BLOOMINGTON, Indiana – Greg Gard’s Wisconsin players showed in November they possessed one trait most good basketball teams possess:
Resilience.
The Badgers followed their first loss of the season by winning three games in three days in Las Vegas to claim the Maui Invitational.
UW showed that resilience again Tuesday night against Indiana.
Three days after a surprising home loss in which they did not play well, the Badgers rode the play of Johnny Davis and Brad Davison to an impressive and crucial 74-69 victory at Assembly Hall.
BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 74, Indiana 69
More: Why don’t computer rankings love Wisconsin basketball as much as Badgers’ résumé suggests?
More: Wisconsin still looks Milwaukee-bound in latest round of NCAA bracket projections
How good was Davis with the game on the line Tuesday?
The sophomore scored 19 of his 30 points in the second half and finished with 12 rebounds. He scored UW’s last 13 points – in the final 3 minutes 35 seconds – to help the Badgers wipe out a 65-61 deficit.
“It’s just good to have a coach and teammates that believe in me to be able to take and make those tough shots late in the game,” said Davis, who hit 10 of 15 field-goal attempts and 10 of 14 free-throw attempts. “I was feeling it tonight and they did a good job finding me.”
UW trailed, 69-68, when Davis turned down a ball-screen from Steven Crowl near the top of the three-point line and drove between Miller Kopp and Trayce Jackson-Davis to score while being fouled. He hit the free throw for a 71-69 lead with 1:01 left to give UW the lead for good.
“Everybody struggled with Johnny,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. “It wasn’t just Miller. It was everybody that guarded him struggled with him. He had a hell of a game.
“He’s that type of player. It’s hard to double him, because a lot of times he’s up top and he’s making plays off the bounce.
“He kept beating our defense, going the other way, and he’s capable of doing it. He did it tonight. It didn’t matter who we put on him, he just had a good game.”
Davison, 4 of 28 from three-point range in the previous four games, got back on track Tuesday by hitting 3 of 8 attempts en route to complementing Davis’ play with 21 points and seven rebounds.
“It always helps to see the ball go in,” Davis said of the three-point shots, “but my confidence comes from my routine and my preparation and from the amount of time I’ve put in the game.”
Davison also hit 10 of 10 free throws, and Wisconsin made 22 of 29 free throws overall.
“You have to get to the free-throw line,” Gard said. “That is part of our DNA, our plan.”
The Badgers (20-5, 11-4 Big Ten) moved into a tie with second-place Purdue (22-4, 11-4) and within one-half game of first-place Illinois (18-6, 11-3).
Those teams play road games Wednesday, with the Illini facing Rutgers and the Boilermakers facing Northwestern.
Michigan State (18-7, 9-5) fell back in the race thanks to a stunning 62-58 loss Tuesday at Penn State.
Indiana (16-9, 7-8) suffered its fourth consecutive loss. The Hoosiers, who hit just 2 of their final 10 shots, have lost 10 of their last 11 meetings and 23 of the last 26 to UW.
Crowl added nine points, six rebounds and two assists and Chucky Hepburn added eight points three rebounds and three assists for UW.
UW prevailed on a night Tyler Wahl, who had scored in double figures in nine of his last 10 games, struggled and finished with four points, two rebounds and four turnovers.
Jackson-Davis, who had just nine points and six rebounds, in the Hoosiers’ 59-54 loss to UW in December, was fantastic Tuesday and contributed 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists. He hit 10 of 13 field-goal attempts and 10 of 14 free-throw attempts.
“I feel like he came out with a little more of an edge just because of the way we beat them at home,” Davis said. “He is a great player. He is tough to stop down there in the low post.”
Yet with UW clinging to a 71-69 lead, Jackson-Davis got the ball on a post feed and passed back out to guard Xavier Johnson for a three-point attempt.
Johnson, 1 of 4 from three-point range to that point, missed badly. He was 1 for 7 from three-point range and 7 for 32 overall in the two losses to UW.
“I thought I was kicking the ball out pretty well the whole game,” Jackson-Davis said, “and so I saw Brad dig and Xavier was wide open for a shot. Sometimes you don’t hit them.
“I’d have him shoot that shot 10 times out of 10. It was a great look by him, and I know he wished he could get it back, and I know he will in the next game.”
Davis grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 19.5 seconds left. He made 1 of 2 free throws to give UW a 72-69 lead.
The Hoosiers, who finished 5 of 18 from three-point range, got a contested three-pointer from Parker Stewart.
Brick.
Davis grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 6.2 seconds left. He made both free throws and the comeback was complete.
“That is what player of the year candidates do,” Gard said of Davis’ performance. “I’m not trading him for anybody. I’ll tell you that.
“That is what MVP’s do. When the game is on the line, they show up and they perform when the lights are the brightest.
“He has done it time and time again.”
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin 74, Indiana 69: Johnny Davis scores Badgers’ final 13 points