Dec. 2, 2009
MADISON, Wis. -
Star of the Game
When the lights come on, Trevon Hughes shines and tonight the spotlight was as big as it gets against No. 6 Duke. Hughes turned it on in the second half, scoring 19 points and going 6-of-9 from the field, including a pair of huge 3-pointers down the stretch. The senior guard finished 4-of-7 from 3-point range and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line, finishing with a career-high 26 points. More impressive, the Badger guard went the entire 38 minutes with zero turnovers. Hughes tied his previous career-high of 25 points on a free throw with four seconds left and then bested his career mark by nailing the second free throw, putting Wisconsin up 72-69.
Play of the Game
Hughes gets the nod once again as he drained two critical 3-pointers late in the game to put Wisconsin up 11 points (65-54) with 5:08 remaining. Both of his 3-pointers came on second chance opportunities with Wisconsin staying aggressive on the offensive glass all night long. Jason Bohnnon missed a 3-pointer but the Badgers got the ball back after it went out of bounds. Hughes got the in-bounds pass from near the baseline and drained a 3-pointer, putting Wisconsin up eight points. The Badgers then had another second chance opportunity after a Jordan Taylor miss, Ryan Evans grabbed the offensive board but missed the tip-in. The ball then found its way to in Hughes' hot hand and he put up a 3-pointer that was rolling out but found its way back in and through the net, putting the Badgers up by 11 with 5:08 left.
Turning Point of the Game
Wisconsin led for the entire game but never had a large enough cushion to get comfortable. With three seconds left, Wisconsin had a 72-69 lead, but Duke had posession. Kyle Singler in-bounded the ball and threw a long pass, but it was tipped out by his own player, giving the Badgers the ball back. Jon Scheyer then fouled Jordan Taylor, sending him to the line where Taylor went 1-for-2. Duke put up one last desperation shot but the turnover proved costly for the Blue Devils and prevented them from coming back into the game in the final seconds.
Stat of the Game
Wisconsin had a season-low five turnovers and posted a ratio of 17 assists to just five turnovers. Duke managed to score nine points off the UW turnovers, but the Badgers took care of the ball for a majority of the game. The Blue Devils on the other hand, turned it over 11 times, including the costly one at the end of the game that secured the Wisconsin win. The Badgers scored 10 points off Duke turnovers.
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Betsy Golomski
UW Athletic Communications
