Duke Vs Wisconsin: National Championship Preview With Badger of Honor

It is Championship Monday and Duke will take on Wisconsin tonight to see who will be the 2015 National Champions. We caught up with Jim Oxley of Badger of Honor to discuss some of the key questions surrounding this Championship game.

The game starts at 9:18 on Monday night, so be sure to tune in to CBS at that time. But until then here is the Q&A with Badger of Honor:

Ball Durham: What do you think the likelihood is of a let down after ending Kentucky’s undefeated season?

Badger of Honor: It’s always tough for a team to rebound from a huge win – you see it all the time. Teams put in so much effort to take down a tough important that they can’t live up to the performance the next time out on the court. Having said that, this is a veteran team who has been playing for this moment all season. The goal at the beginning of the season wasn’t to get revenge on Kentucky for last year’s Final Four, it was to win a championship. I think this Badgers team is more focused on that goal than ever, and now that they’re one game away, aren’t going to overlook the significance of the opportunity within grasp.

BD: How much has Wisconsin improved since the first meeting between these teams?

BoH: This Wisconsin team is quite different than the one Duke saw in December. Sam Dekker played just 24 minutes, was clearly not recovered from an ankle injury, and scored just 5 points. Nigel Hayes had 4 fouls and scored just 4 points. Traevon Jackson was still the starter, and Bronson Koenig was just a role player.

Fast forward to today, and Sam Dekker is on fire, Nigel Hayes has been a major contributor, and Bronson Koenig has become the starting point guard, and is capably filling Jackson’s shoes, while Jackson is working his way back as an option off of the bench. This team is clicking on all cylinders right now, and is very different from the group we saw in December.

BD: How will Wisconsin be able to handle not being an underdog?

BoH: Honestly, I don’t think the team cares one way or another who is favored. In their eyes, this Badgers team probably thinks they should have been the favorite in every game they’ve played, even against Kentucky. Certainly, the team has enjoyed ‘upsetting’ a Kentucky team that defeated them a year ago, but now it just comes down to who puts up the bigger number tonight, not the numbers sportsbooks are throwing around.

BD: A lot of people have talked about Duke’s lack of depth all tournament. Wisconsin only played 7 guys Saturday, will fatigue be a factor?

BoH: That’s the only concern I have about this Badgers team – depth. I’ve been worried about it all tournament long, but luckily it hasn’t hurt the Badgers yet. Wisconsin will likely give Vitto Brown a few more minutes, if nothing else to spell Frank Kaminsky and send Jahlil Okafor to the free throw line a few times. Brown barely played against Kentucky – just one minute – but will likely see more time tonight. Zak Showalter will likely see more than the 5 minutes he played against Kentucky, as well.

Most important, once again, for this Badgers squad will be foul trouble. It hurt them against Duke the last time around (mainly with Nigel Hayes) and a similar situation would be detrimental.

BD: Does Bo Ryan trust all of his guys to be able to defend one on one? Who will be tasked with guarding Justise Winslow?

BoH: You’ll see almost exclusively one-on-one match ups tonight. Wisconsin doesn’t double very often, although they do play very close on the help side at times. The Badgers have played great on-ball defense in the tournament so far, and with the exception of Oregon’s James Young, haven’t really let a player go crazy in the tournament. That could be a problem this time around, as Tyus Jones was pretty unstoppable in December, but Wisconsin likely won’t change its philosophy.

As for Winslow, expect to see both Dekker and Hayes guarding him, although Wisconsin switches on ball screens so pretty much any Badgers could be guarding him on any given possession. Ryan trusts all his defenders in one-on-one situations, and the Badgers shouldn’t deviate from that formula as it has been very successful.

BD: Alright prediction time, who ya got?

BoH: Coming off one of the biggest wins in the program’s history, don’t expect this Badgers team to take even a pinky toe off of the gas pedal. This Wisconsin team had the Championship game in their sights from the moment they hit the court in the offseason, and aren’t about to let up with one game left. It won’t be easy, as the Duke Blue Devils roll into the championship game on a hot run themselves. Wisconsin will once again square off against a team loaded with NBA-bound freshmen, a talented group led by center and potential No. 1 overall pick Jahlil Okafor. Tyus Jones gave Wisconsin fits when the two teams met in December, and Duke shot lights-out in the Kohl Center on the way to a 10-point victory. The Badgers need to minimize Jones’ impact off the dribble, force Okafor to earn every shot he takes, and keep feeding its beasts on offense – Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker – in order to finish off a championship run. I believe they have what it takes. Wisconsin 77, Duke 73