Milwaukee - Johnny Davis took the ball from teammate Steven Crowley, jab-stepped and waited one more second before rolling a 3-pointer with 1:27 to play.
The Wisconsin star said goodbye to a group of outspoken Colgate fans amid a Wisconsin-heavy crowd at the Fiserv Forum.
"There weren't a lot of them," Davis said after Wisconsin's 67-60 win Friday night in their first-round NCAA Tournament game. "When they were talking, I don't know how I could hear them, but I could hear them a little bit. Just I was talking and getting myself excited, helps me play better."
Davis, Big Ten Player of the Year and Wooden Award nominee, rarely shows emotion when he plays. But he fed an active field in the second half to score 17 of his game-high 25 points, while overcoming some defensive hurdles to rally Wisconsin.
The third-seeded Badgers, who shared the Big Ten regular-season championship, advanced to the second round of the Midwest region on Sunday to face No. 11 seed Iowa State.
"There was no way we were going to have trouble in our home state, largely home games," Davis said. "But we need to do it again on Sunday."
Colgate coach Matt Langel, whose teams have visited Duke, Kansas and other notable locations over the years, has experienced the environment at its best. His team pushed the Badgers, who missed nine of their first 10 shots and scored just two points in the first 6:50. The Raiders, who were on a 15-game winning streak, took the lead in the first half and continued their strong run after halftime.
Senior guard Tucker Richardson, whom Davis defended for most of the game, scored four consecutive 3-pointers in the span of 2:42, as Colgate led 40–37 with a 15:17. But Richardson and the Raiders largely cooled off, scoring for no more than seven minutes into the half.
"I stopped being lazy on defense and non-fundamental," Davis said. "that was it."
"At least he's honest," said coach Greg Gard.
Davis, who scored only two of his first eight shots, scored Wisconsin's last 14 points. According to ESPN Stats and Information Research, he made four out of eight shots in the second half after hitting just one in seven in the first half.
"I'm speechless, I don't have words to say," said Badgers guard Chucky Hepburn. "I just give him the ball and get out of the way."
The guard said assistant Joe Krabenhoft, who reported Colgate scouting, "was about to have a heart attack" after a series of 3-pointers before Wisconsin adjusted defensively. Junior forward Tyler Wahl helped Wisconsin face Colgate's barrage and finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
But Davis held onto the stretch, slammed the ball at runout and made all five of his free throw attempts.
"He doesn't express his emotions very much, and that's hopefully how he plays," the guard said. "He was going very well there in the second half, luckily he took good shots, got to the foul line.
"He does what great players do. The lights are on, they move."