Denver – Call it by-whew for just one night!
The Byu Cougars led the entire game on Saturday, but still had to make one final defensive halt to seal off Wisconsin's unstoppable guard John Tonje to seal off a 91-89 victory over the Badgers and their first trip to Sweet 16 since 2011.
In a much-welcome and unusual March Madness Nail Bitter, Tonjae finished with 37 points, becoming the first player to fall below 30 this year in the tournament.
It included eight points during a hopeless comeback.
However, he chases after them and fires a crazy airball just before the buzzer that allows the cougar to escape.
“You're looking at the game and saying, 'How did you get to the two-point game here, do you know?” “But looking, I think it explains this team.”
Richie Sanders has 25 points and seven rebounds for the sixth seeded Cougars and will play on Alabama or St. Mary's Thursday next Thursday in Newark in the Eastern Region.
BYU (26-9) held a lead between 6 and 14 points for most of the second half, but changed when authorities deliberately extended Wisconsin's Max Cresmitt to the left at 11:11 on a corner scrum at 3:11 when authorities left Cougars guard Dawson Baker (8 points).
Tonje took over from there, making three or two free throws and three-point plays, trimming a 10-point deficit into two. Wisconsin (27-10) scored a BYU miss with 13.5 seconds left, then worked the ball to Tonje, but with Mawotmug being draped on him, the senior didn't look good.
“We made the decision, we came down, we were doing it before, we put the ball in your best player's hand and let him go play,” Wisconsin coach Greg Guard said.
The third seeded badger became the first Big Ten team to lose in a tournament where the conference began 10-0.
Tonjae, who shot 10 cards on 18 from the floor and 14 at 16 from the line, scored 52 points in two games for Denver. Saturday's 37 points was the worst in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
“I was just trying to get downhill, but it just stopped around the block area,” he said of the game's decision-maker. “At that point, I didn't know what options I had. I tried to raise it.”
John Blackwell scored 21 points for Wisconsin, but of many things that could change one bucket game, this stat stood out. BYU's bench outscored the Badgers 24-3.
Meanwhile, BYU has not celebrated since the time when Fredette became a college cult hero in the early 2010s by rewriting record books at Provo.
Russia's freshman Egor Demin finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists from BYU. Trevin Knell went from 3 to 6 to 4 and finished with 14 points.
Overall, Coach Kevin Young's NBA-style offense – fast pace, a lot of three seconds (the Cougars shot 46%), and heavy on the guy with long arms changing the shot – was too much for Wisconsin to overcome.
Still, this really got me really close to what I meant in the end.
“We felt like we couldn't stop them at all in the second half, and in that final timeout we looked at each other and said all we had to do was pause,” Young said.
Baker is eligible for next week
Soon after Baker's ejection, the NCAA revealed that it would not lead to suspension and qualify for BYU's Sweet 16 game.
(pssst. He was probably right)
Shortly after making a phantom blocking call against the Cougars late in the first half, Scott technically slaps the magazine.
Young asked why, and officials explained that Mag points to replaying (and minimal contact) the scoreboard.
The game ended with three technicals and a Baker discharge.
Fries in that victory?
Bonus: Saunders, the heir to the man who invented Tater Tot, has a deal for Nir that everyone gives to free Tater Tots after BYU's victory at Madness in March.
Money from the line
BYU had a lot to support. There was a moment when Keba Keita, a 39% free throw shooter per year, rocked one to give the Cougars an 11-point lead of about seven minutes. Keita went 3-2 from the line and finished with 10 points.
