No. 6 BYU v. No. 3 Wisconsin

Saturday, March 22
4:45 pm PT, CBS
East Region, Denver

In some ways, Wisconsin is the mirror image of BYU.

The Badgers run with a similar pace and put up points. The Big Ten team is No. 40 nationally in points per game and is No. 13 in KenPom’s offensive efficiency metric.

And like BYU’s leading scorer Richie Saunders, UW guard John Tonje is a problem. The engine of the Badgers’ offense averages 19.1 points per game on 46.1 percent shooting from the field.

But Tonje has been in a slump the last two games. He only scored 15 points in Wisconsin’s Round of 64 matchup and was held to just nine in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Keeping him contained will be critical for BYU.

Taking care of the ball, however, is probably the single most important factor for the Cougars. BYU turned it over 12 times against VCU, leading to 17 points off turnovers.

That’s not going to cut it against Wisconsin.

The Badgers are elite at limiting their turnovers. They enter the game No. 20 overall in turnovers committed per contest.

That means the number of possessions BYU gets could be limited, forcing its offense to be at its highest efficiency.

Kevin Young’s team is not going to get to the Sweet 16 with another 7-for-20 night from three, as they had in the First Round against VCU.

It’s a tough draw for BYU.

The Big Ten went 8-0 in the Round of 64 and the Badgers are one of the top teams in the league. It’s going to take a monumental effort from the entire roster to pull off the upset.

Fortunately, the Cougars have the depth, skill, and offensive scheme to get it done.

At the end of the night, the team that wins the rebounding margin and is more efficient from three could survive and advance.