Grit, heart and an ‘unwillingness to lose’: How BYU toppled Wisconsin and advanced to the Sweet 16

Wire to wire.

Dicey at the end, yes.

But No. 6 seed BYU is going to the Sweet 16 after Saturday’s impressive 91-89 win over No. 3 Wisconsin.

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Representing the Big 12, BYU became the first team in the NCAA Tournament to beat one of the Big Ten’s eight teams in the dance.

This underscores the weight of BYU’s last month of play with wins over ranked Arizona, Kansas and Iowa State (twice).

It’s no fluke.

Neither was Saturday’s win over Wisconsin, which had a lot of officiating breaks going its way.

BYU coach Kevin Young reminded a BYU Sports Network audience afterward that he’d said it early and a few thought he was crazy — that this team was a good team, that it could play with anyone in the country.

“I believe it. I think the guys believe it. They’re trusting in their abilities more and more, so we just rely on the work that we’ve put in all year. I mean, that’s been the message with these guys in this postseason.

“There’s something I learned a long time ago. When you get to the postseason, your true colors come to life,” he continued. “Your good habits are what you rely on, the stuff you’ve done all year long, and then you don’t have to make stuff up in the postseason. Those are the teams that are good. I think that’s what our group has been all year.

“It will be our war cry.”

This was an impressive start-to-finish basketball exhibition by Young in his first season as a head college coach. Not only did his Cougars put on a master class in offense, but found a myriad of ways to attack Wisconsin and beat the Badgers at the type of physical game the Big Ten is known for.

The factors of physical dominance?

The Cougars won the battle on the boards 41-32 despite Wisconsin’s two 7-footers on the court. Wisconsin had fewer turnovers, 11-5, but BYU had the edge in defensive rebounds, 28-21, offensive boards, 13-11, points in the paint, 38-28, bench points, 24-3, fast-break points, 11-0, blocked shots, 4-2, and assists, 21-11.

Despite all those factors in BYU’s favor, Wisconsin used a 6-0 run in the last 1:16 to make it a one-possession game at the end.

The only way Wisconsin stayed in the game was free throws, Wisconsin shot 29 and made 23. BYU shot 16 and made 15.

But one could also argue that if Richie Saunders (25 points) had received the same whistles on his drives and shot attempts as Wisconsin All-American John Tonje (37 points), this would have been a 15- to 20-point win for the Cougars. Tonje scored 14 of his points from the line with 16 attempts. Saunders went to the line only four times and converted all four free-throw attempts.

Officials nearly let this game get out of hand as it got chippy and very physical. There were three technical fouls and Cougar Dawson Baker was ejected late in the second half when he tried to move out of a double team and led with his elbow to the groin of a Wisconsin defender.

One of the technicals was on Cougar Mawot Mag when he pointed to the replay screen overhead after Wisconsin guard Johnathan Blackwell drove the baseline on Dallin Hall and seemingly fell down and slid on the floor. Hall was called for a foul.

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Can’t remember a technical ever being called on a player for pointing at a replay screen. But players aren’t allowed to show up officials, even if the replay screen did a fine job of doing just that on its own.

Saunders and Tonje made this game personal and their respective teams rode them like quarter horses.

For the Cougars, Young said Saunders’ six offensive rebounds were outstanding and for all his minutes, he seemed to will his team to the win.

“Richie came through once again. And, you know, how about his offensive rebounds? I mean, the guy’s will to win is second to none.”

His tipped a rebound off a Wisconsin player, allowing BYU another 20 seconds to run off the clock at the end when Wisconsin desperately needed time.

Said Wisconsin coach Greg Gard of Saunders, “He’s a gamer. He’s a winner. Had six offensive rebounds. The kid knows how to play. When you’ve got a kid like that, and I’ve had a lot of them, too, that play with the heart and the energy and the unwillingness to lose, you can do a lot of good things, and they’ve had a good year.”

Young also got an outstanding effort from senior Trevin Knell, who he admits that he brings in cold and asks him to make plays. Knell hit 4 of 6 3-point shots, two of them in crunch time when Wisconsin made a last-ditch effort to catch the Cougars.

Reserves Trey Stewart and Baker combined for 15 points in 31 minutes.

Freshman Egor Demin had just one turnover in the game to go with his 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. He was also called upon to guard Wisconsin’s 7-footers at times.

No, this is a different BYU team.

These guys fight and push back. They play at a determined, high level. They have bench players who roll in and there’s no slack given. They play for each other. They believe. Their confidence level is impressive.

Wisconsin is an elite offensive team but BYU outscored them. BYU’s offensive efficiency was the third-highest allowed by VCU all year and the highest allowed by Kansas, Arizona, Cincinnati and West Virginia. Wisconsin hadn’t given up more than 88 points this season until the Cougars got 91.

OptaSTATS declared BYU’s 91 points on 21 assists, 49.2% shooting, 46.2 from distance with 93.8% free throws has never been done in NCAA Tournament history in a single game.

That’s high-level stuff.

These Cougars remind you of the last two teams who made it to the Sweet 16, the 2011 team led by Jimmer Fredette and the 1981 Frank Arnold-coached team led by Danny Ainge. Two Wooden Award winners as national players of the year.

Both were in the seats in Denver to witness this squad claw its way to live another day.

How sweet is that?