Steven Crowl answered the call for the University of Wisconsin.

Called out by his head coach and challenged by his teammates, the Badgers’ graduate forward scored a season-high 18 points to lead No.20 Wisconsin to an 83-74 victory over Butler in the Indy Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Five players reached double figures for the Badgers (9-3), who had lost three straight games, but were exuding confidence they were headed in the right direction following a high-energy, intense Thursday practice. Crowl was one of them, who hadn’t scored in double figures since November 10 and said it was on him to be more aggressive after being the only one of 18 players who played Tuesday to not get a rebound.

Crowl hunted his shot from the opening possession, backing down center Andre Screen and finishing with a short floater after creating separation with a spin move. It set the tone for UW’s offense with its first nine points coming off post touches or drawing fouls.

Like Crowl, the 7-foot forward Nolan Winter feasted against the Bulldogs (7-3), who were without starting forward Augusto Cassia due to a foot injury. Winter finished with a career-high 20 points and a game-high eight rebounds. The 38 combined points for UW’s starting frontcourt was a season-high and gave a glimpse to how dominant the Badgers can be when both 7-footers are clicking.

Wisconsin outscored Butler, 40-24, in the paint, went 25-for-27 from the foul line, and kept leading scorer Jahmyl Telfort without a bucket or an assist in the opening half. Pierre Brooks led the Bulldogs with 23 points, while Telfort finished with eight.

After erasing a 23-point halftime deficit Tuesday, the Bulldogs began chipping away at a 47-33 halftime deficit by cutting the lead to five in the opening six minutes of the second half. Crowl put a stop to it.

After boxing reserve center Boden Kapke out for a rebound, Crowl calmly hit a three when Kapke sagged off him. That keyed a 7-0 run that Crowl finished with a driving layup to push the lead back to 60-48. Butler didn’t get closer than seven the rest of the game.

What it means: Head coach Greg Gard made two strategic moves with Saturday's game. The first was switched out playing Stanford in San Jose to get a tougher test against Butler. The second was to call out Crowl’s lack of aggression. Both paid dividends with Crowl playing his best game of the season and the Badgers registering a Quad-2 win.

Star of the game: During Wisconsin’s three-game losing streak, Crowl was 5-for-18 from the floor with 13 points and 10 defensive rebounds. He had 13 points in the first half alone and finished with six defensive rebounds.

Stat of the game: Wisconsin’s first unforced turnover came with 15:43 remaining, as the Badgers finished with a season-low three.

Reason to be Concerned: Wisconsin guard John Tonje looks ready for a break. While he pushed his double-digit scoring streak to 12, Tonje finished 2-for-8 from the floor and missed all four three-point attempts. It’s the third straight game he’s shot less than 35 percent from the floor.

Don’t overlook: The Badgers were terrific defensively on Telfort, who had scored at least 20 points in four of the last five games. Averaging 17.0 points, shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 45.7 percent from three, and averaging 3.1 assists, Telfort was 3-for-10 from the floor, 1-for-5 from three, and had only two assists.

What’s next: Wisconsin takes its usual week off for finals before hosting Detroit Mercy in the final nonconference game of the season. After going 1-31 last season, the Titans hired Michigan State assistant coach Mark Montgomery to lead the program. Detroit (5-6, 1-1 Horizon) has been competitive in Montgomery’s first season and is led by two transfers in guards Orlando Lovejoy (14.4 ppg) and Max Manciel (13.4).

This will be the first meeting between the programs since 2003 in a series the Badgers lead 3-0. The tip is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

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