The Wisconsin Badgers fell 91-89 to the BYU Cougars in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday evening.
Despite trailing by as many as 14 points with under 11 minutes left in the second half, the Badgers remained afloat against BYU’s stout offensive unit. That was almost entirely thanks to a terrific game from star wing John Tonje.
In the final contest of his collegiate career, the North Omaha, Nebraska, native tallied 37 points, four rebounds and four assists off 10-of-18 shooting from the field and 14-of-16 from the charity stripe. His 37 tallies are the most by a Wisconsin player in an NCAA tournament game, plus the most by any player through the first three days of this year’s tournament.
Most notably, 26 of Tonje’s 37 points arrived in the second half. He connected on 11 free throw attempts, nailed a flurry of looks from beyond the arc and attacked the painted area relentlessly to spearhead Wisconsin’s late comeback.
That comeback fell just short as Tonje missed his final shot attempt from the baseline, attempting to knot the game at 91 apiece in the final seconds. His look was well-contested. BYU quickly grabbed the defensive rebound and dribbled the clock out to 0:00.
Sophomore John Blackwell and senior Max Klesmit each played well down the stretch. Tonje, however, looked unstoppable. His sensational individual performance was not enough to push Greg Gard’s team to victory, mostly due to a lack of contributions from the bench, poor rebounding and a season-worst defensive performance.
Tonje concludes his one-year Wisconsin career at No. 2 on the program’s all-time single-season scoring list. His 37 points against BYU lifted him to 724 on the season (19.6 per game), finishing just eight shy of Frank Kaminsky’s 732 points in 2014-15. The outing elevated him from No. 3 to No. 2 on the list, passing Alando Tucker (716 points).
If Wisconsin had overcome BYU, he would have certainly broken Kaminsky’s mark against either Alabama or Saint Mary’s in the Sweet 16.
While he didn’t play multiple years in Madison, Tonje will be remembered as one of the more electrifying offensive players in recent program history. He was named a Naismith College Player of the Year Semifinalist, a Second-Team All-American, a unanimous First-Team All-Big Ten honoree and three-time Big Ten Player of the Week. His season rightfully finishes in the same conversation as Kaminsky’s 2014-15.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin Basketball John Tonje Scoring Record final update BYU Loss
