For all his years, Wisconsin’s John Tonje had never once cried after a basketball game. Until Saturday night. He had reached this tournament before, and come up short, back as a Fort Collins hero with Colorado State. He had sought for more, and come up short, a jump to Maryland in 2023-24 ending i n season-ending injury. But nothing, quite, had felt like this, a season of redemption setting the stage for a second half of redemption that came up just one play short in a 91-89 loss to BYU Saturday. “We’re not here,” red-eyed teammate Max Klesmit said in the locker room postgame, “without John Tonje. We’re not in this position without him.” He could’ve been talking about the season. He could’ve been talking about the game. Either applied. Tonje had transferred into Wisconsin in the offseason after a lost year with Missouri in 2023-24, a former Colorado State staple who could’ve come into the Badgers’ program like he had “all the answers,” as Klesmit put it. Instead, plainly beloved by teammates who embraced him in the locker room Saturday, he put Wisconsin’s offense on his back in a first-team All-Big-Ten season — and shouldered the load for one final night against BYU in a ridiculous 37-point performance. By the time a scrapping Richie Saunders cleaned up a layup to put BYU up 38-24 with five minutes left in the first half, Badgers players were left slumping back to their huddle, serenaded by those roars of “B-Y-U.” This was billed as a shootout, but Wisconsin was largely shooting blanks. Tonje finished the first half 0-4 from deep. The senior, though, came out of the break utterly unfazed. His expression never wavered. Not when his airspace was invaded, pump-faking and back-cutting his way to the rim. Not when a defender hugged against his body, creating sudden room with nifty stepbacks. He broke a three-point seal early in the second half, hitting another flyby triple a few minutes later, drawing a foul on another bomb to chip BYU’s lead down to four. “He’s Steady Eddie,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said on Wednesday, of Tonje. “He doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low.” And when no. 3 Wisconsin stood battered against the ropes, as Saunders — who led the Cougars with 25 — dropped in a couple of free throws to push no. 6 BYU’s lead to eight with 1:25 left, Tonje clawed the Badgers back with sheer force of will. A stepback three cut BYU’s lead to five with 91-86 left. A few seconds later, off a turnover, he motored down the lane and tossed in a layup through contact, a red sea in the stands at Ball losing their sanity. With 13 seconds left and a chance to tie or win, Gard didn’t turn much to a clipboard. Tonje dribbled up, 26 second-half points to his name, no intricate set materializing. The plan was simple. “Put the ball in your best player’s hands,” Gard said postgame, “and let him go make a play.” Maybe he got fouled. Tonje wasn’t sure, postgame. Klesmit thought so. But matched up against BYU defensive ace Mawot Mag, he attacked down the right lane, getting a step before picking up his dribble against Mag’s chest. He pump-faked. Tonje went up, as Mag “nipped the ball” slightly, the BYU forward put it postgame. Tonje’s shot hit nothing but air, BYU center Keba Keita grabbing the rebound and outletting as the buzzer sounded, Tonje pulling himself to his feet as the Cougars advanced in delirium. “Just trying to get downhill and make a play,” Tonje muttered, quietly, in Wisconsin’s locker room postgame. “Came up short.” It brought a gut-wrenching Wisconsin end to a thrilling BYU affair at Ball Arena, the most entertaining end to any NCAA Tournament matchup across the week in Denver. The Cougars controlled momentum for most of the game, led by golden-haired Tater Tot King Saunders, who scrapped his way to six offensive rebounds and 25 points. Carrying an 11-point halftime lead, BYU largely staved off the Badgers’ comeback attempts at every turn. Saunders buried a top-of-the-key three to push the Cougars’ lead to 14, with 10:25 left. Senior Trevin Knell, who finished with 14 points in 18 minutes, hit two huge threes down the stretch to keep Wisconsin at bay. Freshman point guard Egor Demin controlled the pace with eight rebounds and eight assists. Even as BYU advanced to the Sweet 16, though, the night will be remembered for Tonje, who gave an early defining performance of this year’s March Madness in his return to Colorado. “The ending stinks,” Gard said, postgame. “But the ride was a hell of a lot of fun.” Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams. ...read more read less