BLOOMINGTON, Ind. _ Wisconsin wore the look of a team capable of rolling through the Big Ten regular-season schedule _ for the first four minutes Tuesday night at Assembly Hall.
The 13th-ranked Badgers also suffered through stretches of sloppy play during which they looked more like a team capable of losing to any club in the conference.
With the game on the line, however, UW dominated No. 25 Indiana over the final six-plus minutes and won going away, 75-68.
UW (13-2, 2-0) extended its winning streak to nine games. The Badgers have won 16 of their last 18 meetings with Indiana, including a 6-2 mark at Assembly Hall.
Indiana (10-5, 0-2), the defending regular-season champion, suffered its third consecutive loss.
Four players scored in double figures for UW, led by sophomore Ethan Happ with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Bronson Koenig battled foul trouble to add 17 points. Koenig hit his first three 3-pointers, in the first 2 minutes, 40 seconds of the game, and finished 5 of 5 from beyond the arc.
Senior guard Zak Showalter added 14 points. He scored five points during a 10-2 run as UW turned a 57-56 deficit into a 66-59 lead with 4:31 left.
Nigel Hayes (14 points) started the run with a three-point play.
The Badgers made their first four 3-pointers _ three by Koenig and one by Showalter _ and finished 10 of 20 from beyond the arc.
De'Ron Davis, Juwan Morgan and Robert Johnson scored 12 points apiece for Indiana, which finished with nine points and 13 turnovers. James Blackmon Jr. added 10 points for Indiana, which made just 5 of 15 3-pointers.
UW was almost flawless early and Indiana couldn't make a shot or hold onto the ball.
With Koenig hitting 3 of 3 3-pointers, the Badgers established a 13-0 lead in the first 3:56. Indiana had four turnovers during that run.
UW's first-half lead peaked at 16-2 when Vitto Brown (eight points, six rebounds) buried a 3-pointer with 16:09 left.
Forced shots, combined with shaky transition defense, allowed Indiana to get better looks and gradually chip away at the lead.
A 3-pointer by Showalter ended a 10-0 Indiana run and gave UW a 19-12 cushion with 12:46 left in the half.
The lead reached nine points when Hayes hit 1 of 2 free throws, but Indiana eventually pulled within 32-30 on OG Anunoby's basket with 4:21 remaining.
The Hoosiers finally took their first lead, 35-34, with 2:03 left, when Blackmon Jr. buried a 3-pointer from the wing.
D'Mitrik Trice (five points, three assists) answered with a drive to give UW back the lead and the Badgers settled for a 38-37 advantage at the break.
UW saw Koenig pick up his third foul with 17:05 and Happ his third with 14:33 left.
Both stayed in the game.
Koenig buried a 3-pointer from the right corner to give UW a 49-48 lead and Happ hit two free throws to give UW a 51-50 lead with 12:45 left.
UW went on a 10-2 run to turn a 57-56 deficit into a 66-59 lead with 4:31 remaining.
Hayes converted a three-point play, Happ scored inside, Showalter scored on a drive from the left wing and Happ fed Showalter for a 3-pointer.
That forced Indiana coach Tom Crean to call a timeout with 4:30 left.
Indiana responded with four free throws from Morgan to pull within 66-63.
Happ, who had four fouls, then poked the ball loose from Davis, which led to an Indiana turnover with 2:04 left.
Happ then scored on a drive for five-point lead with 1:51 left.
With the offense out of sync, Indiana called a timeout with 1:26 left.
The Hoosiers got a forced shot by Thomas Bryant (six points, three rebounds), which led to a 3-pointer by Brown.
UW's lead was 71-63 with 40.8 seconds left and the disgruntled Indiana fans began streaming to the exits.
