The BYU Cougars are headed to the Sweet 16!
Kevin Young’s squad barely held on for a thrilling, heart-attack-inducing 91-89 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers. Here are the five most important stats that led to BYU’s historic win:
Richie Saunders - 6 offensive rebounds
While the All-Big 12 First Team standout scored an incredibly efficient 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting, it was Richie Saunders' gritty, timely offensive rebounding that helped keep the Cougars on top throughout this game. In all, the 6-foot-5 wing pulled down six offensive rebounds. Wisconsin, on the other hand, as a team had 11 offensive rebounds the entire game. In a game that came down to one possession, Richie Saunders alone manufactured six extra possessions for the Cougars.
Egor Demin - 1 turnover
While smart BYU fans praise freshman sensation Egor Demin for his court vision and passing, objective observers also know his untimely and often unforced turnovers can derail the Cougars offense. Against the Badgers the young Russian had eight assists against just one turnover. Now, his one turnover was really bad as it came late in the game on an inbounds pass following a timeout, but the Cougars overcame the blunder.
Overall, Egor Demin skillfully piloted BYU’s offense to 91 points by taking excellent care of the ball and delivering a number of Magic Johnson-esque passes.
Trevin Knell - 4-of-6 from the 3-point line
BYU’s offense runs like a Ferrari when Trevin Knell is stroking it from deep. The fifth-year senior came into the game shooting a blistering 43.1% from the 3-point line on the season. When he’s hot, opposing defenses simply can’t give him any airspace. His gravity opens up the offense for the rest of the team. Wisconsin cheated off Knell a few times in this contest, and Trevin made them pay.
15-of-16 (93.8%) from the free throw line
Poor free throw shooting was BYU’s Achilles’ heel throughout much of this season. Despite having a roster full of players who can shoot close to 40% from the 3-point line, BYU on the season connected on just 70.4% of their free throws, ranking 247th in the nation.
The Cougars poor free throw shooting often made games much tighter down the stretch than they needed to be, especially when missing the front end of 1-and-1s, which happened often. But in the win over Wisconsin to reach the Sweet 16, BYU somehow went 15-of-16 from the free throw line. In a game decided by two points, the Cougars may have found those two crucial points at the charity stripe.
Mawot Mag surrendering 0 points on the game’s final possession
With Wisconsin trailing by two with the ball for the game’s last possession, everybody in the building knew John Tonje would be taking the last shot. Tonje had already poured in 37 points on 10-of-18 shooting and 16-of-16 from the free throw line. As expected, the ball was in his hands for the Badgers last possession.
While this won’t show up in the stat sheet, BYU defensive specialist Mawot Mag played absolutely perfect man-to-man defense as Tonje made his way to the baseline for a contested, off-balance, desperation shot. Mag’s defense was so good that Tonje was forced to flop in an attempt to draw a foul, and the refs (for once) weren’t buying it. Mawot Mag’s stellar individual defensive effort sealed the win for the Cougs.
For the first time in 14 years, the BYU Cougars are headed to the Sweet 16!
This is a special team and these key stats helped carry them to this program-defining victory.