La Crosse’s Davis drops 37 with career night, as No. 23 Badgers knock off third-ranked Purdue

If the nation didn’t know who Johnny Davis was already, it sure does now.

The La Crosse native dropped 37 points on third-ranked Purdue, leading the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team to a 74-69 win on the road Monday.

Watch the highlights and post-game interview here.

Davis scored 27 of those points in the second half, finishing 13-for-24 from the field, including 2 of 5 from deep for the 23rd-ranked Badgers (11-2). The sophomore was also 9-for-12 from the free-throw line and added 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals, two blocks and three turnovers in 38 minutes.

Davis is the first Division I player to lead his team in all five categories in a road win over a Top 5 opponent since Tim Duncan did it for Wake Forest against Maryland on Feb. 1, 1997.

The points were, of course, a career high for Davis. He had 30 earlier this year. So were the rebounds, the field-goals made and attempted, as well as the free-throws made, the free-throws attempted. He also tied his career high for blocks.

Wisconsin was up 29-24 at halftime but fell behind 49-42 with 11:11 left, after Jaden Ivey — Davis’ summer teammate with Team USA — scored on a layup.

All that did, however, was cause Davis to erupt. The 6-foot-5 guard scored three straight to give Wisconsin a 57-54 lead.

When Purdue (12-2) got it back, 58-57, Davis and teammate Brad Davison were pretty much the Badgers’ offense after that, going on a 14-5 run capped by Davis 3-pointer with 1 minute to go.

And, for good measure, Davis capped off the game with a breakaway dunk, as Purdue was in desperation mode to score in the final seconds.

“I think it shows our team, what we’re capable of being,” Davis said. “We came in tonight, we weren’t scared they were ranked third or we were playing at their arena.”

Johnny Davis’ twin brother Jordan Davis played 5 minutes. He was 0-for-1 from the field and had two rebounds and a steal.