Nate Watson scored 24 points and Al Durham added 13 as Providence held off Wisconsin 63-58 on Monday at Madison, Wis., in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, which matches teams from the Big Ten and Big East.
Brad Davison had 25 points and Tyler Wahl 16 for Wisconsin (2-1). The Badgers, who won their first two games by an average of 30.5 points, shot just 32.8 percent.
Watson, a 6-10 graduate center who was a unanimous first-team all-Big East selection in the preseason, made 11 of 15 shots, and also pulled down six rebounds as the Friars (3-0) had a 44-35 advantage on the boards.
The Badgers, who trailed 34-23 at the half, pulled to within 55-50 on Tyler Wahl's lay-in with 3:18 left, but he missed the accompanying free throw. Durham's 3-pointer from the top made it 58-50 with 1:44 remaining.
Davison's layup with 13 seconds left pulled Wisconsin within 59-55. After Durham hit two free throws, Jordan Davis hit a 3-pointer with one second left.
Jared Bynum had nine rebounds and seven assists for Providence, and A.J. Reeves had 11 points and eight boards as the Friars had a 19-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Wisconsin cut the lead to 40-35 when freshman Chucky Hepburn banked in a drive down the left side. Durham countered with a 3-pointer and a step-back jumper from the lane to make it 45-35 with just over 12 minutes remaining.
Reeves' 3-pointer and a putback by Noah Horchler put the Friars up 55-42 with 6:13 left as the Badgers went without a field goal for more than six minutes.
Davison's 3-pointer put Wisconsin up 18-12 in the early going, but the Badgers failed to score on their next six possessions. Providence responded with an 18-3 run, going in front 30-21 on Alyn Breed's 3-pointer with 2:56 left in the half.
Wisconsin made just one of its final 11 shots in the first half, finishing 7-of-27 for 25.9 percent. Davison had 14 points before the break, but Wahl with six and Hepburn with three were the only other Badgers to score.
--Field Level Media
Providence | Wisconsin | |
Nate Watson 24 | Scoring | Brad Davison 25 |
Jared Bynum 7 | Assists | Steven Crowl 2 |
Jared Bynum 9 | Rebounds | Brad Davison 7 |
Alyn Breed 3 | Free Throws Made | Brad Davison 8 |
Jared Bynum 1 | Steals | Brad Davison 3 |
Noah Horchler 3 | Blocks | Tyler Wahl 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Providence | 63 | 40.7 | 8-22 | 11-19 | 11 | 42 | 6 | 3 | 15 |
Wisconsin | 58 | 32.8 | 5-27 | 13-17 | 5 | 28 | 4 | 4 | 7 |