The Wisconsin Badgers suffered a crushing 91-89 loss to the BYU Cougars on Saturday evening, ending a promising season in the Round of 32.
Wisconsin dug themselves in an early hole, as BYU cruised to 47 first-half points, being the more opportunistic team as the Badgers just couldn’t get multiple stops in a row.
That proved to be too much to overcome, even with an aggressive comeback in the final minutes, sending the Badgers home ahead of the Sweet Sixteen for the eighth straight year.
While there is a lot to evaluate for the Badgers as to why Saturday went the way it did, there seemed to be two especially eye-popping moments that changed the direction of the game at crucial times.
End of the 1st Half
It wasn’t the prettiest first half for the Badgers, as BYU pulled away early and had a few runs in the period to extend their lead into the double digits.
With less than two minutes left in the half, Wisconsin went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to eight, and they had a prime opportunity to go into halftime with the momentum.
Securing a key stop with 26 seconds left, the Badgers had a chance to take the final shot and end up going into the half down just five or six. But, Wisconsin pushed the ball in transition, and rather than pull the ball out, John Tonje found Steven Crowl with 15 seconds left in the period, who quickly tried to take short two near the rim, which missed.
BYU then pushed the ball down the court, setting up a pick-and-roll, which freed open elite shooter Trevin Knell for a three. Money.
And just like that, the Badgers had a huge five-point swing and trailed by 11 going into halftime.
Had they held on to the ball for the final shot, it’s, at worst, an eight-point game. Best case just a five-point game, which would’ve been a big win for the Badgers given the way they played compared to BYU.
But, instead, they had the absolute worst-case scenario, resulting in a swing the other way. In a close game like Saturday’s, sequences like that stand out.
Technical foul
Even after their first-half struggles, Wisconsin went on a bit of a run to begin the second half, going on a 12-3 run to cut the lead to four at 52-48.
They then got a crucial stop, but weren’t able to capitalize on the other end as Steven Crowl was stripped going up for a shot at the rim. Clearly, some assistants on the bench for Wisconsin weren’t pleased with the lack of a foul call, as the Wisconsin bench got a technical foul there, although it wasn’t on head coach Greg Gard.
That turned out to be another minor swing that played a major factor in Saturday’s game. Richie Saunders hit both technical free throws, extending the lead to six before getting a layup on the following possession to extend BYU’s lead to eight.
From there, Wisconsin never got to within one score until the final minute, where they fought hard to try and complete the comeback. That’s nearly 15 minutes of game time where BYU had a two-score lead.
The defensive effort will be looked at. As will all the missed opportunities. But, in a game that was so close, these two moments stood out immediately as difference-makers.
