Fresh off an 85-66 victory over the Montana Grizzlies, the Wisconsin Badgers are taking on the BYU Cougars in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, with tip-off set for 6:45 p.m. central at the Ball Arena in Denver.

Wisconsin started off the tournament strong on Thursday, as they were able to blow out Montana thanks to a late run that sealed the deal for the Badgers. Wisconsin shot 55.6 percent from the field in the win, which was tied for their highest-ever percentage in an NCAA Tournament game.

The crazy part? The Badgers shot only 7/23(30.4 percent) from deep, so it was a blistering 72.7 percent rate inside the arc that took them over the top in an efficient offensive performance.

Defensively, Wisconsin was stout yet again, holding Montana to under 40 percent from the field and below 30 percent from deep, which was well below their regular season marks. The performance brought Wisconsin inside the Top 25 in KenPom for adjusted defensive efficiency, making them one of only a select few teams to have a Top 25 unit on both offense and defense.

Now, they’ll take on the BYU Cougars who were able to get past the VCU Rams 80-71 in their opening round matchup. BYU is an elite offensive team, ranking inside the Top 15 according to KenPom.

They’re led by star wing Richie Saunders, who averaged 16 points per game this season, while shooting over 50 percent from the field and 42 percent from deep.

Behind him, 2024 five-star point guard Egor Denim runs the offense and is a projected lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

BYU is well-rounded and deep, as 10 players play over 10 minutes per game, while the group as a whole averages 81 points a contest on 48 percent from the field and 37 percent from beyond the arc.

Entering the game, the Badgers are 1.5-point favorites against the Cougars on Saturday. Can Wisconsin get the win and advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2017?