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Box Score: Duke 68 beat Wisconsin 63: Coach K’s 5th Title

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INDIANAPOLIS (Sporting Alert) — Tyus Jones scored 23 points, including 19 in the second half and Duke rallied late to top Wisconsin, 68-63 and win the NCAA men’s 2015 basketball national title here at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday night.

Box Score: Duke 68, Wisconsin 63 | Photos: Duke 68, Wisconsin 63

Duke Blue Devils
Duke Blue Devils win National Championship: Photo Linked Feed

Jones, who scored more than half the Blue Devils’ 37 points in the second half, shot 7-for-13 from the field and pulled down five rebounds in the win.

The Freshman was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

“It’s hard to put it into words. This is just such a special group. The best team I’ve ever been a part of. We’ve worked hard all year. This has been our one goal that we were working for,” Jones said.

“No matter if it was getting up extra shots or extra running, trying to get in better shape, tough practices, just believing in one another, believing in coach, everything they were telling us, because we knew at the end if we did accomplish this, it was all going to be worth it.”

Grayson Allen added 16 points off the bench and Justise Winslow finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for Duke (35-4), which was securing its fifth national crown and the first since 2010.

Tyus Jones
Tyus Jones of Duke leads the way

“They showed such grit tonight,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Our bench was spectacular, and like we said about two months ago, eight is enough. Eight is enough.”

Senior Frank Kaminsky scored 21 points and 12 rebounds for Wisconsin (36-4), which led 48-39 with 13:23 left in the game before Duke rises down the stretch to grab the national championship.

“It’s tough to say anything right now,” said Kaminsky. “These guys are my family, and I mean that literally. I don’t mean that hypothetically.

“I’ve never been closer to a group of guys in my entire life, from the coaching staff on down to every single player on this team.

“It’s just going to be hard to say good-bye.”

Nigel Hayes ended with 13 points and Sam Dekker had 12 points and eight boards for the Badgers, who had defeated the top-seeded Kentucky in the Final Four last Saturday.

Wisconsin finishes the season with a proud school-record of 36 wins.

“What a fantastic job these guys did all year,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. “They just came together to do all the things that they accomplished.

“Highest offensive efficiency. A team that committed the least number of fouls during the year. A team that got to the free-throw line.

“So these guys played 30-some games that way. It’s just unfortunate that this one had to be played out that way.”

Bronson Koenig scored 10 points and four assists in the defeat for Wisconsin, which was also beaten by Duke in the other time these two teams met on Dec. 3.

With the victory, Krzyzewski moves above Adolph Rupp and took sole possession of the second spot on the all-time list behind John Wooden among the men’s coaches with his fifth championships title.

Duke also won national titles in 1991, 1992, 2001 and 2010.

Coach Krzyzewski felt this one was more fulfilling because he only had eight players, but he also believes every one of his championship teams are special.

“All of them are great (teams). The one you’re in this moment with is always the most current, you can feel it the best,” said coach K.

“I haven’t loved a team any more than I’ve loved this team. We have eight guys, and four of them are freshmen. For them to win 35 games and win the national title is incredible.

“When it’s over, and I would have the best appreciation because I’ve been in this for 40 years, and I’m the coach of that group that did this. You know, how good is that?

“They’ve been a joy. They’ve been an incredible joy. When you’re already happy, and you get happier, it’s pretty damn good. It’s pretty good.

As a team, the Blue Devils shot 47.1 percent from the field on 24-for-51 shooting, while Winslow collected three of the team’s six block shots.

Wisconsin, which was hoping to land its first title in 74 years, in the meantime, were 25-for-61 from the floor in shooting for 41.0 percent.

The score at half time was 31-31 before Duke outscored the Badgers 37-32 in the second stanza.

Watch Live Stream NCAA Championship: Duke v Wisconsin

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INDIANAPOLIS (Sporting Alert) — When Duke and Wisconsin face-off in Monday night’s NCAA men’s basketball championships game, it will be the first time since 2008 two No. 1 seeds go head-to-head for the national title.

NCAA Championship Game Information
Live Streaming Online Coverage on NCAA Website
Date: Monday, April 6
Venue: at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
Tipoff Time: 9:18 p.m. ET.
TV Channel: CBS, with Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson
Live GameCast Stream and Box Score
Online Video Play Highlights and Updates

Wisconsin (36-3) confidently dispatched the top overall seed and the previously unbeaten Kentucky in Saturday’s Final Four battle to earn a date with Duke and go in search of its first title in 74 years.

Man of the moment Frank Kaminsky led the way for the Badgers against Kentucky with 20 points and 11 rebounds and Sam Dekker added 16 points in the win that ended the Wildcats’ 38 game undefeated run.

Duke, in the meantime, spanked the seventh-seeded Michigan State, 81-61 in their Final Four contest, with Justise Winslow scoring 19 points, Jahlil Okafor, 18 and Quinn Cook, 17 in the victory.

The Blue Devils (34-4) won 80-70 when these two team met on Dec. 3, when freshman guard Tyus Jones came alive to score 22 points in a leading role for Mike Krzyzewski’s team.

“A lot of people thought they had a pretty good team because they spanked our team at our place in December,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. “I can’t say that they were ignored, that’s for sure.”

Duke, which is on the hunt for a fifth national title, heads into this contest averaging 80.6 points per game and shooting 50.2 percent from the field.

They are holding opponents to an incredible 55 points per game in this year’s tournament and scoring 72.6 point per game at the other end.

The Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouses will face a Badgers club that is shooting 48.0 percent from the field on the season, but allowing 57.9 points per game, which makes for a tight battle on Monday night.

Wisconsin was never No. 1 this season in the college basketball rankings — which is understandable, giving Kentucky’s undefeated run at the time, but Duke coach Krzyzewski always believed they were the top club.

“Coming into the year, I thought they’d be the best team in the country, and they have been,” Krzyzewski said.

“It’s just that Kentucky’s undefeated performance has overshadowed just how good Wisconsin has been, until (Saturday) night.

“There aren’t any shadows anymore.”

STAR PLAYERS STATS

DUKE BLUE DEVILS

POINTS PPG FG% FT% 3PT%
J. Okafor 17.7 .669 .511 .000
Q. Cook 15.7 .454 .891 .399
REBOUNDS REB OFF DEF BPG
J. Okafor 9.0 3.9 5.1 1.4
A. Jefferson 6.0 2.4 3.6 0.7
ASSISTS APG SPG TO AST/TO
T. Jones 5.8 1.5 2.1 2.8
Q. Cook 2.7 1.0 1.3 2.1


WISCONSIN BADGERS

POINTS PPG FG% FT% 3PT%
F. Kaminsky 18.2 .553 .759 .395
S. Dekker 13.0 .514 .708 .304
REBOUNDS REB OFF DEF BPG
F. Kaminsky 8.0 1.5 6.5 1.6
N. Hayes 6.4 2.1 4.4 0.4
ASSISTS APG SPG TO AST/TO
T. Jackson 2.9 1.1 1.6 1.8
F. Kaminsky 2.7 0.9 1.5 1.8

March Madness Tournament Scores, Results on March 22

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Sporting Alert) — Scores, results and box scores from the NCAA tournament games that took place on Sunday, March 23.

Jahlil Okafor
Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor in action at NCAA tournament.

At a time when several top seeds were losing their cool and being shocked in the championship, No. 1 seeds Duke and Wisconsin made sure there were no upsets on their side.

At the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, the Blue Devils (31-4) blew away eighth-seeded San Diego State 68-49 to book a place in the Sweet 16.

Star freshman Jahlil Okafor poured in 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting and grabbed six rebounds and three blocks and Quinn Cook added 15 points and five boards for Duke, which shot 54.5 percent from the floor.

Justise Winslow ended with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds, while dishing out five assists, four steals and three blocks in an all-round performance on the day.

“They’re together,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who was making the Sweet 16 for the 22nd time.

“We have talent, we’re getting older by experience, and so we just – we got better here these two games.”

Winston Shepard scored 13 points to lead the way for the Aztecs (27-9), who were just 19-for-58 from the floor in shooting.

The other No. 1 seed in action on Sunday was Wisconsin (33-3), which advanced to the Sweet 16 courtesy of a 72-65 victory over Oregon at CenturyLink Center Omaha in Nebraska.

Sam Dekker shot 50 percent from the field and scored 17 points and star forward Frank Kaminsky added 16 points and seven rebounds to paced the Badgers, who held off the strong challenge from the Ducks to earn its fourth appearance in the Sweet 16 in the past five years.

Nigel Hayes chipped in with 14 points and Bronson Koenig ended with 12 for Wisconsin, which faces the No. 4 seed North Carolina in the West regional semifinals on Thursday in Los Angeles.

After a slow start Oregon rallied with a second half run to tie the scores at 52-52 with 5:56 left.

However, the Badgers used a 6-0 run to open up the gap back and then utilized their free throws down the stretch to kill off the game.

“Oregon made their run to fight back just as a good team always does,” Dekker told reporters. “And good teams respond to those runs. We settled in, and guys weren’t going to get too riled up.

“We got a big 6-0 run there and opened up the lead and held on from there. It’s a game of runs, and you’ve got to respond at the right time.”

Pac-12 Player of the Year Joseph Young finished with a game-high 30 points for the Ducks (26-10).

Michigan State Stuns Poor Shooting Virginia

Losing on the day though was No. 2 seed and Atlantic Coast Conference regular season champions Virginia, which fell 60-54 to the seventh-seeded Michigan State.

Travis Trice scored 23 points and Branden Dawson added 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for the Spartans (25-11), who took advantage of the Cavaliers’ poor day offensively.

Darion Atkins had 10 points and 14 rebounds and Anthony Gill added 11 points and six boards in the defeat for Virginia, which shot 29.8 percent from the field and was a shocking 2-for-17 from three-point range.

Elsewhere, seventh-seed Wichita State dumped No. 2 seed Kansas 78-65, while the second-seeded Gonzaga destroyed seventh-seed Iowa, 87-68.

NCAA Tournament Scores and Results
Box Scores and More

(7) Michigan State 60, (2) Virginia 54
(1) Duke 68, (8) San Diego St 49
(7) Wichita State 78, (2) Kansas 65
(3) Oklahoma 72, (11) Dayton 66
(2) Gonzaga 87, (7) Iowa 68
(1) Wisconsin 72, (8) Oregon 65
(5) West Virginia 69, (4) Maryland 59
(4) Louisville 66, (5) Northern Iowa 53

NCAA Top 25 Scores and Tournament Results: Mar. 13

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CHICAGO, IL (Sporting Alert) — The Results and scores from the NCAA DI Men’s Basketball tournaments on Friday.

Sixth-ranked Wisconsin Moves On

No. 6 Wisconsin muscled off a very determined Michigan side for a 71-60 victory in their BIG TEN Men’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinal fixture at the United Center on Friday.

Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky (R) in action. Linked Photo

Sam Dekker posted 17 points, six rebounds, six assists, three steals and had one block shot for the Badgers, who got a double-double from reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, Frank Kaminsky.

Kaminsky, who was 6-of-12 from the field finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds in the win for Wisconsin (29-3, 16-2 Big Ten), which advances to the tournament semi-finals.

Both teams were locked at 55-55 with 5:12 left in the contest before the Badgers closed on a 17-6 run in addition to collecting important stops on defense to setup the win.

Kaminsky revealed that the team had to grind out some challenging times during the game, but finding their rhythm again was the key difference in the last five minutes.

“We had a lot of energy (down the stretch),” Kaminsky told reporters. “We knew we had to get stops on defense and make plays on offense and once we did that we were ok.”

Wisconsin, which led 31-26 at halftime, was winning for the fourth straight time.

Zak Irvin scored 21 points and 11 rebounds for Michigan (16-16, 8-10 Big Ten). The sophomore guard, who is averaging 14.0 points per game, was scoring 20 or more points for the fifth time this season.

“Zak Irvin had a hell of a game. He was making everything I felt like,” Kaminsky said about the Wolverines’ guard.

“When a player is going like that it’s tough to stop them.”

Ricky Doyle added 12 points off the bench and Spike Albrecht finished with 10 in the defeat for the Wolverines, who went 51.9 percent (27-of-52) as a team from the floor.

Bronson Koenig had 12 points for Badgers, who shot 49-percent (25-of-51) from the field as a team, while Nigel Hayes ended with 11 points and nine rebounds in the victory.

Wisconsin plays the winner of the clash between Penn State and Purdue in Saturday’s the Big Ten tournament semifinals.

Wildcats Stay Perfect

Also on Friday, No. 1 Kentucky (32-0, 18-0 SEC) beat Florida 64-49 to remain undefeated this season, while booking a place in the SEC tournament quarterfinals.

Karl-Anthony Towns had a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds and Aaron Harrison finished with 13 points to lead the Wildcats, who will face Auburn in SEC semifinal on Saturday.

Jon Horford scored 15 points to pace the Gators (16-17, 8-10 SEC) with Eli Carter adding 11 in the defeat.

“They outrebounded us a little bit, but the difference in the game was the free throw line,” said Florida coach Billy Donovan.

“Twenty-three attempts to our five was a huge factor in the game. … If you take away the free throw line, it’s pretty consistent all the way through.”

Dame Down Blue Devils

Elsewhere on the night, No. 11 Notre Dame jumped all over No. 2 Duke in the early goings and then maintained their efforts throughout the game for a 74-64 win and advanced to the ACC tournament final for the first time.

The Fighting Irish (28-5, 14-4 ACC), which led 41-26 at halftime, were paced by Bonzie Colson, who scored 17 points and five rebounds off the bench, while shooting 5-of-9 from the field.

Demetrius Jackson finished with 15 points and five assists and Jerian Grant ended with 13 points and seven boards in the win for Notre Dame.

Jahlil Okafor had a big night of 28 points, eight rebounds and two blocks and Justise Winslow added 11 points and 11 boards for Blue Devils (29-4), who had their 12-game winning streak snapped.

With the win, Notre Dame moves on to play No. 19 North Carolina in Saturday’s ACC championship game.

North Carolina (24-10, 11-7 ACC) stunned No. 3 Virginia (29-3, 16-2 ACC), 71-67 at the Greensboro Coliseum, with Justin Jackson scoring 22 points and Marcus Paige adding 14 points and five assists.

Malcolm Brogdon led the Cavaliers with 25 points, while Anthony Gill and London Perrantes each had 12 in the defeat for the ACC regular season champions.

NCAA Top 25 Game Scores and Tournament Results

(1) Kentucky 64, Florida 49
(11) Notre Dame 74, (2) Duke 64
(19) North Carolina 71, (3) Virginia 67
(4) Villanova 63, Providence 61
(5) Arizona 70, UCLA 64
(6) Wisconsin 71, Michigan 60
(8) Maryland 75, Indiana 69
(9) Kansas 62, (16) Baylor 52
(13) Iowa State 67, (15) Oklahoma 65
Oregon 67, (17) Utah 64
(20) SMU 74, East Carolina 68
(21) Arkansas 80, Tennessee 72
Xavier 65, (23) Georgetown 63
(24) Davidson 67, La Salle 66
Wyoming 71, (25) Boise State 66

OTHER NCAA TOURNAMENT SCORES

Purdue 64, Penn State 59
Temple 80, Memphis 75
Virginia Commonwealth 70, Richmond 67
Auburn 73, LSU 70
Southern 68, Alabama St 66
Middle Tennessee 53, UTEP 50
Stephen F. Austin 91, Northwestern St 79
UL Lafayette 53, Texas State 43
Delaware St 63, North Carolina Central 57
Dayton 75, St. Bonaventure 71
Central Michigan 75, Toledo 66
UAB 72, Louisiana Tech 62
Tulsa 59, Houston 51
Eastern Washington 91, Sacramento St 83
Hampton 75, Norfolk St 64
UL Monroe 77, South Alabama 59
Sam Houston St 70, Texas A&M-CC 67
Rhode Island 71, George Washington 58
New Mexico St 57, CSU Bakersfield 53
Buffalo 68, Akron 59
Michigan St 76, Ohio State 67
Connecticut 57, Cincinnati 54
Hawaii 65, UC Davis 58
Texas Southern 90, Prairie View 77
Georgia 74, South Carolina 62
Montana 61, Northern Arizona 59
Seattle 69, UMKC 63 Score
San Diego St 56, Colorado St 43
UC Irvine 72, UC Santa Barbara 63

Top 25 College Basketball Scores on March 5

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NEW YORK (Sporting Alert) — No. 5 Arizona shot 56.7-percent from the field en route to their seventh win in a row after hammering California 99-60 at McKale Center in Tucson on Thursday night.

The rout saw the Wildcats (27-3, 15-2) completing the season sweep, following the 73-50 victory on January 24.

Junior forward Brandon Ashley enjoyed an impressive night after he matched his career best with 21 points, while pulling down six rebounds for Arizona, which secured its second consecutive Pac-12 regular-season title.

Kaleb Tarczewski added 14 points and eight rebounds, Stanley Johnson ended with 12 points and five boards and T.J. McConnell dished out a career-best matching 11 assists in the win for the Wildcats, who forced 16 turnovers on the night.

Tyrone Wallace paced California (17-13, 7-10 Pac-12) with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists and Sam Singer finished with 13 points in the defeat.

Forward David Kravish, who is one of the team’s heavy contributors this season and is averaging 6.8 rebounds per game, fouled out with 9:10 left in the game after scoring 10 points in 17-minutes, and head coach Cuonzo Martin believes it “changed the game.”

“I think when you lose a post presence against a team that defends as well as they do, things can get tough because they can extend on the perimeter,” Martin was quoted as saying by AP.

“I thought it changed the game.”

Both teams return to action again on Saturday to close out the regular-season fixtures.

Arizona will be at home against Stanford, while the Golden Bears are traveling to Arizona State.

Also in action on Thursday night was No. 6 Wisconsin, which build a massive 20 point lead in the first half on its way to recording a 76-63 victory over Minnesota to clinched the Big Ten regular-season crown.

Frank Kaminsky completed an all-round night of 25 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals, while Sam Dekker added 20 points and six boards for the Badgers, who improved to 15-2 in league play and 27-3 overall on the season.

Nigel Hayes supported well with 12 points and nine rebounds for Wisconsin, which won two straight, after the 59-53 upset against the then-No. 14 Maryland on February 24.

Nate Mason scored 15 points and Carlos Morris chipped in with 11 for Minnesota (17-13, 6-11), which dropped its fourth game in the last five outings.

Wisconsin shot 50 percent (28 for 56) from the field and from three-point range (10 for 20) in the victory, while Kaminsky was 10 for 15 from the floor.

“It’s been a crazy ride. It’s been fun. To win it in a rivalry game on Minnesota’s court with so many of our own fans here is something pretty special,” Kaminsky said.

“We could hear them the whole game. They were loud.”

Elsewhere on Thursday night in top 25 games, No. 13 Utah beat Washington State, 67-59, while No. 18 Arkansas picked up a close 78-74 victory over South Carolina.

NCAA Men’s Basketball Top 25 Scores

(5) Arizona 99, California 60
(6) Wisconsin 76, Minnesota 63
(13) Utah 67, Washington State 59
(18) Arkansas 78, South Carolina 74

Top 25 college basketball results and recaps – Feb. 21

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DURHAM, N.C. (Sporting Alert) — No. 4 Duke, playing without star freshman Jahlil Okafor, rolled to a 78-56 victory over Clemson at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday.

Quinn Cook
Quinn Cook of Duke in action

Okafor sat out the game with a left ankle injury that he picked up in the win over North Carolina on Wednesday night.

Quinn Cook led the way for the Blue Devils (24-3, 11-3 ACC) with 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting, while Justise Winslow supported well with a high-tempo performance of 20 points, 13 rebounds and four steals.

Duke shot 51.7 percent from the field on 30-of-58 shooting, while finishing with 36 rebounds.

“Our defense led to some fast-break points,” Cook said. “… We want to push it. We were smaller today, Justise got it going today, and he kind of started the tempo off.

“We just fed off what he was doing.”

No. 5 Wisconsin continued their impressive run this season with a 63-53 victory over Minnesota. Frank Kaminsky scored 21 points, pulled down five rebounds and had three block shots for the Badgers in the win.

Bronson Koenig added 17 points as Wisconsin (25-2) secured its 10th victory in a row and improved to 13-1 in Big Ten standings.

Up next for Wisconsin is a challenging battle against No. 16 Maryland, who was inactive on Saturday.

No. 6 Villanova stretched their win streak to eight-games with an 87-76 win over Marquette, as five players scored in double-digits for the Wildcats.

Darrun Hilliard II led the way for Villanova with 17 points, Ryan Arcidiacono finished with 16, while JayVaughn Pinkston added 14 points and nine rebounds and Dylan Ennis collected 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the win.

Josh Hart scored 12 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (25-2), who won 12 in the last 13 games.

JaJuan Johnson had a game-high 20 points to lead Marquette, with Luke Fischer finishing with 17 and Duane Wilson supporting with 15 in the defeat for the Golden Eagles (11-15), who dropped its third game in a row and the 8th in the last 9 overall.

In a highlighted game at KFC Yum! Center, No. 12 Louisville battled to a 55-53 victory over Miami (FL) in a thrilling Atlantic Coast Conference encounter.

Montrezl Harrell came up big for the Cardinals with a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. He also had three block shots.

After trailing 29-19 at halftime, Louisville came out aggressively in the second half and outscored the Hurricanes 36-24 after the interval to setup the win.

Down 53-50 with 1:37 left, Wayne Blackshear made a jumper to cut the deficit to one point before Harrell hit three clutch free throws down the stretch for the Cardinals (21-6) to earned the victory.

In other results on the day, No. 15 North Carolina scored an emotional 89-60 positive result over Georgia Tech, Xavier upset No. 19 Butler, 73-56, No. 23 West Virginia handed No. 22 Oklahoma State a 73-63 defeat, but No. 17 Oklahoma held on for a 79-75 win against Texas Tech.

More scores and results to follow….

Top 25 college basketball Results and Results on Feb. 21

(1) Kentucky 110, Auburn 75
(4) Duke 78, Clemson 56
(5) Wisconsin 63, Minnesota 53
(6) Villanova 87, Marquette 76
(8) Kansas 81, TCU 72
(10) Notre Dame 87, Boston College 70
(11) Northern Iowa 56, Bradley 39
(12) Louisville 55, Miami (FL) 53
(14) Iowa State 85, Texas 77
(15) North Carolina 89, Georgia Tech 60
(17) Oklahoma 79, Texas Tech 75
(18) Arkansas 65, Mississippi St 61
Xavier 73, (19) Butler 56
(20) Baylor 69, Kansas St 42
(23) West Virginia 73, (22) Oklahoma St 63
(25) Virginia Commonwealth 78, Massachusetts 72

Kaminsky, Wisconsin Beat Oklahoma In Battle 4 Atlantis Title Game

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PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (Sporting Alert, Box Score) — Wisconsin used a strong second half to beat Oklahoma 69-56 and win the Battle 4 Atlantis championship at Imperial Arena, in the Bahamas on Friday.

Badgers Battle 4 Atlantis
Wisconsin Badgers win 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis championship: Badgers Photo

After taking a slight 34-33 lead into the halftime break, the No. 2 Badgers outscored the Sooners 35-23 in the second half en route to their tournament winning outing.

Frank Kaminsky, selected as the tournament MVP, scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the way for Wisconsin (7-0), which stayed undefeated on the season.

Duje Dukan continued his impressive role off the Badgers’ bench with 13 points and six rebounds, while making 3-of-5 from three-pointers — including back-to-back buckets towards the end of the first half.

Traevon Jackson also scored 13 points and dished out eight assists and three steals, while Sam Dekker scored 11 points and Nigel Hayes finished with 10 points and seven boards in the win for Wisconsin, who will now prepare for the home clash with No. 4 Duke on Wednesday.

“I’ve been pretty fortunate over my career having players who understand the points-per-possession, because we do it every day at practice,” said Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan.

“They understand that there’s not a trip up and down the floor where we’re not trying to do the right thing.

“And I think our guys stay in the moment at practice, which then kind of goes over into the games.”

Dinjiyl Walker was the only Oklahoma (4-2) player in double figures and he scored 10 points.

Isaiah Cousins and Buddy Hield each scored nine-points, while four other Sooners players had six points each in the championship defeat.

Coming out of the interval, both teams were primed for another close half, but a dominating 16-2 run by Wisconsin blew the contest wide open and setup their victory.

Elsewhere on Friday, Perry Ellis grabbed a 24 point and 13 rebound double-double and Cliff Alexander added 16 points off the bench to lead the No. 11 Kansas (4-1) to a 82-67  win over Tennessee in one of the Orlando Classic semifinals.

Josh Richardson had 16 points and Kevin Punter added 14 for Tennessee (2-2).