Tag: 2015 National Championship

Duke freshman Kon Knueppel attended the 2015 national title game…rooting for Wisconsin?

Duke basketball freshman Kon Knueppel actually attended the Blue Devils’ last national championship in 2015. He just had the wrong jersey on.

When [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag] was just nine years old, he watched his future college team win a national championship. He sat in the stands at Lucas Oil Stadium as legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski won his fifth and final title, a 68-63 victory over Wisconsin.

Small problem, however. Knueppel was rooting for the Badgers.

Now a five-star freshman on the Duke roster, Knueppel grew up in Milwaukee. During a Tuesday episode of The Brotherhood Podcast, he said his earliest memory of the Blue Devils was them ripping his state’s heart out.

“Devastating loss,” Knueppel said with a smile. “But funny how it comes full circle.”

Knueppel mentioned Frank “the Tank” Kaminsky by name, the Badgers’ All-American 7-footer who scored 21 points against the Blue Devils in the finale. However, Tyus Jones and some freshman off the bench named [autotag]Grayson Allen[/autotag] combined for 39 points to push Duke over the line.

Speaking of things coming full circle, Jones and Allen will actually be teammates again this season in the NBA after the former signed with the Phoenix Suns in free agency.

Duke basketball releases 2015 reunion podcast with Grayson Allen and Marshall Plumlee

Duke basketball’s The Brotherhood Podcast released a 2015 reunion episode with Grayson Allen and Marshall Plumlee on Tuesday.

By the time the next edition of March Madness rolls around, it’ll be a decade since Duke’s last national championship. For [autotag]Grayson Allen[/autotag] and Marshall Plumlee, however, the memories will never age.

Allen and Plumlee joined former Blue Devil Ryan Young on a new edition of The Brotherhood Podcast on Tuesday to talk about that run to Duke’s fifth national title.

The Blue Devils defeated Wisconsin 68-63 in the national title game. Allen notably broke out in the game as a freshman, scoring 16 points off the bench and going 5/8 from the floor.

Young asked the two what separated that 2015 team, made up of notable names like Amile Jefferson, Quinn Cook, and Jahlil Okafor.

“I felt like all of the guys were really connected,” Allen said. “There was a legitimate, genuine friendship between everyone on the team, there was a legitimate respect level of each other’s game, and I think that helped with how close our group was.”

Jefferson just won his first NBA title as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics on Monday.

In honor of MLB umpire Angel Hernandez’s retirement, what’s the worst call in Wisconsin history?

What’s the worst call in Wisconsin history?

Major League Baseball umpire Angel Hernandez announced his retirement on Sunday night.

The news came as a surprise, though it was much-anticipated by baseball fans. Hernandez had gained a reputation as one of the sport’s worst umpires and became one of the most disliked figures by nearly every fanbase.

Related: Which Big Ten football team has the toughest 2024 schedule?

Hernandez’s retirement had many on X re-posting the worst calls of his career. There is no Wisconsin angle to that discussion, so we’re turning to an age-old question: what are the worst officiating calls in Wisconsin sports history?

There are two obvious ones that will lead everybody’s list: Duke forward Justice Winslow touching the basketball in the 2015 national championship game, and Wisconsin wide receiver Danny Davis being called for a phantom offensive pass interference to decide the 2020 Rose Bowl vs. Oregon.

Both are hard to argue with.

Winslow’s clear touching of the basketball was missed by officials and sealed Duke’s win over Wisconsin in the sport’s biggest game. A reversed call would not have guaranteed a Badgers victory, but it would’ve gave them a chance.

The OPI call on Davis, meanwhile, ruined Wisconsin’s game-winning drive at the end of the Rose Bowl. It isn’t the national championship, but its the biggest game Wisconsin football has played in over the last 20 years.

I’m convinced that final drive results in game-winning points without that penalty.

There are likely countless others to consider, but none were worst calls on a bigger stage than these two mentioned.

 

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Wisconsin basketball ruined John Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky

What’s your memory of Wisconsin’s win over Kentucky in the 2015 Final Four:

The headline may be a bit of hyperbole. But with today’s news that longtime Kentucky head coach John Calipari was leaving for the job at Arkansas, it’s time to revisit how Wisconsin basketball plays into his legacy.

Calipari is one of the more prominent figures in the sport. Head coach experience since 1988, 855 total collegiate wins, Final Four appearances with UMass and Memphis before moving to Kentucky, the catalyst behind the one-and-done era, four Final Fours at Kentucky and one national championship.

Related: Evaluating the Big Ten’s next targets for conference expansion

The resume speaks for itself. But it’s also entirely empty since Wisconsin’s Final Four win over undefeated Kentucky back in 2015 — which is a large part of the reason Calipari is leaving for Arkansas.

A win over Wisconsin that year likely means an undefeated 40-0 season for the Wildcats — which would have cemented Calipari and that team in college basketball history. It also would’ve made the head coach a two-time national champion, something not many can boast.

2015 was Calipari’s best Kentucky team — current NBA star Devin Booker was its sixth man, for reference. It was also the most important  team to his legacy as a head coach. The trophy case is empty for that season, which is a large reason why Kentucky fans have wanted change for the last several years.

Calipari still dominated the recruiting trail and sent stars to the NBA every season. Despite that, he’s somehow had little-to-zero March Madness success after 2015. For that reason, we’re connecting his departure from Kentucky with the biggest win in Wisconsin basketball history.

For anybody who wants to re-live that legendary night, here are some of the best photos:

Wisconsin basketball social media reacts to viral post about refs in 2015 national championship

What is your memory of the last 10 minutes of Wisconsin’s National Championship loss to Duke?

There must be some Wisconsin basketball fans who still think about the final 10 minutes of the 2015 national championship and what could have been — or arguably what should have been.

I must admit it isn’t an everyday thought in my head. But there are moments when something sparks the memory of Grayson Allen suddenly remembering how to play basketball and single-handedly powering Duke to the title.

Related: Wisconsin basketball social media reacts to the arena evacuation, Wisconsin’s loss to Indiana

Single-handedly in terms of being the only player. Not, of course, neglecting how the second half was officiated.

Thanks to @JayCuda on X, we were reminded again Wednesday afternoon of what took place in the last 10 minutes of the title loss to Duke.

As everybody remembers, the foul discrepancy was alarming:

This post on X has 146 comments, 361 reposts, 3 1/2 thousand likes and more than 1.2 million views.

Nobody needs an article to re-litigate every foul call and why the game suddenly turned. It’s a memory I try my best to block out.

But when the raw numbers were again presented, Wisconsin basketball fans on X all had a similar reaction:

Former Badger big man ties the knot

After a legendary career at Wisconsin, current NBA player Frank Kaminsky and his bride Ashley Brewer tied the knot this week.

After a legendary career at Wisconsin, current NBA player Frank Kaminsky and his bride Ashley Brewer tied the knot this week. Kaminsky was a member of the Badgers from 2011-2015, leading Wisconsin men’s basketball to heights they had never reached.

Kaminsky really stepped into his own in his junior season in 2014 averaging 13.9 points per game and 6.3 rebounds, helping lead the Badgers to a Final Four birth, losing to Kentucky. Additionally, in November of that 2013-2014 campaign, he set the program record with 43 points against North Dakota.

The next season he went on to win Big Ten Player of the Year as well as the Naismith Award, averaging 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. The Badgers went on to defeat the unbeaten Kentucky Wildcats in the Final Four and ultimately lose to Duke 68-63 in the 2015 National Championship.

Kaminsky was selected ninth overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets and he currently plays for the Houston Rockets.

Congratulations Frank the Tank!

Former Wisconsin MBB coach honored Wednesday

After what felt like far too long, former Badgers men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan is set to be honored Wednesday in Madison.

After what felt like far too long, former Badgers men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan is set to be honored Wednesday in Madison. Ryan along with multi-sport athlete Gary Buss will be inducted into the Madison Sports Hall of Fame Club.

Ryan was the head coach at Wisconsin for 14 full seasons (12 games in 2015) and produced 364-130 overall record, which is good for an all-time program best 73.7 percent win percentage. Additionally, Wisconsin made the NCAA Tournament in all 14 of the campaigns he was the head coach.

Most notably, the Badgers made two consecutive trips to the Final Four in 2014 and 2015, losing in the National Championship to Duke 68-63 in the latter run.

Ryan helped coach some of the best players in program history, namely Alando Tucker, Devin Harris, Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker amongst others. There’s no denying that he left a substantial impact on the program, the university, the city of Madison and the state of Wisconsin as a whole.

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