Wisconsin's success a surprise to everyone but those within the program

Piscataway N.J. - When Rutgers was forced to extend the game and foul down three with less than one minute to go against Wisconsin on Saturday evening, the ball and free throws found themselves in the capable hands of breakout star Johnny Davis.

The Badgers' future All-American guard calmly walked into the notoriously loud student section and nailed a pair of free throws to push Wisconsin ahead, 63-58. Two more attempts from the charity stripe with four seconds remaining put the finishing touches on 66-61 win on the road over Rutgers.

The sophomore has been the catalyst for a number of UW’s close wins, and with Caleb McConnell draped all over him for much of the evening, Davis tallied 15 points in the second half to propel the Badgers once again.

“I don’t have a PhD behind my name. You got a good player, put the ball in his hands and let him make some plays,” head coach Greg Gard said following the win. “When you have a player like that you just let him go a little bit and let him create some things. Turn him loose.”

Wisconsin, as it has done all season, found a way to grind out a five-point win over the Scarlet Knights. The tight victory improved UW’s record to 14-1 in games decided by six or fewer points this season.

That mark has left Davis and the Badgers at No. 5 in “luck,” according to Kenpom.com. Davis couldn’t explain the team’s success in close games but at some point, these wins can’t be labeled as lucky.

“That’s a crazy stat," he said. "I can’t really explain it. It definitely ain’t luck, though. I think it’s because of how tough we are mentally and physically. Definitely not luck. People can say it’s luck, but it’s not luck. Luck goes 50/50. We are 14-1 in those games.”

The remarkable success late in close games - along with help from Michigan State with its win over Purdue on Saturday - now leaves Wisconsin in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten with two games to go. Picked to finish 10th in the conference in the preseason by the media, UW can now claim at least a share of the Big Ten title with a win at home on Tuesday over Purdue.

"This group has had a Big Ten championship in their sights since we started the offseason, and it's been a group that's stayed the course and continued to take it one day at a time, one game at a time," Gard said. "We'll fly back tonight, get some rest, review this, learn from this and how it can help us be a better team going forward, and then use our time to beat a really good Purdue team."

With a chance to claim at least of the Big Ten title on Tuesday, the message from Gard hasn't changed.

"We got a big one Tuesday. We know every game is a big one for us so we just focus on the next one, and the next one happens to be Purdue," Chucky Hepburn, who tallied 13 points against Rutgers, said. "We knew this group was going to be special going in and we knew what we were made of. Not only is the Big Ten our goal, a national championship is our goal as well."

After fielding a senior-laden bunch a season ago, UW was left with Davis, Tyler Wahl and Brad Davison as the lone returnees who registered meaningful minutes in a Badger uniform. Davison weighed his options this past offseason before he ultimately decided to return with his sights set on a Big Ten crown. Now with two games to go, Wisconsin has a chance to win its first outright league title since 2015.

"Those were the conversations I was having with the staff when I was in Florida making my decision to come back," Davison said. "We don't look at expectations, we don't look at analytics or what anybody says about us. We know the talent we have in the room, we know the players, the coaching staff and we are built to win.

"From Day 1 of practice that was our goal because it's the standard of our program. But from Day 1 of when I was coming back, that's what I was coming back to chase."

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