MADISON, Wis. -- Blue blood meets blue collar here Wednesday night in one of the most highly anticipated nonconference games of the college basketball season. And if you're having trouble sorting out which category Duke and Wisconsin falls into, simply take a look at the list of McDonald's All-Americans on each team.
In one corner, Duke has collected an assortment of talent that far surpasses what any program outside Kentucky can achieve. This year's roster features an astounding nine McDonald's All-Americans: Jahlil Okafor. Tyus Jones. Justise Winslow. Grayson Allen. Quinn Cook. Marshall Plumlee. Matt Jones. Rasheed Sulaimon. Amile Jefferson.
In the other corner, Wisconsin has amassed a national title contender with only two players considered to be top-100 recruits: Sam Dekker and Bronson Koenig. This year's roster features zero McDonald's All-Americans, as it has since Brian Butch's last season in 2008.
When No. 4 Duke (7-0) and No. 2 Wisconsin (7-0) meet at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Kohl Center, two entirely different worlds will collide. But Badgers players aren't biting on questions about trying to prove they belong with the sport's elite. Not publicly, at least. And not after the program's first Final Four season in 14 years.
"I don't think we really have to prove that anymore," Dekker said. "Kind of with the year we had last year, I think every year that coach has had here, he's kind of proven that it doesn't really necessarily matter what high school accolades say. We've kind of thrown that out the door.
"It's two top-five teams going at it. And I think both teams have earned it and have proven it doesn't matter what your personnel is but what five guys you put on the floor are going to play together and what systems work."
At Duke, coach Mike Krzyzewski has molded the program into a perennial power and led the Blue Devils to a record 917 of his 990 total wins. The victories, in turn, have allowed him to recruit the best and brightest players in the country. Duke has had at least one McDonald's All-American in a recruiting class every year since 1994. And since 2000, 33 of them have gone to Duke, more than any other school.
At Wisconsin, coach Bo Ryan has bought a level of consistency that is unmatched by any other Badgers coach. He has a .731 winning percentage in his 14th season there and has won 711 games over 31 years in coaching. But he has won without nabbing many five-star players. His only McDonald's All-American recruit was Butch in 2003. The other Badgers All-American since the selection of the inaugural team in 1977 was Rashard Griffith in 1993.
The coaching matchup is one Ryan downplayed this week, but his players are plenty intrigued at two of the game's greats meeting once more. Wisconsin last played Duke in 2009 at the Kohl Center and won 73-69.
"Coach K is known as one of the greatest coaches of all time, and I think sometimes coach Ryan gets overlooked with as many wins as he has," Badgers guard Josh Gasser said. "His resume speaks for itself. There's some other coaches in the country that get a lot of recognition, and I'd like to see coach Ryan get a little more. But I think when it's all said and done, people will look back and say that's pretty special, and I think this game can help that out, as well as how we finish the season."
Wisconsin is listed as a three-point favorite for Wednesday's game, and both teams have shared similar early-season dominance. Duke ranks third in the country in scoring margin at 33.1 points and has won all seven games by double digits. Wisconsin, meanwhile, ranks No. 11 in scoring margin at 24.0 points, though it will be no easy task to match up with Duke's rotation of All-Americans.
How absurd are the McDonald's All-American numbers? Duke brought in four in the Class of 2014. The Big Ten had a total of three. And, among the 14 Big Ten teams, there are only seven McDonald's All-Americans sprinkled on the current rosters.
"They're McDonald's All-Americans for a reason," Badgers center Frank Kaminsky said. "They're really good basketball players, and they've been effective so far at the college level. It'll be experience versus youth, and hopefully we'll come out on top."
Kaminsky, the Big Ten's preseason player of the year, has been instrumental in Wisconsin's hot start to the season. He leads the team in points (16.6), rebounds (8.7), blocks (2.3) and steals per game (1.1). He will be matched up against Okafor, a freshman whom many believe will be the top pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Okafor leads Duke in points (17.7), ranks second in rebounds (7.9) and first in blocks per game (1.6). He also is shooting 63.6 percent from the field.
"The way people are talking about him and what I've seen so far, he's a unique guy," Kaminsky said. "He's a once-in-an-every-10-years guy, I heard someone say. We'll see what he's like once he gets out here.
"This game isn't about me. It's about our team. I want to win more than anything. I don't really care what happens with me in the game, as long as we win."
Kaminsky and the rest of his teammates downplayed any potential opportunity for them to showcase their abilities against the most highly regarded recruits in the country. But a fire no doubt burns deep within Kaminsky, a lightly recruited high school player, to continue proving himself.
Some Badgers fans may recall when Kaminsky blogged this spring about Wisconsin's NCAA tournament run to the Final Four. In describing his Elite Eight matchup with McDonald's All-American big man Kaleb Tarczewski, Kaminsky said those types of players made him angry.
"It's the fact that schools drooled over him and treated him like he crapped gold," Kaminsky wrote. "Schools like Arizona never wanted me. Those schools never believed that I would be good enough to play for them. That (ticks) me off. I take it personally when people are touted as better than me."
Kaminsky and Co. can continue to change perceptions in a game that has built with hype since it was announced seven months ago as part of the annual Big Ten-ACC Challenge.
The cheapest ticket found Tuesday on the website StubHub runs for $142.65 but is in the corner of the upper deck of the Kohl Center. A pair of courtside seats is running for $5,000 apiece. To add national intrigue, ESPN will broadcast a live pregame show from the Kohl Center and host an hour-long SportsCenter after the game.
When blue blood meets blue collar, the Badgers and their fans certainly will be ready.
"I'd expect it'll be crazy," Kaminsky said. "I've been in some pretty crazy atmospheres here, but I think this one has the potential to be maybe the best and loudest one."
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