Incredible rally, surprising season reason to celebrate Wisconsin basketball
In the moments following a loss in the NCAA Tournament, finding the right words to describe the team and season can be difficult.
Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard was tasked with having to do just that following Saturday night’s loss in the second round to BYU.
Down big early and often, the Badgers – led by star John Tonje – mounted a March Madness comeback. They used an 11-2 run to end the game to nearly stun the Cougars before a last-second shot by Tonje came up short.
Gard did his best to remember the good that came over the past several months for Tonje and Wisconsin.
“The flurry, the heart and complete grit that we showed to make a comeback like that is a credit to the young men in the locker room,” Gard said. “We were highly doubted early. We weren’t even supposed to be in (the NCAA) Tournament.
“This group bought in and committed to each other. They were so much fun to be around and so much fun to coach.”
Gard added that while Saturday’s loss “stings a lot” in the grand scheme of it all “I couldn’t be more proud of the group.”
The veteran head coach gave BYU credit, as the Cougars, led by Richie Saunders, shot lights-out for the majority of the 40-minute battle between Power 5 conference programs.
“BYU did some good things,” he said. “We weren’t able to get traction earlier defensively.”
With all that, Gard added “the ride was a hell of a lot of fun.”
