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DENVER — Wisconsin was the complete team, the one with a top-15 offense paired with a top-25 defense and a No. 3 seed to back it up in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
BYU, generously given a No. 6 seed and a Denver regional site just a 1.5-hour flight from home, boasted a top-10 offense, a dynamic 3-point shooting effort, and the experience — or misery — of a team that was eliminated by a No. 11 seed in the Big Dance a year ago.
But to get past the Badgers, the Cougars would need defense.
That was always their ceiling — and with one final play by Mawot Mag and a clutch rebound by Keba Keita, BYU smashed right through the ceiling, clinching the program’s first Sweet 16 berth since 2011 with a 91-89 win over the Badgers in front of 19,386 fans at Ball Arena.
“Defense was our ceiling; that’s what KY has always been saying,” said BYU guard Trey Stewart, who had 7 points in the win. “But it was beautiful to finally see it on a stage like that, how that was what we worked on. We’ve done this drill about staying down on the pump fakes; (John) Tonje dribbles down, he tries to pump fake, and Mo stays down.
“I have all the respect in the world for (Wisconsin). … But it was just really cool to see us get out on offense, and then defense winning it in the end.”
In the same city where Jimmer Fredette led BYU to one of the program’s three regional semifinals since 1970, BYU showcased an offense that scored 91 points with 21 assists on 49.2% shooting including 46.2% from the 3-point line and 93.8% from the foul line — all NCAA Tournament firsts, according to Opta Stats.
Offensive stats for @BYUMBB tonight:91 points21 assists49.2 FG%46.2 3P%93.8 FT%
No other team in NCAA Tournament history has put up those numbers or better in a single game. pic.twitter.com/pnsllwl73A
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) March 23, 2025
And then, the Cougars went cold — scoreless for the final 2 minutes, 34 seconds while Wisconsin (27-10) erased a double-digit deficit and pulled within a single possession on back-to-back 3-point plays by Tonje.
All that offense suddenly meant nothing without defense, without the ability to slow down Tonje on his 37-point night (including 14-of-16 from the free-throw line) as the Badgers chipped away at a 14-point first-half deficit to as little as one-possession in the final minute.
Enter Mag, the graduate transfer from Rutgers whose junior season was cut short with a torn ACL before he was brought to Provo as a defensive enforcer.
Two years after his Scarlet Knights were, as many argued, unfairly treated for his knee injury, Mag made the most critical play of the season to advance to his first Sweet 16.
“We’re a part of history; not many people make the Sweet 16,” he said. “It’s a credit to the hard work we do, to the coaching staff, the GAs, the managers, even the players.
“There’s a whole lot of work left to do. We’ve got to have a short memory, and move on to Alabama or Saint Mary’s, whoever’s next.”
But he wasn’t the only BYU player operating on defense. There was Keita, who had 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Cougars, including the key defensive board as time expired after Mag had forced an errant jumper out of Tonje.
BYU Cougars guard Trey Stewart (1) hugs Greg Wrubell, the Voice of the Cougars, after they defeated the Wisconsin Badgers during a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament held at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Saturday, March 22, 2025. (Photo: Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
There was Stewart, the senior guard from American Fork who struggled to find time and rhythm a year ago but worked his way back into the rotation and had 7 points and a block against Wisconsin.
Dawson Baker. Mihailo Boskovic. Dallin Hall. Fousseyni Traore. They all came off the bench, but they all had their role to play — even on defense.
“Before the game, we talked about playing harder than the guy in front of you and harder for the guy next to you,” said fifth-year senior Trevin Knell, whose 14 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting were second on the team to Richie Saunders’ 25. “When you have a group of guys playing Super Smash, going for walks, talking about what life really is, basketball is just a game … and it’s been awesome to grow as a team through the nitty gritty.
“I’m just super grateful to get to know everybody in this locker room. It’s going to be sad once it’s all over. But we’re going to ride this high, and I’m just grateful for what this university has given me.”
The Cougars advanced to the East regional semifinals March 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, against the winner of Sunday’s game between second-seeded Alabama and seventh-seeded Saint Mary’s.
Baker, who had 8 points, two rebounds and two assists before an ejection on a flagrant-2 foul, will be eligible to play in that game, as reported by pool reporter Eddie Pells of the Associated Press.
Shortly after Saturday’s game, the NCAA clarified that Dawson’s ejection would not lead to a suspension for the following game of the tournament.
