The No. 7 Duke Blue Devils entered Tuesday night's contest against the No. 20 Badgers with a perfect 8-0 record in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
By halftime, the Blue Devils (7-0) made it clear they would remain undefeated in the annual competition.
Launching a first half 3-point barrage led by freshman forward Taylor King and junior point guard Greg Paulus, Duke quickly built a 20-point lead over the Badgers (5-1) and never looked back, coasting to an 82-58 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The three should be a huge weapon for us,"" Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. ""[Wisconsin] plays more of a top-of-the-key defense, so we thought if we could set our screens a little better, we would get some open looks.""
Wisconsin struggled to establish its offense against a suffocating Duke defense, which forced 18 turnovers.
Two early fouls on sophomore guard Trevon Hughes also forced the Badgers to run their offensive attack for part of the first half without their main scoring threat.
Wisconsin freshman forward Jon Leuer acknowledged both the tough Duke defense and the hostile environment of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
""They pressure at a whole different level, and with that crowd right on top of you ... it definitely makes things difficult,"" Leuer said.
Although the Badgers had few open looks at the hoop, they failed to help themselves when they did have opportunities, Duke fouls put UW in the bonus late in the first half, but Hughes and senior forward Brian Butch combined to miss three consecutive free throws. Open Wisconsin jump shots clanked off the rim, as well.
The Blue Devils torched the Badgers from behind the arc, making 11-of-24 3-pointers on the night. Wisconsin made only three of its 14 3-pointers.
Paulus led all scorers with 18 points. King and freshman forward Kyle Singler each added 15 points for the Blue Devils. All of King's points came on five 3-pointers.
""They were ready, and then they get a guy like King who gets his confidence Sunday,"" UW head coach Bo Ryan said. ""He comes out and hits four threes in the first half, and I say, 'Mike, does he even play against us if he doesn't hit those threes Sunday?' He just smiled.""
One of the few bright spots for the Badgers came from the performance of Leuer. In his first collegiate road game, he posted 12 points, good enough to tie Hughes as the top UW scorer.
The loss dropped Wisconsin to 3-6 in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. The Badgers have never won on the road in the competition.
The ACC looks like it is well on its way to another win in the challenge as Indiana claimed the only Big Ten victory so far with a 83-79 home win against Georgia Tech.
