Denver – Wisconsin was a complete team, paired with a top 15 offense and top 25 defense and a third seed to back it up in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
BYU is no. He generously gave the 6th seed and Denver area site on a 1.5 hour flight from his home, boasting the top 10 attacks, dynamic three-point shooting efforts, and the experience or misery of a team eliminated by the No. 11 seed in Big Dance a year ago.
However, to pass the badger, the Cougars will need defense.
It was always their ceiling – and with one final play by Mawott Mag and a clutch rebound by Keba Keita, BYU broke the ceiling, earning the first sweet 16 berth of the program since 2011, earning a 91-89 victory in front of 19,386 fans at the ball arena.
“Defence was our ceiling, and that’s what KY has always said,” said BYU guard Trey Stewart, who scored seven points in the win. “But it was beautiful to see it at that stage at the end. That was what we worked on. We did this drill about staying fake pumps.
“I have respect for the world for (Wisconsin) … but it was really cool to see us get attacked and eventually win it.”
In the same city where Jimmer Fredette led BYU to one of the three regional semifinals of the program since 1970, BYU showed off an offense that scored 91 points in shootings of 49.2%, including 46.2% from the 3-point line and 93.8% from the Foul Line.
@byumbb’s offensive stats of the night:
91 points
21 Assist
49.2 fg%
46.2 3p%
93.8 feet%Other teams in the history of the NCAA Tournament have not raised more than these numbers in a single game. pic.twitter.com/pnsllwl73a
– OptaStats (@optastats) March 23, 2025
And it got colder for the Cougars. Scoreless for the final two minutes, 34 seconds, while Wisconsin (27-10) eliminated a double-digit deficit and gained one ownership on a consecutive three-point play by Tonje.
They were incapable of slowing Tonje on a 37-point night (including a 14th from the free throw line) as the Badgers lacked a 14-point deficit in the final minute.
Before being taken to Provo as a defensive enforcer, enter Mug, a graduate from Rutgers, who has been shortened by a broken ACL in his junior season.
Two years after his scar-colored knight was unfairly treated for his knee injury, as many have argued, Mug made the most important play of the season to advance to his first sweet 16.
“We’re part of history. Many people don’t make sweet 16,” he said. “This is a credit to the efforts we make, the coaching staff, gasoline, managers and even players.
“There’s a lot to do. We have a short memory and then everyone needs to move to Alabama or St. Mary’s.”
But he wasn’t just the BYU player operating the defense. There was Keita, who had 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Cougars. This included a major defence committee as the time expired after MAG forced the wrong jumper from Tonje.
There was Stewart, a senior guard in American folk who struggled to find time and rhythm a year ago, but he returned to spinning and had seven points and a block against Wisconsin.
Dawson Baker. Mikhailo Boskovic. Darrin Hall. Fousseyni Traore. They all came out of the bench, but they all had roles that they could play, even in defense.
“Before the game, we talked about playing harder than the guy before you and playing harder for the guy next to you,” said fifth-year senior Trevin Knell. Rough.
“I’m so grateful to have met everyone in this locker room. I’ll be sad when it’s over. But we’re going to ride this high and I’m grateful that this university has given me.”
The Cougars made it to the Eastern semifinals on March 27 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and advanced against the winner of Sunday’s match between second seed Alabama and seventh St. Mary.
Having had eight points, two rebounds and two assists, Baker is eligible to play in that game, as reported by Associated Press pool reporter Eddie Pells.
Shortly after Saturday’s game, the NCAA revealed that Dawson’s emissions will not lead to a suspension of the tournament’s next game.
