Heartbreaker. The No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers were stunned by the No. 6 BYU Cougars in a 91-89 thriller, failing to hit game-tying shot in the final seconds to complete the comeback.

With the loss, Wisconsin will bow out ahead of the Sweet Sixteen for the seventh straight season, ending a fantastic year in a brutal way.

Offensively, the Badgers just couldn’t keep up with BYU’s high scoring, but they made a strong push at the end to give themselves a shot to send the game to overtime.

Now, it’s off to the offseason once again for the Badgers, which will be a crucial one as six seniors are set to depart the program.

Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s 91-89 loss to BYU.

Defensive drop-off

Entering Saturday, Wisconsin’s defense was the talk of the town, as the Badgers had held opponents to under 40 percent from the field in four of their last five games, with the lone difference being a Michigan State Spartans team that shot only 40.6 percent from the field in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.

Well, that defense fell apart to begin Saturday’s game against BYU, as the Badgers really struggled early, with the Cougars jumping out to a 12-5 lead over the first 3:24, thanks to execution on the fast break.

BYU ultimately churned out 47 first-half points, but the interesting factor was that the Cougars only shot 47.2 percent from the field in the period. They shot just 50 percent inside the arc and 6/14 (42.9 percent) from three.

Instead, it was the nine offensive rebounds that killed the Badgers, as that turned into 12 second-chance points.

BYU also really moved the ball well, getting 11 assists on 17 first-half possessions while killing the Badgers in the pick-and-roll, both at the high post and the low post, getting open buckets with the rollers at the rim.

As they’ve done all year, the Cougars relied on star Richie Saunders, who got 12 points on an efficient 5/9 from the field, hitting two threes in the period and hauling in four offensive rebounds.

In the second half, the Badgers came to life more on the offensive end. But, the defensive end was the killer. Wisconsin just couldn’t string along consecutive stops, giving up 44 points in the second half.

Wisconsin dealt with foul issues in the second half, as BYU got to the free throw line at a high rate and executed as well, hitting 15/16 of their shots at their charity stripe.

They also really struggled to defend the three, as the Cougars shot 50 percent from beyond the arc in the final period.

Ultimately, Wisconsin gave up a whopping 91 points, as BYU shot 49.2 percent from the field and 46.2 from deep to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Can’t stop the star

To stop BYU’s elite offense, Wisconsin was going to either need to find a way to slow down star Richie Saunders or eliminate the depth. The Badgers couldn’t do either.

Wisconsin really struggled to defend Saunders, who ended with 25 points on 9/16 from the field, including 3⁄4 from deep. Saunders really killed the Badgers on the offensive glass, securing six offensive rebounds in the win for BYU.

Elsewhere, the Badgers couldn’t limit shooter Trevin Knell, who ended with 14 points on 5/9 from the field, including 4/6 from three, nor could they mitigate the playmaking impact of five-star point guard Egor Denim, who had eight assists and eight rebounds for BYU.

Wisconsin stayed in the game, thanks to a strong showing from star wing John Tonje, who had 37 points on 10/18 from the field and 14/16 from the free throw line. Tonje really looked to will the Badgers into the game in the second half, but Wisconsin just couldn’t get stops, leading to BYU keeping the lead for the entire half.

John Blackwell also had a good performance, finishing with 21 points on 6/14 from the field, getting to the free throw line at a high rate as well. But, while the Badgers had a good offensive day, they just couldn’t get enough on the defensive end to bridge the gap in the second half.

A complete performance was going to be the difference on Saturday. While the stars were for the Badgers, Wisconsin ultimately couldn’t defend BYU’s top players, while losing the game in a key category…

The depth

I mentioned how John Tonje and the stars tried to will Wisconsin back into this one.

But, it was the depth that made a difference. Entering the game, we highlighted how important BYU’s depth was in our previews. They usually run out 10 players in their rotation, with each playing at least 10 minutes per game.

Well, that proved to be useful in a faster-paced game on Saturday, as the Cougars got 24 points from their depth, compared to just three points for Wisconsin.

Complementing the starters well, BYU’s bench shot 9/19 from the field, outpacing the Badgers’ group, as each reserve for the Cougars ended up with a positive plus-minus.

Wisconsin’s depth has been crucial to the team’s success all year. But, in the most important game of the season, the group combined for three points on 1/9 from the field, struggling to make an impact.

Foul trouble didn’t help Wisconsin, as Carter Gilmore, Kamari McGee, and Max Klesmit each had three fouls early in the second half, leading to the Badgers being out of their comfort zone for certain stretches during the game.

Only one bench player (Carter Gilmore) for the Badgers ended with a positive plus-minus, as the group couldn’t mesh well enough with the starters in their minutes on either end of the floor.

The starters ultimately make or break the game, but the depth on both sides was a key factor entering this game. And BYU dominated that factor on Saturday in a major way.