The Wisconsin Badgers overcame a nine-point second-half deficit and a huge night from Georgetown senior guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera to outlast the Hoyas 68-65 at the Battle for Atlantis on Thursday. Georgetown had a shot to tie at the buzzer, but tough defense from the Badgers forced Smith-Rivera to miss his first three-pointer of the night to keep No. 2 Wisconsin undefeated.
Wisconsin vs. Georgetown final score: 3 things we learned from the Badgers’ tight win
The No. 2 Badgers finished off a come-from-behind victory to knock off Georgetown in the Bahamas.
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Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Georgetown looked to be in control in the second half, but Wisconsin's bench provided a huge boost in crunch time. Sophomore guard Bronson Koenig came off the bench to score 14 points and add four assists, while fifth-year senior Duje Dukan knocked down a big three late to finish with eight points.
The bench play was huge with Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky struggling all night against a physical Georgetown front line. Kaminsky ended the night 1-of-8 from the field with six points and four rebounds, but the rest of the Badgers stepped up late to complete the come-from-behind victory.
Here are three things we learned as the Badgers improved to 6-0:
1. Wisconsin’s seven-man rotation has enough size and shooting to hang with anyone
It says a lot about the quality of a team’s depth when the star player struggles as badly as Kaminsky did and they still find a way to beat a squad as talented as Georgetown. Wisconsin goes seven deep with players who can shoot, pass and dribble, and five of them are at least 6’7.
Sam Dekker is Wisconsin's other star and the junior forward turned in a fine two-way effort in the win. Dekker made 6-of-11 shots from the field to finish with 17 points and six rebounds in the win. Sophomore forward Nigel Hayes was great too, scoring 15 points and pulling down seven rebounds in the win.
Hayes made his only three-pointer attempt of the night, a newfound dimension to his game that gives Wisconsin a starting five that can all shoot from the outside. Add in skilled bench players like Koenig and Dukan, and it’s easy to see why this Badgers team is going to be a matchup nightmare for anyone they face.
2. If Georgetown is this good, the Big East is legit
The Big East has been off to a hot start so far in the young season, and the effort of Georgetown in the Battle for Atlantis only offers more evidence the league is for real. The Hoyas beat a tough No. 18 Florida team on Wednesday in an overtime thriller, but their effort against Wisconsin might have been even more impressive. Yes, Georgetown lost, but it made a lot of believers along the way.
After four straight trips to the tournament, Georgetown headed to the NIT last year at only 18-15. If they play like they did in the Bahamas, the Hoyas will start a new NCAA Tournament streak this year. Smith-Rivera was incredible, finishing the night with 29 points, five rebounds and three assists on 11-of-18 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range. Add him in as a serious candidate for Big East Player of the Year alongside Darrun Hilliard and others.
Forward Aaron Bowen and freshman Paul White combined to add 15 points off the bench for the Hoyas. White is part of an impressive three-man recruiting class for Georgetown that should have the program set up well into the future.
3. Wisconsin may have trouble with size inside
You can credit Georgetown’s Josh Smith for Kaminsky’s struggles on Thursday. The 6’10, 350-pound senior finished with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting. Wisconsin has a ton of size, but Kaminsky was simply too skinny to handle someone like Smith.
Granted, there is only one Josh Smith. Wisconsin won’t see another 350-pound player again this year. But if the Badgers are going to capitalize on their national title dreams, they will likely have to go through teams with a ton of size on the inside like Kentucky, Duke and Gonzaga. It’s something worth monitoring.
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