Badgers battle back for historic comeback win over Indiana
With 1:17 to play in the first half, No. 22 Wisconsin trailed Indiana at home in its first Big Ten game of the season, 42-20.
The Badgers (8-1) outscored Indiana 44-17 from that point on to handle the Hoosiers and win the 19th straight meeting between the 2 programs at the Kohl Center in Madison. The string of losses for Indiana ties the longest road losing streak to a single team—against any team—in Indiana basketball history.
The 22-point deficit the Badgers erased tied the largest comeback win by a Wisconsin team in program history, matching a comeback against Ohio State from 1976.
And one more: the Badgers are now 17-2 in their last 19 Big Ten openers.
What a finish. Wisconsin held Indiana scoreless for the last 3:08 of the game, ending on an 11-0 run. Indiana scored 8 points in the game’s final 10 minutes. Wisconsin was able to effectively stymie IU’s 2 best players—Xavier Johnson and Trayce Jackson-Davis shot 8-for-26 from the field and 3-for-8 from the free throw line.
It also got a huge boost from center Chris Vogt off the bench, who scored all 9 of his points in the second half.
But the star of the show was guard Johnny Davis. The sophomore led all scorers with 23 points in the game, adding 9 rebounds as well. After the Badgers slowly chipped away at Indiana’s second-half lead, it was Davis with 1:18 to play hitting a fall-away 3 from the corner to finally put Wisconsin back on top, its first lead since the game’s opening 3 minutes and a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
WHAT A SHOT @JonathanCDavis1‼️@BadgerMBB takes the lead! pic.twitter.com/GNykeTERHJ
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 9, 2021
The Badgers return to the court on Dec. 11 when they face No. 21 Ohio State (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten) in Columbus. That game is slated to tip at noon ET on BTN.