The University of Wisconsin delivered another dose of heartbreak to Indiana’s postseason hopes.

But while the Badgers needed a collective effort to dig out of a 22-point deficit to beat the Hoosiers at the Kohl Center three months ago, the grim reaper on Tuesday was none other than soon-to-be All-American Johnny Davis.

The Badgers sophomore scored all of Wisconsin’s 13 points over the final five minutes, delivering another masterpiece with 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead the 15th-ranked Badgers to a 74-69 victory over Indiana at Assembly Hall.

Brad Davison added 21 for the Badgers (20-5, 11-4 Big Ten), which bounced back from a disheartening home loss to Rutgers Saturday to improve to 5-0 this season following a loss. UW has now won 23 of the last 26 games against Indiana, including eight of the last 11 trips to Bloomington.

The script of the game appeared to be writing a different outcome. Led by Trayce Jackson-Davis’s 30 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, the Hoosiers (16-9, 7-8) had scored 38 points in the paint and built a five-point lead with 3:52 to go.

A driving layup by Davis with 3:53 remaining, his first points in nearly eight minutes, ignited him. The sophomore scored 10 points on the next five possessions, the final bucket being a three-point play after a lengthy video review that flipped possession.

After Davis’s 3-point play, and Wisconsin getting pummeled in the paint by Jackson-Davis (38 points in the lane), the Badgers went into zone on the next two possessions to force Indiana to attempt an outside shot. The plan worked, with the Hoosiers (5-for-14 from 3-point range to that point) missing on the next two zone possessions and another possession with UW in man.

Davis’s three free throws capped the scoring on an 8-0 run over the final 1:40.

The first half was a defensive grind for both teams. Indiana missed 10 of 12 during one stretch around the midpoint of the first half but still lead 20-19 at the under-8 timeout because of Jackson-Davis. He had nine points in over 30 minutes in the first meeting but had nine in nine minutes (3-for-3) this time, as well as adding two assists.

Indiana opened a seven-point lead with 5:33 remaining by getting action to the rim. The Hoosiers’ 8-0 run was sparked by four drives to the bucket, equaling one layup and three dunks. Of Indiana’s 26 points, the Hoosiers scored 20 in the lane.

However, the Badgers lead 32-31 at halftime because Davis caught fire, scoring seven points on UW’s final five possessions, and UW tightened up defensively to allow only one bucket in the paint. The defensive improvement didn’t carry over.

The Hoosiers made 11 of their first 14 shots in the second half to build a 54-47 lead with 11 minutes remaining. Indiana was also buoyed by an official review that gave Davison a flagrant 1 foul (contact to the mouth), but the play seemed to energize Wisconsin, which eventually tied the game at 56 with 7:11 left.

Indiana scored on four straight possessions after the tie to stretch the lead to four, which eventually grew to five with 3:52 remaining, but Davis helped UW outscore Indiana, 13-3, the rest of the way.

What it means: Wisconsin was on the doorstep of back-to-back losses that would have been crushing to its Big Ten title hopes. Instead, the Badgers are tied with Purdue in second place in the Big Ten – a half-game behind Illinois – and pick up another critical Quad-1 win to help them with their NCAA seeding.

Star of the game: Johnny Davis. He scores 30 points for the third time this season, which have all come away from home, and had double-digit rebounds for the fifth time this season. Give him all the hardware right now.

Stat of the game: Free throws had been an issue over the last three games for Wisconsin – both with the lack of attempts and the number of misses. That wasn’t the case against the Hoosiers, as the Badgers went 22-for-29 (their highest number of makes and attempts since the victory over Illinois State Dec.29). To be fair, Davis and Davison combined to go 20-for-24.

Turning point: The officiating crew ruled Indiana’s basketball with 1:12 remaining before going to the monitors for an official review. Replays showed that Steven Crowl successfully saved the ball to Davison with his outstretched hand before stepping out of bounds. The extra possession turned into Davis’s 3-point play with 1:01 remaining that put UW ahead for good.

Don’t overlook: The play of Davison. Razzed all night by the crowd, especially after an airball in the first half and a flagrant-1 foul in the second half, Davison (4-for-28 from three the last four games) went 4-for-11 from the field, 3-for-8 from 3-point range, and a clutch 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.

What’s next: Wisconsin returns home for a Sunday afternoon matchup against Michigan at the Kohl Center (noon, CBS). The only Big Ten team Wisconsin hasn’t played, the Wolverines are the reigning Big Ten champions but have a record (13-10, 7-6) that currently leaves them outside the tournament field. The Wolverines are still dangerous, which they showed with their 82-58 dismantling of No.3 Purdue on Feb.10. Currently the seventh-place team in the Big Ten, Michigan is led in points (18.1) and rebounds (8.2) by center Hunter Dickinson, who is shooting 56.7 percent from the field.

The Wolverines play a road contest at Iowa Thursday before facing the Badgers. Wisconsin has altered home and away games since resuming conference play January 3.

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