Wisconsin 73, Duke 69

Duke's Andre Dawkins hangs his head during the second half of Wisconsin's 73-69 upset victory over the No. 6 Blue Devils. Andy Manis - AP

MADISON, Wis. - It took 11 years, but Duke's long run of success in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge ended Wednesday night at the hands of a disciplined Wisconsin team that solved the Blue Devils' no-longer impregnable defense.

Wisconsin senior point guard Trevon Hughes shot over and drove around Duke's Nolan Smith for a career-high 26 points. Hughes also shut down Jon Scheyer on the defensive end as the Badgers survived a late rally and defeated the sixth-ranked Blue Devils 73-69 at the Kohl Center.

The ACC's 10-year run of domination in the challenge also was in danger of ending late Wednesday night. Wisconsin's win tied the Challenge at 5-5, and Ohio State led Florida State 71-54 late in the deciding game at press time.

Duke fell to 6-1 despite a sensational night by junior forward Kyle Singler. He scored a career-high 28 points and handed out three assists, but couldn't convert on the most important possession of the game.

The Blue Devils had cut an 11-point deficit to 67-65 when Singler drove toward the basket in the final minute. Singler tried to muscle a shot up from the left side of the lane, but freshman Ryan Evans blocked his shot.

Down by three with 4.9 seconds left, Duke had a final chance for a 3-pointer to tie, but Scheyer couldn't catch Singler's 50-foot pass as it bounced out of bounds for a turnover. As the buzzer sounded, Wisconsin's students stormed the court to celebrate with the players.

Hughes' defense on Scheyer, who entered the game averaging 16.8 points and 5.3 assists, was a major factor. Scheyer was held to 10 points as Hughes used his quickness to keep him from getting into the lane to create for himself and his teammates as the Badgers improved to 5-1.

Wisconsin's player and fans entered this game motivated by an 82-58 loss at Duke in the 2007 ACC-Big Ten Challenge that is among the worst losses of Badgers coach Bo Ryan's tenure.

The fans packed the 17,500-seat Kohl Center and erupted with each of the five 3-pointers the Badgers made in the first half as they ran out to a 17-7 lead. Duke entered the game allowing opponents to shoot just 36 percent from the field, but Ryan's old-school "swing" offense spread out the Blue Devils' defense and created a lot of open shots.

In the first half, Duke played half-court and some full-court man-to-man defense as well as some possessions in zone with little success. The Badgers made 16 of their first 26 field goal attempts and led 38-32 at halftime after getting perimeter scoring from some unlikely spots.

Keaton Nankivil, a bruising, 6-foot-8 forward, entered the game shooting 1-for-11 from 3-point range. He made both of his 3-point attempts in the first half.

Center Jon Leuer, who's 6-10, was 1-for-10 on 3-point shots in his first five games but sank his first 3-point try with just 2:19 elapsed. Only 17 points from Singler kept the Blue Devils from trailing by double digits at halftime.

Duke drew within 40-38 early in the second half but saw a chance to tie or take the lead extinguished when Miles Plumlee sailed a high-low post pass out of bounds. Hughes made a 14-foot jumper, a 3-pointer and a high-arcing shot in the lane as Wisconsin scored nine of the next 11 points.

Duke fought back to within 53-52 with 10:47 remaining, but missed its next six field goal attempts as Wisconsin extended its lead to 65-54 when Hughes rattled in a 3-pointer with 5:01 remaining.

Freshman guard Andre Dawkins made three 3-pointers in 1:41 as the Blue Devils pulled within 67-65 with 1:52 remaining, but Duke never managed to even the score.