Mirror images: BYU, Wisconsin bring powerful offenses to NCAA second-round matchup
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- From left, BYU’s Brody Kozlowski, Dawson Baker and Trevin Knell react to play on the practice floor at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Friday, March 21, 2025.
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- BYU’s Richie Saunders (left) conducts an interview with teammate Egor Demin in the locker room at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Friday, March 21, 2025.
DENVER — In Friday’s NCAA news conference, Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Greg Gard was asked if he could compare any Big Ten teams to BYU.
“Ourselves, for one,” Gard said with a laugh.
Gard went on to talk about how the Cougars were also similar to Illinois and Michigan State, but the comparison between BYU and Wisconsin, at least offensively, seems to be a good one.
Both are high-scoring teams that rely on spreading the floor and getting up 3-point shots. The Badgers were second during Big Ten play in scoring (79.5 points per game) and shoot 35% from the 3-point line. The Cougars were third in the Big 12 in scoring (80.9) and shoot 37% from distance.
Wisconsin scored 85 points in a first-round win against Montana, BYU had 80 in its first-round victory against one of the country’s top defenses in VCU.
“They (Wisconsin) are a super well-oiled machine offensively,” Cougar coach Kevin Young said. “They’re a bit more continuity based than we are. Just on sheer numbers, they get up a lot of threes kind of like we do as well. I’d imagine it would probably be high scoring. Obviously, we don’t want it to be. We’re locked in defensively on how we want to guard these guys. But they’re impressive offensively. We’ve had some nights where we’ve been able to score as well. Probably, that’s where it’s headed.”
Here’s Wisconsin’s John Blackwell on BYU: “They’ve won 10 of their last 11, and around this time, that’s really good. They’re hot right now, all the confidence in the world. It’s our job to shut that off.”
Like many good NCAA Tournament teams, the Badgers have plenty of scoring on the guard line. Senior John Tonje, who has had stops at Colorado State and Missouri, leads Wisconsin with 19.2 points per game and Blackwell averages 15.5. What makes the Badgers unique is their big lineup that features 7-footer Steven Crowl and 6-11 Nolan Winter. Crowl averages 9.6 points but shoots 41% from the 3-point line and Winter is at 9.5 points while shooting 36% from beyond the arc.
Blackwell had 19 points, Crowl 18, and Tonje 15 in the first-round win against Montana.
BYU has played an 11-man rotation since mid-January and are back to it now that freshman Kanon Catchings has recovered from his injury. While Richie Saunders (16 points per game) and freshman sensation Egor Demin (10.5 points, 5.3 assists per game) likely top the opposition’s defensive game plan, the Cougars have multiple ways to score and win.
BYU made just seven 3-pointers in Thursday’s victory against VCU but outscored the Rams 38-20 in the paint, finding opportunities to get into the key and finish.
It’s been 14 years since the program has gotten to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and the players don’t want to waste the opportunity.
“We all know in March, being in the second round now, we have to have that sense of urgency going into this game, no matter what it is,” BYU guard Dawson Baker said. “The whole season has just built us for this moment. We’re a completely different team now from when we started. We’re going to take everything that we learned in the process and use it in March.”
Senior guard Trey Stewart added, “We’re just kind of dialing into our recipe, dialing into kind of our pregame routine. It’s kind of evolved a little bit once we started getting on that winning streak. We play for our brothers. That’s kind of a huge thing. Coach always says play harder than the guy across the line from you on every (video) slide.
“Really, in a few words, we’ve really got our recipe down. We figured it out with the coaches. We’re humble and we’ve changed things. And now we just have a really good system where it’s like, OK, here’s our prep day, do this, this, this, go look at the film. The next day we come up, we have our coverages and everything that we listed pregame and, yeah, we’re going to be ready.”
Ready for the moment: Saunders said Saturday’s came is a culmination of the hard work and effort the Cougars have put in all season.
“We’ve had a season of response and having to kind of regroup and doing that as a team,” Saunders said. “I’ve been super happy with just how we’ve had to respond all year, and it’s something different than March. But I think because we’ve forced ourselves to respond and keep going, even when we were 1-3, we’ve had to really rely on ourselves. The way you respond when you get to March, you’re a product of the whole season. That’s kind of what we’ve been seeing this last little bit, and we’ll continue to lean on those experiences we’ve had together as a team throughout the whole year.”
How did you spend your evening? Baker, Stewart and Dallin Hall represented the Cougars at Friday’s news conference and were chatting about how they celebrated Thursday’s win. Baker revealed that he spent some time with members of the BYU band in the hotel jacuzzi.
“It was kind of interesting,” Baker said. “The conversation was great. They were going to the zoo today.”
“There’s a zoo?” Stewart responded.
“There’s a zoo somewhere,” Baker said. “We talked about the zoo, our first time being here, advancing (in the tournament) and how long it’s been, kind of enjoying the moment together. It was great.”
This is March: Young was asked about his first experience coaching in the NCAA Tournament.
“I don’t know if I’d point to just one moment,” he said. “For me, after we won, just seeing my wife and my two sons … my daughter, she had enough basketball at the Big 12 Tournament, so she ditched us and stayed at home. To see my boys courtside after a big win, especially in this type of environment, is special.
“Honestly, man, just the whole overall experience. This is as big-time as it gets in all of basketball, specifically to college, obviously. I always get amazed at home many people reach out to me after a marque win. I’ve talked before about how basketball and sports keep relationships tight. That’s been cool for the last couple of days, getting a lot of congratulatory text messages kind of from the who’s who of the basketball world.”
Men’s College Basketball
NCAA Tournament Second Round
No. 6 BYU (25-9) vs. No. 3 Wisconsin (27-9)
Saturday, 5:45 p.m. MT
Ball Arena in Denver, Colo.
TV/Streaming: CBS
Radio: KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM, Varsity Network app
Live stats: ncaa.org
The Word: Wisconsin is 2-0 all-time against BYU, including a 73-56 victory at the Chicago Invitational Challenge in 2011. … The Cougars are 4-4 against ranked opponents this season with all four of the wins coming during their nine-game winning streak. … The Badgers defeated two Big 12 opponents during the non-conference, beating Arizona (103-88) and UCF (86-70). … BYU also has victories against the Wildcats (96-95) and Golden Knights (81-75). … No. 5 seed Michigan plays No. 4 seed Texas A&M in the second-round game preceding the BYU-Wisconsin matchup in Denver.
