History was made Tuesday night. The Wisconsin men’s basketball team (4-0 overall) continued their undefeated season start at the Kohl Center last night, as they defeated North Dakota (1-1) 103-85.
Junior forward Frank Kaminsky broke into the record books after scoring the most points in a single game in school history, totaling 43 points.
“It’s a great feeling. As a basketball player you want every shot to go in and then when most of them are going in, it’s going to feel great,” Kaminsky said. “I can’t really describe it. It’s an awesome feeling.”
The previous record of 42 was shared by Michael Finley in the 1994 season and Ken Barnes in the 1965 season.
It was all Kaminsky in the first half for the Badgers. Kaminsky picked up right where he left off in Green Bay, providing the offensive momentum for the Badgers in the early going. He scored 21 points, marking his career high in just the first half.
“When those first couple of shots went in, you know I kind of said to myself ‘I’m feeling it,’” Kaminsky said. “I just kept shooting and it kept going in.”
Kaminsky was not the only Badger who shot well in the first half. They shot 7-of-11 as a team from the three-point line and 17-of-29 overall.
North Dakota stuck with UW for a few minutes, thanks to Milwaukee native and senior Troy Huff, who hit back-to-back three point shots upon entering the game. Huff is son of Theresa Huff, former Wisconsin standout women’s basketball player.
He didn’t stop there, as he tallied 26 points in the first half, which was on pace to be the most points ever scored against Wisconsin by a single player.
Huff did not break the record, but did score 37 points with his own fan section to witness it.
North Dakota went on a minor run in the final four minutes of the first half to close the gap to 10 points.
The score at halftime was 55-45 in favor of Wisconsin.
UW gained back control of the game to start the second half, triggered by yet another Kaminsky three ball—and he was not even close to being done.
“I was on the wing and I was open for a pass,” junior guard Traevon Jackson said. “I looked at [Kaminsky] and said ‘one more [pass], one more,’ and he said ‘No, I’m feeling it.’”
Midway through the second half, Wisconsin held a comfortable 17-point lead.
After trailing the scoring record by one point late in the second half, head coach Bo Ryan gave Kaminsky a final chance.
“I had no idea [that he was approaching the record] until the players on the bench pleaded to give him one more possession,” Ryan said.
He gave him the chance and Kaminsky capitalized on the opportunity with an easy lay in, resulting in an eruption by Wisconsin’s grateful red fan base.
Sophomore forward Sam Dekker had another impressive performance that was overlooked in part to Kaminsky’s record night. Dekker totaled 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.
UW dominated North Dakota the rest of the way and strolled to a seemingly effortless win. “There might have been three bad shots out of the 59,” Ryan said. Wisconsin ended the night shooting 58.6 percent from the floor.
The Badgers surpassed the 100-point mark for the first time since 1995.
Despite the offensive explosion, UW let in an uncharacteristic 85 points. “We’ve got two more games coming up this week, so we can put this defensive performance behind us, and you know, get better,” Dekker said.
The victory marks Wisconsin’s first win of the three-game home stand and their fourth consecutive win overall.
