When the NCAA Selection Committee released the bracket, every Wisconsin fan seemed to circle the second-round matchup of Wisconsin and BYU for a variety of reasons, none of them good reasons for the Badgers. The one that most pointed to was how close BYU is compared to Wisconsin, which included how BYU was already used to playing at altitude. Others often noted that BYU was a bad matchup for the Badgers.
Whatever the main reason or the variety of reasons, Wisconsin fell to BYU 91-89 in a frustrating game in which everything seemed to go the Cougars' way, leaving Wisconsin to pick up the scraps.
John Tonje was electric in the 2nd half but wasn't enough to get the Badgers a win
Tonje started the game ice cold, going 0-4 from three and 4-9 from the field, but in the second half, he completely flipped the script. He did everything he could to will his Badgers the victory. By the end of the game, he scored 37 points and shot 55% from the field and 33% from three. With a little over a minute to go, he swished a three-point shot to put the Badgers within 5 points, 91-86, but BYU found a way to keep things cruising to victory.
The most frustrating stat for Badger fans and probably head coach Greg Gard is that the bench only scored three total points. Until the final minutes of the game, it was zero points until Carter Gilmore was able to cash in to score a big bucket and finish the and-1.
Things looked like they might turn around in the final minutes when Dawson Baker picked up a flagrant two-foul foul that gave Wisconsin the ball and two points. It was the momentum swing that the Badgers were looking for, but the hole was simply too big. Now, they get to head into the offseason looking to rebuild their roster with multiple seniors who have run out of eligibility.
Brutal end to a fantastic season. As always though, On Wisconsin!