Brad Davison scored 16 points, Ethan Happ posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and No. 22 Wisconsin escaped with a 69-64 win over Northwestern on Saturday night in Evanston, Ill.
D'Mitrik Trice added 14 points for Wisconsin (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten), which secured a winning record in conference play. The Badgers have won back-to-back games.
Vic Law scored a game-high 24 points for Northwestern (12-15, 3-13), which dropped its eighth consecutive game. Dererk Pardon added 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting.
A pair of free throws by Law cut Northwestern's deficit to 65-64 with 15.1 seconds left.
Davison pushed the lead back to three points when he sank a pair of free throws with 8.9 seconds to go.
Northwestern's final 3-point attempt clanked off the rim, and Wisconsin's Nate Reuvers added two more free throws.
Davison made it 65-62 with a jump shot from the baseline with 2:01 to go. His shot bounced twice high off the rim before finally falling through the net to increase the Badgers' margin to three points.
The basket came less than a minute after a three-point play from Wisconsin's Khalil Iverson that unlocked a 60-all tie.
Wisconsin led by as many as seven points earlier in the second half after a jump shot by Happ with 7:55 remaining.
Northwestern regrouped after a television timeout 21 seconds later. The Wildcats went on an 11-2 run to pull ahead 57-55 with 5:08 to play. Law scored all 11 of his team's points during the outburst, with three 3-pointers and a layup.
The Badgers opened the second half on a 6-1 run to grab a 37-33 advantage. But the lead did not stand for long as the Wildcats stormed back with five straight points, including a jumper and a free throw by Law for a three-point play.
Northwestern led 32-31 at halftime. Pardon led the Wildcats with 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting at the break.
Neither team led by more than four points during the back-and-forth first half.
Wisconsin will stay on the road to face Indiana on Tuesday night in its fourth-to-last game of the regular season.
Meanwhile, Northwestern will have a four-day break before it hosts Minnesota on Thursday night.
--Field Level Media
Wisconsin | Northwestern | |
Brad Davison 16 | Scoring | Vic Law 24 |
Brad Davison 3 | Assists | Vic Law 6 |
Ethan Happ 10 | Rebounds | Anthony Gaines 5 |
Brad Davison 5 | Free Throws Made | Vic Law 4 |
Ethan Happ 1 | Steals | Aaron Falzon 2 |
Ethan Happ 2 | Blocks | Vic Law 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Wisconsin | 69 | 45.5 | 7-19 | 12-16 | 12 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
Northwestern | 64 | 40.7 | 6-21 | 10-14 | 17 | 24 | 7 | 6 | 3 |