In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates are again remote as the Badgers Men’s Basketball team falls to BYU in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. John Tonje gave an incredible effort, setting a new school record for points scored in a NCAA Tournament game with 37, but it wasn’t enough. The second round of the tournament is always going to be against a good team, and nothing can be taken for granted. With a disappointing defense, Tonje’s efforts were almost enough to save the Badgers but not quite. BYU has a great offense, and without good defense to counter that it was a tough game.
It would have been great to have more than just one year with Tonje, Lucas says, but he was still a great pickup for the team. He’s what people like to call a “multi-leveled scorer,” and can shoot from just about anywhere. He was not at the top of anybody’s list last year, but Greg Gard saw the potential in him and brought it out. Will he make it in the NBA? Maybe! He’s not the tallest player in the world, but he’s athletic and he can score, a must in modern basketball. That is to say, it makes sense why Gard gave him the ball in the final play of the year.

Speaking of Gard, there are still plenty of people who have never liked him and never will, and a loss in the second round of the tournament is likely to fuel some of that discourse. But Oates is still behind him, saying that coaches around the league still have big respect for him. He navigated tough waters this year, with NIL and the transfer portal, but at the end of the day, Oates thinks he’s still a pretty good coach. 

Finally, and speaking of great coaches, Lucas and Oates turned to Women’s Hockey as Mark Johnson took home his eighth national title, and his fourth in six years. One day, there might be a statue of Mark Johnson, or at least something to honor what he’s done. He builds a great program, not just recruiting but coaching players. He’s all about Wisconsin, and he’s even humble. What more could someone do to deserve a statue in Wisconsin?

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.