Basketball preview: No. 23 Wisconsin vs. No. 9 BYU

Wisconsin faces its first real test of the season Friday night, traveling to Salt Lake City for a rematch with the BYU Cougars.

Mar 22, 2025; Denver, CO, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard John Blackwell (25) shoots the ball against the Brigham Young Cougars during the first half in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Last March, the 3-seed Wisconsin Badgers lost to the 6th-seeded BYU Cougars in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, 91-89.

Now, the Badgers will have an opportunity to avenge that loss just eight months later. Wisconsin will face its first true test of the season after winning its first four games at home by 25 points or more each game. The No.9 BYU Cougars (3-1) will host the Badgers on Friday afternoon in one of the top games this week.

The Cougars are coming off a loss last Saturday to the No. 3 UCONN Huskies in a game where the Cougars came back from a 19-point deficit, pulling within two points at the end of the game.

The Badgers are going to have their hands full with the Cougars, who will be heavy favorites at home. According to ESPN analytics, the Badgers have just a 36.6% chance to win the game.

Here’s everything you need to know heading into the Badgers’ matchup with the No. 9 BYU Cougars.

Game info

When: Friday, November 21st - 3:00 PM
Where: Delta Center - Salt Lake City, UT
How to Watch: Peacock
Stream: Peacock App
Listen: Badger Radio Network; The Varsity Network App

Probable starting lineups

Wisconsin

Starters
G - #2 Nick Boyd (Sr.) - 20.0 pts, 2.5 reb, 3.0 ast
G - #25 John Blackwell (Jr.) - 19.5 pts, 5.3 reb, 2.0 ast
G - #7 Andrew Rohde (Sr.) -7.8 pts, 1.0 reb, 1.8 ast
F - #22 Austin Rapp (So.) - 11.8 pts, 4.5 reb, 2.8 ast
F - #31 Nolan Winter (Jr.) - 14.3 pts, 9.3 reb, 1.5 ast

Notable Bench Players
G - #5 Jack Janicki (So.) - 2.5 pts, 2.5 reb, 0.8 ast
G- #0 Braeden Carrington (Sr.) - 6.5 pts, 1.5 reb, 1.0 ast
F - #32 Aleksas Bieliauskas (Fr.) - 5.5 pts, 4.0 reb, 1.0 ast

Photo courtesy of BYU Athletics

BYU

Starters
G - #1 Robert Wright (Jr.)- 17.8 pts, 4.0 reb, 4.3 ast
G - #13 Richie Saunders (Sr.) - 19.5 pts, 6.8 reb, 1.8 ast
G - #3 AJ Dybansta (Fr.) - 20.3 pts, 6.8 reb, 2.0 ast
F - #5 Mihailo Bošković (Jr.) - 3.0 pts, 3.3 reb, 0.3 ast
C - #13 Keba Kita (Sr.) - 5.0 pts, 5.3 reb, 0.3 ast

Notable Bench Players
F - #25 Dawson Baker (Sr.) - 8.0 pts, 1.8 reb, 0.8 ast
F - #7 Khadim Mboup (So.) - 1.0 pts, 4.3 reb, 0.8 ast

Players to watch

AJ Dybansta - BYU

The obvious player to watch for BYU is their star freshman, AJ Dybansta. The freshman has been as advertised this season, leading the team in scoring and rebounds. The potential No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft will be the player to watch on the floor in Salt Lake City on Friday afternoon.

It’s going to be a team effort for the Badgers to defend Dybansta. I’m assuming Andrew Rodhe draws the assignment of guarding Dybansta, but it’s going to take a whole team effort to limit the star freshman.

Richie Saunders - BYU

Last season, Richie Saunders led the Cougars in scoring with 16.5 points per game. So far this year, he has eclipsed that, averaging 19.5 per game and is still the second-leading scorer on the team.

Last year, when these two teams met, Saunders scored 25 points, going 3/4 from deep and 9/16 overall from the field. Now that he has Dybansta to take some focus away from him, I would expect to see Saunders get his shots up against the Badgers.

What I’m watching for