Since arriving at the University of Wisconsin out of the transfer portal, sophomore wing A.J. Storr has been teasing giving the Badgers a truly dominant performance.

In Tuesday’s Big Ten opener, Storr delivered the goods.

Tying his season high with 22 points, Storr was one of the catalysts to help No.23 Wisconsin push its winning streak to six with a 70-57 victory over Michigan State at the Breslin Center.

Steven Crowl added 18 points, six rebounds, and a season-high five assists for the Badgers (7-2, 1-0 Big Ten), which silenced the crowd with a late 9-0 run to punctuate the night.

Once losing 12 straight games at the Breslin Center from February 2005 to January 2020, the Badgers have won three straight meetings at Michigan State for the first time since 1961-63.

Seeing a double-digit halftime lead dwindle to three twice, the latter coming with 11:21 remaining, Wisconsin went on a 15-4 run that was a mixture of perimeter success, post touches, and second-chance opportunities. Storr dabbled in all those areas in scoring eight of his points, while Crowl gave UW its biggest lead at 66-52 after draining his fourth three-pointer on his fourth attempt.

UW finished at 45.1 percent (23 of 51), hit a season-high 10 three-pointers on 23 attempts, and finished plus-14 on the glass.

Michigan State (4-4) entered its Big Ten opener ranked seventh nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 91.5 points per 100 possessions. The Badgers managed only 10 points in the lane and two free throw attempts in the opening half but took a 34-23 lead into the locker room by going 6-for-13 from three-point range and averaging 1.242 points per possession.

Crowl (3-for-3) and Storr (2-2) were perfect from behind the perimeter, the former making three-pointers on UW’s second and third possession to help UW open the game on a 9-2 run and the latter beating the halftime clock.

Chucky Hepburn assisted on two of those three shots; an impressive half that saw him register five assists to go with five points. The junior finished with a game-high eight assists against just one turnover.

Wisconsin opened the first half making 7 of its first 11 shots and 4 of 6 from the perimeter in a half in which it shot 48.1 percent and led by as many as 12 in the first 20 minutes.

Tyson Walker scored 22 points to lead Michigan State, which matched UW at 45.1 percent but went only 6 of 19 from three and 5 of 7 from the free-throw line.

What it means: In consecutive games, the Badgers never trailed against the No.3 team in the country and against perennial Big Ten power Michigan State, which always seems to be a matchup nightmare for the Badgers.

Star of the game: Storr was efficient with his shooting (8-for-11) and a big asset on the defensive end. When the sophomore was on the floor, Wisconsin outscored Michigan State by 28 points.

Stat of the game: Wisconsin went a perfect 14-for-14 from the line, the fifth straight game the Badgers shot 80 percent from the line.

Reason to be Concerned: Beating Michigan State, especially on the road, leads to zero areas of concern.

Don’t overlook: Wisconsin allowed two offensive rebounds on Michigan State’s second offensive possession, leading to a dunk by Mady Sissoko. The Badgers allowed only one offensive rebound in the Spartans’ final 26 possessions. MSU only had two offensive rebounds in the second half, as the Badgers outscored the Spartans, 19-8, in second-chance points.

What’s next: Returning to nonconference play for its final three non-league games of the season, Wisconsin faces its toughest test when it travels to No.1 Arizona on Saturday (2:15 p.m./ESPN). The Wildcats (7-0) ascended to the top spot in the AP poll this week, receiving 59 of 63 first-place votes, and have already won at No.2 Duke and beat Michigan State, 74-68, in California on November 28. The last time Arizona was in the top spot of the AP poll was Jan. 27, 2014.

Arizona is averaging 93.4 points per game on 50.6 percent shooting and giving up just 62.6 points on 38.5 percent shooting. All five of the Wildcats starters are averaging at least 11.0 points per game.

UW lead the all-time series against Arizona, 5-2, and has won the last three meetings (the last two coming in the Elite Eight in 2014 and 2015). The Wildcats won the only matchup in Tucson in 1962. The two teams will play in Madison next season.

Wisconsin is 4-19 all-time against the No.1 team in the AP poll but has won three of its last four games against top-ranked teams (a 65-62 victory over Villanova in the NCAA Tournament second round in the last meeting).

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