Box ScoreMADISON, Wis. – A stout defense from No. 3/4 Wisconsin turned out to be too difficult to penetrate for the Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team, which was turned away, 62-31, in front of a packed crowd at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
On the strength of 4-for-6 shooting from the floor,
Daniel Camps led the Norse with eight points in the contest.
Camps broke away for a two-handed jam midway through the first half. The sophomore forward then sandwiched a pair of layups around
Tyler White's trey to help NKU pull within six, 21-15, with five minutes left in the opening stanza.
Wisconsin (1-0) held Northern Kentucky scoreless for the rest of the half to take a 27-15 lead into intermission.
The nationally-ranked Badgers kept the defensive pressure on the Norse, who finally broke back into the scoring column at the 15:30 mark of the second half on a jumper from
Jalen Billups.
Northern Kentucky (0-1) never found a rhythm offensively and succumbed to Wisconsin, 62-31.
NKU connected on 14-of-53 (26.4 percent) of its field goal attempts, including 2-of-16 (12.5 percent) from long range, and UW went 23-of-47 (48.9 percent) from the floor and 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from three-point territory.
Billups closed the game with six points on 3-for-4 shooting and
Jake Giesler led the Norse with six boards.
Preseason all-Big Ten honoree Frank Kaminsky paced the Badgers with 17 points and 11 rebounds, the third double-double of his career. UW also received 15 points from Kaminsky's fellow Big Ten honoree Sam Dekker.
Northern Kentucky has a quick turnaround between games, as the Norse will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a Sunday afternoon tilt against No. 21/21 Nebraska. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (ET)/1:00 p.m. (CT).
