3 takeaways from BYU’s NCAA Tournament win against Wisconsin

DENVER — The Cougars will keep on dancing.

BYU avoided a late collapse to upset 3 seed Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32 Saturday in Denver, winning 91-89 and never trailing to clinch the program’s first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2011.

3 takeaways

BYU’s stars shined. Richie Saunders — with all of his tater tot fame — scored a team-high 25 points, including three 3-pointers, and grabbed seven total rebounds, with six coming on the offensive glass.

Egor Demin continued his impressive tournament showing with 11 points, eight rebounds and dishing out eight assists. Most impressively, the freshman phenom from Russia only coughed up one turnover.

Trying to keep his college career alive for as long as possible, senior Trevin Knell added 14 points and went 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

The Cougars were elite offensively. Against the Badgers, BYU shot 49.2% from the field, 46.2% from 3-point range and 93.8% from the free throw line.

Such shooting numbers would be impressive against anyone, let alone a top-25 defense in Wisconsin and in the program’s biggest game in more than a decade. The lights clearly weren’t too bright for BYU.

Eight different Cougar players scored at least six points, with Saunders, Demin, Knell and Keba Keita all reaching double figures.

Additionally, BYU piled up 21 total assists and won the rebound battle by a 41-32 margin, grabbing 13 offensive boards in the process.

BYU’s defense delivered in the clutch. With 13:07 left to play in the first half, Wisconsin got a bucket to pull within two points of the Cougars.

It would be another six minutes before the Badgers made another shot, with BYU having gone on a 14-2 run in that span.

In the second half, with their lead cut to five, the Cougars proceeded to force Wisconsin into another field goal drought of five minutes.

Between the two strong defensive stretches spanning 11 minutes, BYU outscored the Badgers 28-7. In a game the Cougars ultimately won by just two points, the importance of those two periods can’t be overstated.

Oh, and Mawot Mag was terrific in guarding John Tonje on the final play of the game, preventing the 37-point scorer from tying the game by forcing him into an awkward, unsuccessful jumper. Defense doesn’t get much more clutch than that.

And thus, BYU survives and advances.