What a difference a year makes.

A year after getting stomped in the swamp, the 20th-ranked Wisconsin men’s basketball team returned the favor taking down the 11th-ranked Florida Gators 59-53 in the Kohl Center Tuesday.

The result was still in doubt with Wisconsin (2-0) up by three with less than 10 seconds left on the clock when junior point guard Traevon Jackson effectively iced the game with a 17-footer to give the Badgers a two possession lead over Florida (1-1).

“He’s been in so many tough situations, I wasn’t trading [Jackson] in those last five minutes,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said.

Though he hit the biggest shot of the game, Jackson was part of the reason the Gators were able to claw back into the game down the stretch, committing three turnovers with less than 10 minutes left in the game.

Florida began to run a trap and full court press in the second half that caused problems for Wisconsin’s ball handlers.

“I thought it changed momentum for us and gave us a chance,” Florida head coach Billy Donavon said of his team’s press.

Jackson had trouble dealing with Florida’s press that forced all five of his turnovers in the final 13 minutes.

“Obviously it was up and down,” Jackson said of his second half performance. “Five turnovers is terrible, but get it out of the way now … I have to take better care of the ball, especially when a team’s coming to trap.”

A game-icing shot by Jackson seemed like wishful thinking in the first 10 minutes of the game when Wisconsin started 2-9 from the field, spotting Florida a 16-4 lead.

“When you shoot an airball as your first possession as a team, I don’t know if that’s a good omen,” Ryan said.

Michael Frazier II did his part to put Florida in front early, hitting three shots from downtown in the first seven minutes, but Wisconsin’s sharpshooter would have an answer.

“Sam Dekker,” senior guard Ben Brust answered when asked how the Badgers dug themselves out of their early hole.

After starting 0-2 with two turnovers to begin the game, sophomore forward Sam Dekker hit two straight threes followed later by an emphatic dunk to bring the deficit to 24-18.

Dekker’s burst sparked a 25-10 run by Wisconsin to end the first half, giving the Badgers a 29-26 lead that they never gave back.

“We started getting some stops defensively and settled in,” Brust said “We got out and running which had them scrambling on defense. We just settled down and started playing basketball.”

Wisconsin went to the locker room with a three-point lead at halftime despite taking zero free throws in the first half.

“I thought we could have done a better job of attacking and getting some things going to the rim where you do get people to use their hands more and that’s what we did in the second half,” Ryan said.

The Badgers continued their momentum in the second half, reaching their largest lead of 11 with 11:57 left before mistakes allowed the Gators — finishing with 20 points off turnovers — back in the game.

Though Wisconsin struggled to close out from the free throw line, going 8-14 from the stripe, and Florida’s Frazier doing his best to keep the Gators alive with a game-high 20 points the Badgers were able to fend off Florida’s late-game surge.

Dekker led all Wisconsin scorers with 16 points and earned the praise of Donovan who coached the Sheboygan native on the U-18 USA team in the summer of 2012.

“He’s reckless with body, he has no regard for his body and I really respect that,” Donovan said. “He plays really hard. I think his offensive game has really blossomed over the last year.”

Freshman forward Nigel Hayes and junior forward Frank Kaminsky gave Wisconsin a presence in the paint but it was the 6-foot-1 Brust that led the team in rebounds with nine.

“They’re not afraid of contact, they’re not afraid of size. Those things don’t even enter their mind,” Ryan said of his guards. “They’re not afraid to stick their faces in because they know they don’t have a Hollywood career later.”

With the win over Florida, Wisconsin improves its home-opener winning streak to 16 games.

17,249 fans filled the Kohl Center to watch the matchup of top-25 teams and helped fuel Wisconsin’s comeback win.

“They sure got fired up tonight,” Ryan said. “We needed it.”