Wisconsin basketball suffered its first loss of the 2025 season on Friday, as it fell 98-70 to the No. 9-ranked BYU Cougars.
BYU’s offensive numbers tell the story of the afternoon. The Cougars shot a blistering 48% from the field and 41% from 3, falling just two points shy of the 100-point mark. Forward Richie Saunders led the way, tallying 26 points, three rebounds and two assists on 10-of-16 from the floor and 5-of-9 from 3. Superstar freshman A.J. Dybantsa also added 18 points, while starters Robert Wright III and Dawson Baker each closed in double figures.
Advertisement
Wisconsin struggled to keep up with BYU’s high-powered attack. The team as a whole shot just 38% from the field and 24% from 3, despite 16 points on 50% shooting from Nick Boyd. Across the starting lineup, John Blackwell connected on 3 of 13 shot attempts, Austin Rapp went 0 for 7 from the field, Andrew Rohde finished with just five points on 2-of-5 shooting and Nolan Winter scored 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 0-of-4 from 3.
The offensive output and shooting efficiency are by far the team’s lowest of the season to date. The defeat is also the program’s first by more than 20 points since a road loss to Arizona on Dec. 9, 2023.
Wisconsin falls to 4-1 on the season with the defeat. BYU, meanwhile, jumps to 4-1 with the resume-boosting win. The Cougars will likely return to the top-seven position in the AP Poll they held before falling recently on the road to No. 3 UConn.
The Badgers continue their nonconference schedule with a contest against Providence in the first round of the Rady Children’s Invitational on Thursday. They then tip off their Big Ten schedule with a home contest against Northwestern on Dec. 3. Greg Gard’s group still has major improvements to make before it can contend with the nation’s best.
Advertisement
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Recapping Wisconsin basketball’s loss to BYU
