OMAHA, Neb. -- A trio of three-point possessions in 47 seconds led 22nd-ranked Creighton to a 79-67 upset of ninth-ranked Wisconsin on Tuesday in one of the Big Ten-Big East Gavitt Tipoff Games.

Leading the way for Creighton (2-0) were guards Maurice Watson Jr., Khyri Thomas and Marcus Foster. Thomas finished with a team-leading 18 points, while Watson had 17 and Foster chipped in 15 points before an appreciative crowd of 17,879 at CenturyLink Center.

Bronson Koenig scored 21 points to pace Wisconsin (1-1), and Nigel Hayes added 16 points.

Greg McDermott said this was the kind of win needed to give the Creighton program a boost in his seventh season as head coach. The Bluejays missed the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and 2016.

"You could argue that might be the best win we've had since I've been here," McDermott said. "When you consider where we're trying to get the program back to, where Wisconsin's program is today, and the manner that we did it."

Creighton's frontcourt led the charge against the taller Badgers to offset Wisconsin's advantage on the boards. The Badgers' 42-27 rebounding advantage didn't help Wisconsin as a fast offensive start didn't last.

The visitors finished just 26 of 63 (41.3 percent) from the field. The Bluejays hit half of their 56 field-goal attempts.

"I liked our guys' effort," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. "I thought the execution was something that looked like it was November 15th. Coming in here, that's one thing I knew was going to be a heck of a challenge. I thought we showed at times very uncharacteristic Wisconsin-like handling of possessions where we got a little disheveled at times."

The game turned in Creighton's favor for the final seven minutes with the quick nine-point run that started with forward Toby Hegner's first points of the game on a 3-pointer from the left baseline.

Then it was an old-fashioned three-point play by Thomas, who followed with a 3-point jumper that gave Creighton the first double-digit lead of the game for either team.

It was the tail end of a 19-4 that run put Creighton up 63-52 and forced the Badgers to take a timeout with 6:29 remaining in the game.

Creighton couldn't have scripted a better start, racing to an 8-0 lead with a pair of 3-pointers and forcing a timeout by the Badgers 1:24 into the game. A layup by 7-foot freshman Justin Patton and a pair of 3-pointers by Kansas State transfer Foster did it for the Bluejays.

Wisconsin's offense then began to heat up during a 20-10 run over the next eight minutes to grab the Badgers their first lead at 20-18.

That advantage grew to 28-20 as the Badgers continued to make threes and dominate the offensive boards. Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Hayes led the Badgers with 11 points in the first 12 minutes.

But as quickly as Wisconsin's offense got rolling, the Badgers lost their touch, finishing the first half 11 of 33 by making just two of their final 16 shots from the field.

That was enough of an opening for Creighton, which outscored Wisconsin 13-4 in the final eight minutes before halftime for a 33-30 lead at intermission.

Part of Creighton's success was its ability to take advantage of the few chances it got to run the floor while adapting to a more physical half-court game that Wisconsin prefers.

Patton said during a Tuesday press conference he thought Creighton's ability to be physical might eventually wear the Badgers down late in the game. Turns out Patton and his fellow bigs could affect the outcome a little sooner, with an assist from the partisan crowd.

"I think it was the intensity," Patton said. "Our crowd was crazy today. We were all just working hard off the dribble. Going down the stretch everyone was tired; the crowd just kept our adrenaline high, and we got the job done for them."

NOTES: Creighton next travels to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. to participate in the Paradise Jam. The Bluejays open the three-day tournament Friday night against Washington State. ... Wisconsin returns home to face Chicago State on Thursday before beginning play in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational against Tennessee on Monday.