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HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The Brigham Young University Cougars were shot down by the Wisconsin Badgers at the Chicago Invitational Challenge championship on Saturday, as Wisconsin won 73-56.
BYU head coach Dave Rose acknowledged the difficult defensive terrain of having to guard shooters spanning all the way from downtown to uptown.
“I think that what we did expect was for Wisconsin to shoot the ball well since that is what they have done well,” Rose said. “They … have five shooters on the floor at all times. This season for us, we haven’t faced that yet.”
Wisconsin’s sundry of sharp shooters was evidenced by their top four scorers.
Ben Brust lead the Badgers with 21 points collected strictly from 3-pointers, guard Jordan Taylor put in 18 points almost strictly from jumpers and in third with 13 points apiece were forward Mike Bruesewitz and center Jared Berggren.
As great as the Cougars’ success in an elevated zone defense was in the first half, their defensive success paled in comparison to the Badger’s unstoppable offense success in the second half.
According to the Associated Press, BYU forward Noah Hartsock felt the Cougars found themselves more in quicksand than on a court with Brust’s 7-of-10 3- point shooting.
"He was able to make those shots and that really hurt us," Hartsock said. "We got ourselves in a hole and we weren't able to dig ourselves out."
The irony of so many 3-pointers in one game is so great that BYU fans could almost see the salt shaker sitting on the sideline ready to be poured over their ever deepening wound. For the last three games 3-pointers have been a rather special place on the court for the Cougars, who put up 35 treys total and set a record of 27 in two consecutive games. On Saturday however, the Cougars were only able to put in one 3-pointer against the Badgers, while the Badgers had over half of their points fall in from behind the arc.
We got ourselves in a hole and we weren't able to dig ourselves out.
–Noah Hartsock
To increase the sting Rose pointed out that the lethal firing from Brust was caused by the Cougars' defensive choices.
“We were denying them on the wings and forcing them further out,” Rose said. “There were critical times where we needed to score … or we needed to get a stop and we didn’t. ... We need to be a lot more consistent with our play through the game to beat a team like that.”
Though the Cougars were unsuccesful in remembering their bullet-proof vests under their jerseys when facing Wisconsin's shooters, they feel they are returning to Provo stronger and more ready for their next battle.
“Wisconsin is good and … really physical,” Rose said. “That’s a game where you have to toughen up and play through contact. ... We will have a lot of opportunities to see where we didn’t do that on film and learn from it (and) do better.”
