Die-hard Badger fans have had tonight's game circled on their calendars since last April, when the matchups for the 11th Big Ten-ACC Challenge were announced. And now the day has come: Tonight Wisconsin welcomes perennial powerhouse Duke into the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin players have been taught to downplay individual regular-season games, but they could not help themselves leading up to the contest against the Blue Devils.
""Duke being the storied program they are, being a top-5 team like they are, it would be a big win for us,"" junior forward Jon Leuer said.
The Blue Devils will carry their prestige and mystique into Madison, and senior guard Jason Bohannon is aware of what the Badgers can gain from a victory over Duke.
""It's a great challenge for us, but also a great opportunity,"" Bohannon said. ""It would be a tremendous win.""
The challenge is a great one, but the Wisconsin basketball program, which seems to receive less and less national attention each year, now has a golden chance to catapult itself into the spotlight.
""It would raise a lot of eyebrows because we're not expected to win this game,"" senior guard Trevon Hughes said
This season, the undefeated Blue Devils enter the contest No. 6 in the country after winning the NIT Preseason Tip-Off with a victory over No. 12 Connecticut.
Duke returns four starters from last season, including senior guard Jon Scheyer, junior guard Nolan Smith and junior forward Kyle Singler.
""They're good, as always,"" associate head coach Greg Gard said. ""The team is going to play extremely hard, guard you extremely well [and] be very skilled. They have very good players.""
If the Badgers are to win this game, they feel it must be their defense that pulls them through.
""We know we just have to be solid defensively,"" Leuer said. ""Whether our shots are falling or not we don't know, but we know that if we can stick to our defensive principles, force them to take tough shots, that gives us the best chance to win.""
This is the second time Wisconsin is squaring off against Duke in three years. In 2007, the Badgers went into Cameron Indoor Stadium and lost by 24 points. For some Badgers, the lopsided defeat two years ago provided a valuable learning experience.
""There's a lot to learn from that,"" Bohannon said. ""The do's and the don'ts of course. They like to get up on us and everything, and we have to be able to protect the ball and stick with our game plan.""
But for others, that game two years ago is irrelevant.
""That was a while ago,"" Leuer said. ""You can't really look at any of the results from that. Even when you play a team the second time in a season, it can be a lot different.""
Whether or not Wisconsin will look back to the game between the two teams two years ago is debatable, but the Badgers are surely using their experience from the Maui Invitational.
Wisconsin gained many positives from the trip, including competition against high-quality opposition and a valuable bonding experience. But most players discussed the emergence of the team's younger players as the highlight of the event.
""I've seen our young guys grow and mature a lot,"" Leuer said. ""Those guys have come a long way, and that gives us another weapon, our depth, and that was big for us.""
Giving minutes to the Badgers' inexperienced players may help Wisconsin as it hopes to pull off the upset tonight at 8:15.
