of them, Jackson had nearly as complete a basketball game as you’re going to see from him.
Difference Maker: 16-2 run to start second half
Wisconsin couldn’t play the way they did in the first half and expect to come out winners. They were giving up too many plays, getting outrebounded and not taking advantage of the opportunities the Sooners were giving them.
It didn’t take long for the Badgers to learn the lesson, because they came out of the half looking like a very different team. UW stepped up the intensity on defense, moved the ball quicker on offense and got some great play from guard Traevon Jackson. It all added up to UW’s first double-digit lead of the contest, and put OU on the backfoot.
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