MADISON, Wis. – John Blackwell was ready to flush Saturday’s late-game implosion. His teammates were right there with him.

No.11 Wisconsin got back on the winning track by closing the first half on a 27-13 run and kept the pedal down after halftime to beat last-place Washington, 88-62, at the Kohl Center on Tuesday night.

Blackwell’s 24 points were his most in 10 games and his career-high 10 rebounds gave him his first collegiate double-double. More importantly, the Badgers (22-6, 12-5 Big Ten) stayed in the conversation for a conference title by moving to within 1.5 games of first-place Michigan and Michigan State with three games remaining.

It could have been closer had things not gone horribly wrong three days earlier.

Wisconsin led Oregon by as many as 17 points, 15 with 7:57 to go, and nine with 3:16 left, but five of its season-high 17 turnovers came in the final six possessions, allowing the Ducks to force overtime.

Steven Crowl (3) and Blackwell (2) had the turnovers and were only 2-for-7 from the floor in the game’s final 25 minutes. Each was more deliberate against the Huskies (13-15, 4-13).

Blackwell surpassed his season averages of 14.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 0.9 steals in the opening half with a line of 19/6/2. Crowl took advantage of favorable matchups to score eight points and register four assists by intermission.

Wisconsin didn’t shoot particularly strong from three (10-for-30), but the Badgers shot 51.6 percent from the floor and averaged 1.443 points per possession by going 23-for-34 from two (16-for-22 at the rim).

Crowl finished with 12 points while reserve Xavier Amos had a season-high 12 points. John Tonje finished with 13 points on 4-for-10 shooting, breaking a streak of four straight games of at least 20 points.

In a touch of irony, Wisconsin’s 17-point lead in the first half matched Saturday’s biggest lead. The only difference was the Badgers kept the throttle down after halftime. Wisconsin made five of its first seven shots and averaged 1.552 points in the second half to lead by as many as 32. The Badgers finished with 15 assists against five turnovers.

Washington forward Great Osobor was the only Huskies player to reach double figures with 11 points.

What it means: March is on the horizon, so potential No.2 seed Iowa State losing by six at NET 101 Oklahoma State is an ugly blow to its potential seeding. The Badgers are battling the Cyclones for one of two spots in Milwaukee, so their emphatic response from Saturday’s meltdown against the conference’s last-place team was encouraging.

Star of the game: Blackwell would have likely sealed Saturday’s win had he not whiffed on catching an inbounds pass. The sophomore didn’t let the game come near that close with his outburst in the first half, scoring 17 of his points in the final 8:54 of the first half to allow Wisconsin to separate.

Stat of the game: Wisconsin scored a season-high 33 points from its bench, as Amos, Kamari McGee (8), and Jack Janicki (8) all made impact plays to outscore the Huskers reserves by 14.

Reason to be Concerned: Wisconsin senior Max Klesmit exited with what was classified as a lower-body injury after only five minutes. Klesmit remained on the bench and was engaged throughout the second half, but the guard has battled leg injuries dating back to fall camp.

Don’t overlook: Amos hadn’t made more than two shots since November 30 against Chicago State and only reached double figures once (Appalachian State) but the junior forward was active and hunted his shot throughout his 15 minutes.

What’s next: Wisconsin’s last chance for a Quad-1 win in the regular season happens Sunday afternoon when the Badgers play No.8 Michigan State in the Breslin Center. Rebounding from November losses to Kansas and Memphis to win its first nine conference games, the Spartans (22-5, 13-3) are tied with Michigan at the top of the Big Ten standings and are 1.5 games ahead of UW.

State shoots only 29.6 percent from three but compensates by being first in the league in field goal percentage defense (40.4), three-point percentage defense (29.0), and rebounding margin (+9.44) and second in scoring defense (67.22) and free-throw percentage (79.9).

Wisconsin has won five of the last eight meetings in the series, including the last three on the road. The tip is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on CBS.

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