EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Johnny Davis had a game-high 25 points, leading No. 14 Wisconsin to a 70-62 victory over No. 17 Michigan State on Tuesday night.

The win lifted the second-place Badgers (19-4 overall, 10-3 Big Ten) to within a half-game of first-place Illinois in the Big Ten Conference.

"I'm extremely proud of my group," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. "The grit and the perseverance and togetherness they showed against a really good team, coached by a terrific coach, I knew we were going to have to play really well to accomplish this."

Chucky Hepburn and Tyler Wahl both added 11 points for the Badgers, who outshot the Spartans 47.2% to 41.5%

"We knew we were going to have to have contributions, and were starting to get more and more," Gard said. "I thought Johnny was really efficient tonight. He didn't force things. He let the game come to him, and when it was time to make plays down the stretch, he made plays."

Davis had 18 points in the second half.

The Badgers led throughout the first half, thanks in part to ice-cold shooting by the Spartans, whose shooting percentage was below 30% for most of the half until Bingham hit a shot from the top of the key just before the buzzer to cut Wisconsin's lead to 29-23 at the break.

It was the fourth win in five games for Wisconsin, which won in East Lansing for the second year in a row. It was the second loss in a row for Michigan State.

BIG PICTURE

The Badgers improved to 16-0 in games they've led at halftime this season and kept their surge going.

UP NEXT

Wisconsin is back home Saturday for a 1 p.m. game against Rutgers. The game will be televised on FS1.
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The AP contributed to this story.