• The Wisconsin Badgers lost to the BYU Cougars 91-89 in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

• The Badgers struggled throughout the game, shooting poorly from the free-throw line and allowing BYU to dominate the offensive glass.

• The Badgers’ season ends with a familiar feeling of disappointment, as they were unable to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

Wisconsin dropped a heartbreaker to BYU, 91-89, in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Saturday night. With it, the Badgers’ 2024-25 season came to a close.

Wisconsin was far from its best throughout the contest, starting from the opening tip.

A high-powered BYU Cougars team captured early momentum, building a double-digit lead with 7:53 left in the first half thanks to relentless shotmaking and dominance on the offensive glass.

BYU grabbed 26 rebounds (nine offensive) to Wisconsin’s 14 in the first half.

To make matters worse, the Badgers, the nation’s best free-throw-shooting team, shot 63% from the foul line in the half.

Still, Wisconsin had plenty of chances to battle back, both in the first half and down the stretch.

However, all of those chances seemed to fall in BYU’s direction.

The first notable swing came with 20 seconds remaining in the first half.

Wisconsin trailed by eight and held the ball with the shot clock unplugged. Steven Crowl, however, attempted an ill-advised jump shot with 13 seconds left.

His shot missed, allowing BYU a chance to run down the court and steal three points before the break.

That preventable five-point swing became significant in the game’s closing moments.

Fast-forward 18 minutes of game time, the Badgers trailed by nine points with under two minutes to play.

They began what appeared to be a vintage March Madness comeback. Carter Gilmore converted an and-1 layup to cut the deficit to six (89-83), BYU made two at the free-throw line (91-83), John Tonje nailed a 3-pointer (91-86), BYU turned ball over, Tonje converted an and-1 layup of his own (91-89) and Gilmore grabbed the ensuing BYU miss. Wisconsin trailed by two with the basketball and 13 seconds left.

Out of a timeout, Tonje charged the length of the court, passed up a chance at a go-ahead 3, drove to the baseline and missed a contested jump shot. As we begin to unpack the loss, here are some of the notable reactions from Wisconsin fans and both local and national media:

Wisconsin didn’t play well, but it needed that win

Big Cat reacts:

J.J. Watt:

Even in the loss, John Tonje was fantastic

Wisconsin made critical mistakes in important moments

Wisconsin’s postseason drought is … noteworthy

A lot of ‘What-Ifs’

Still an enjoyable season

More reaction