Frank Kaminsky’s big second half powers unbeaten Wisconsin
The most obvious sign Oklahoma was in trouble in Friday’s Battle 4 Atlantis title game was the score as the teams jogged off the floor at halftime.
All-American candidate Frank Kaminsky barely played for Wisconsin as a result of two early fouls, yet the Sooners still trailed by a point.
Sure enough, Kaminsky’s second-half return indeed tipped the balance of the game in favor of the Badgers. The 7-foot forward tallied 14 of his 17 points and 7 of his 8 rebounds after halftime as Wisconsin dominated the second half and pulled away for a comfortable 69-56 victory.
Capturing this season’s strongest holiday tournament validates Wisconsin as one of the nation’s best teams even if the Badgers didn’t have to go through the anticipated Florida-North Carolina gauntlet to do it. They outclassed UAB in the opening round, survived an off night from Kaminsky and Traevon Jackson against Georgetown in the semis and then soundly defeated a very good Oklahoma team in the title game.
Those three victories should serve as an ideal prelude for one of the most anticipated games of the college basketball regular season next Wednesday. The second-ranked Badgers host fourth-ranked Duke in the marquee game of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.
If Wisconsin can play at the level it did to start the second half on Friday, the Badgers will definitely pose problems for Duke. They opened with a game-changing 16-2 surge fueled by outside shooting, transition offense and defensive effort.
A top-of-the-key three from Sam Dekker and a baseline jumper from Nigel Hayes began the run. A three-point play from Kaminsky extended the Wisconsin lead to nine. TaShawn Thomas sank a spectacular layup with his back to the basket to temporarily slow the Badgers’ momentum, but two transition layups from Jackson and baskets by Dekker and Hayes extended the Wisconsin lead to 15.
Oklahoma never got closer than nine the rest of the way because it couldn’t stop tournament MVP Kaminsky and it couldn’t solve Wisconsin’s defense. Ryan Spangler was never a factor with Hayes defending him and neither Buddy Hield nor Isaiah Cousins could find a rhythm from the perimeter as the Sooners committed 21 turnovers, shot only 37 percent and got next to nothing easy in transition.
When the clock hit triple zeroes and Wisconsin had clinched the victory, the Badgers donned championship caps and T-shirts to commemorate winning a tournament that included four Top 25 teams and as many as seven potential NCAA tournament teams.
The way the Wisconsin played in the Bahamas on the heels of a Final Four run last March, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Badgers celebrate like that a couple more times this season.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
