MADISON, Wis. -- Believe it or not, William Buford said, there are times when he does not want to shoot the ball. He, better than anyone, knows his percentage is not as good as everyone expected it to be.

“But my teammates and my coaches still tell me to shoot the ball,” the Ohio State senior said.

“If they have faith in me, that gives me all the confidence in the world to tell myself that eventually they’re going to fall.”

Today in Ohio State's 58-52 victory over Wisconsin, Buford rewarded their confidence.

With 3:10 left and the Badgers having cut a seven-point Ohio State lead to one, coach Thad Matta drew up a play for Buford to get a shot on the Buckeyes’ next possession, thinking that the defender assigned to him would be cheating inside to help on Jared Sullinger.

It did not matter, apparently, that Buford had missed 11 of 14 shots to that point.

“I’ve got great faith in William,” Matta said.

Buford’s three-point basket from the right wing with 2:26 left was Ohio State’s only three of the game and increased its lead to 54-50, and four free throws by Buford and Aaron Craft in the final minute clinched the Buckeyes’ first win in the Kohl Center in 12 years.

“That was a big, big-time shot for us,” Matta said.

Matta kept Buford on the court for all 40 minutes despite his subpar shooting. He finished with 11 points and six rebounds but also had three turnovers.

“When we need him, he shows up,” Sullinger said. “That’s one thing about Will: Crunch time, you always want to leave Will out on the floor because he has the (guts) to take a shot like that.”

Buford said that his teammates’ and coaches’ confidence in him has helped him weather a rollercoaster season both shooting and handling the ball. He has made 42.5 percent of his field-goal attempts and 37.1 percent of his threes. A year ago, he shot 46.2 percent from the field and 44.2 from three.

“I’ve been in the gym working hard,” Buford said. “Eventually, I know they’re going to fall, the next game or (later) in the season, and my percentage is going to be fine.”

He said he told himself before the shot today that it would turn out better than it had on New Year’s Eve at Indiana, where he missed an ill-advised three-pointer in the final seconds. Ohio State trailed by only two points at the time, and Buford had time to get closer to the basket, even drive and draw a foul.

“I had the toughness in my mind that I told myself I was going to knock down this shot no matter what,” he said. “Fortunately enough, it fell for me.”

bbaptist@dispatch.com