No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 6 BYU will go head-to-head Saturday night in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
The game will be in primetime, and televised nationally on CBS. The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to the Sweet 16 and will face the winner of the Alabama (No. 2) vs Saint Mary’s (No. 7) game, assuming both teams win their opening round games today.
BYU hasn’t been to the Sweet 16 since the Jimmer Fredette days (2011), while Wisconsin looks to get back for the first time since 2017. Saturday will also mark just the first time in program history that BYU has gone up against a Big Ten opponent in the NCAA Tournament.
Viewing Information
Date: Saturday, March 22
Time: 5:45 PM MT
TV: CBS
Announcers: Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood, Dana Jacobson
Location: Ball Arena (21,000) — Denver, Colorado
All-Time Results
Wisconsin leads the overall series 1-0.
BYU Defeats VCU, Ends NCAA Tournament Losing Streak — Here’s The Reactions
BYU vs. Wisconsin
| BYU | Wisconsin | |
| Record: | 25-9 | 27-9 |
| NET | 25 | 14 |
| KenPom | 24 | 13 |
| Quad 1: | 9-7 | 9-8 |
| Quad 2: | 6-2 | 10-1 |
| Strength of Schedule | 50 | 22 |
| Wins vs. Tourney Teams | 6 | 6 |
| Record vs. Tourney teams | 6-5 | 6-8 |
| Best Win | Iowa State — 2X (NET 9) | Michigan State (NET 11) |
| Worst loss | Providence (NET 100) | Penn State (NET 66) |
| Oddsmakers | Wisconsin -1.5 | |
| KenPom Prediction | Wisconsin 78, BYU 76 | |
| ESPN Matchup Predictor | Wisconsin 53.2%, BYU 46.8% | |
BYU
With Thursday’s win over VCU, the Cougars finally got the monkey off their backs to end a 13-year losing streak in the NCAA Tournament. BYU cruised to a 80-71 victory over the Rams, in a game that wasn’t even close as the score indicated.
Knowing BYU’s disappointing tournament history, many expected this 6 vs. 11 game to be the one that produced the upset, with oddsmakers making BYU just a small favorite (-2.5). VCU is a really good team and a lot of people were concerned how BYU would respond after a blowout loss to Houston in the Big 12 semifinals, especially considering how VCU’s defensive pressure is similar to Houston.
However, as I outlined in my BYU-VCU preview, the metrics don’t tell the whole story because of the soft schedule VCU has played. The Rams “vaunted” defense is good, but it’s nothing compared to most of the teams in the Big 12 Conference. I touched on this and many other reasons why BYU would win which played out exactly as I thought.
Thankfully for Cougar fans, BYU passed the test with flying colors as they looked terrific on both ends of the court against a really good team. While much of the season has been live or die by the three, the Cougars changed things up on Thursday and used their size advantage down in the paint to score nearly half of their points. Fousseyni Traore and Keba Keita combined for 22 points, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Lastly, BYU’s offensive performance against VCU bodes well moving forward as it shows the Cougars can still put up points on anyone not named Houston. Not many teams full court press the entire game, and knowing the difficulties BYU has faced against those types of teams (Iowa State and 29 turnovers), Thursday’s showing was impressive and provides plenty of optimism going forward.
Wisconsin
The Badgers were heavy favorites in their game against Montana, and while it took some time for Wisconsin to get going, the game was never in doubt as they eventually cruised to an 85-66 victory win over the Grizzlies.
Wisconsin has all the makings of a team that can make a deep run in the tournament. The team has size (two 7-footers), a bunch of shooters and team that can defend really well. The Badgers also have one of the top guards in the country in John Tonje who can quickly take over a game.
The biggest weakness for the Badgers is their inconsistency. They’ve put up 100+ points against P4 competition twice, but also managed to score just 53 points against Michigan last week in the Big 10 Tournament. That’s not going to cut it against BYU which is averaging more than 80 points per game.
On Thursday, the Badgers shot 55% from the field, however, they only managed to shoot 30% (7-23) from beyond the arc. This isn’t your typical Wisconsin team as the Badgers love to shoot the ball from deep. In fact, Wisconsin took the most 3-pointers in the Big 10 this year and BYU also took the most 3-pointers in the Big 12. The difference is that BYU make more than 37% (36th nationally), while Wisconsin shoots less than 35% (127th nationally).
The game will likely come down to which team shoot the best from beyond the arc.
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Prediction: BYU 78, Wisconsin 75
Expect a lot of scoring in this one as both teams can really fill it up, and they both love to shoot it from deep. In fact, both teams are Top 20 nationally with nearly half of their shots coming from beyond the arc. BYU and Wisconsin are efficient too, with BYU checking in at No. 11 in adjusted offensive efficiency, while Wisconsin is right behind at No. 13.
Wisconsin will be a real contrast in style for BYU, as the Badgers won’t be providing full-court pressure and looking to force turnovers. Wisconsin is one of the worst teams in the nation when it comes to generating takeaways. They’re still a solid defense that limits field goal percentage, but teams still get a lot of shots up.
The key for Wisconsin is not only hitting their shots from deep, but limiting second chance opportunities that the Cougars will look to get. The Badgers have two 7-footers, however, the physicality and strength of BYU’s Fousseyni Traore and Keba Keita inside will be a fun matchup to watch.
Against VCU, one of the top rebounding and defensive teams in the country, the Cougars outrebounded the Rams 40-31, with 14 of those coming on the offensive glass.
Both teams scored 38 points in the pain in their last games, but that was mostly due to the big size advantage against mid-major teams. Expect both teams to shoot it more from deep than they did on Thursday. in the end, whoever makes the most 3-pointers will likely win this game.
For BYU fans, there’s an additional reason for hope: the Cougars have faced a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament just once before, and it was a memorable one. In 1981, they defeated UCLA 78-55 which helped them continue their first and only Elite 8 run in program history. With that in mind, Cougar fans are hoping for another deep run in this year’s tournament.
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BYU Defeats VCU, Ends NCAA Tournament Losing Streak — Here’s The Reactions
