The University of Wisconsin got its NCAA Tournament work done early on Thursday.

Playing the third game of the tournament, and the first of four games in the Denver region, the third-seeded Badgers successfully executed an 85-66 victory over No.14 Montana at Ball Arena, earning the right to kick back and enjoy basketball the rest of the day.

"It was fire," guard John Blackwell said, "especially when you win."

Winning in the NCAA Tournament hasn't been enjoyable for most of Wisconsin's current roster. Only four players - Steven Crowl, Carter Gilmore, Chris Hodges, and Markus Ilver - were around the last time UW won a tournament game in 2022.

That's why winning their opener was so important to a senior-laden roster and makes tonight's contest against BYU in Denver's Ball Arena (6:45 p.m./CBS) is their last chance to make a deep tournament run.

"It was nice to get that win, settle in, really let March Madness sink in," Gilmore said. "It's always been a dream of ours to be here. Definitely cool and fun to watch other games as well. Can't wait to go watch more after this."

With its size and depth, Wisconsin (27-9) steadily wore down the Grizzlies to control the paint.

The Badgers' 38 points in the paint were tied for the seventh-most it has scored in the lane this season, but there was no doubt of the impact with guards slashing to the room and 7-footers posting undersized defenders. Ten of Wisconsin's 18 baskets in 34 first-half possessions came in the paint, 8-for-11 on layups.

It made the win workmanlike. The Badgers shot 55.6 percent from the field (31- 56), their second-highest mark ever in an NCAA Tournament game, trailing only a 55.8 percent (25-45) effort vs. Arizona in the 2015 Elite Eight, and put up 85 points. They did so without great perimeter shooting day (7-for-30), second-team All-American John Tonje making only two field goals, and senior Max Klesmit making none.

"They're a super well-oiled machine offensively," BYU coach Kevin Young said.

UW won't have that size advantage against the Cougars (25-8) with three starters over 6-foot-7. One starter - Mawot Mag - faced the Badgers three times during his four-year career at Rutgers averaging 5.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists shooting 46.2 percent from the field. Another starter - Keba Keita - had nine points, nine rebounds, and four blocks in BYU's 80-71 opening-round win over VCU.

BYU is the ninth-most efficient offensive in the country with an adjusted offensive efficiency of 123.6, according to KenPom.com, ranking five spots ahead of Wisconsin's 122.4. The Cougars also rank four spots ahead of Wisconsin with 28.6 three-pointers attempted.

The Cougars average 10.6 made threes per game, and the Badgers make 9.8.

"(BYU is)a very tough team, well-coached," forward Nolan Winter said. "Shoot the three at a very high level. It's going to be a point of emphasis tomorrow to limit those. They're really good in transition, too. It's going to be a good game for us and a good test for us, for sure."

It's taken some time, but BYU is a stronger program after its second season in the Big 12. The development can be seen in this year alone. In early January, the Cougars were bullied by Houston's physicality and out-executed by Texas Tech's fundamentals. A month later, the Cougars were outshot from the line at Arizona and outmuscled by Cincinnati on the glass in two more conference losses.

BYU is 10-1 since with wins that include scoring 96 points at Arizona, 88 at Iowa State in double overtime, and 96 against the Cyclones in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. In those three games against two teams with top-four seeds in the NCAA Tournament, BYU shot 52.1 percent from the floor and 40.9 percent from three.

It's not surprising that the Cougars were the dominant bunch once they finally faced a mid-major opponent again. In the 80-71 win over VCU, BYU shot 50 percent from the floor, held the Rams to 41.3 percent, and was plus-9 on the boards in a game they led by as many as 20 in the second half.

"Basketball, the game, it's not overcomplicated. Let's not overcomplicate the game," said Gard, saying BYU reminds the Badgers of themselves, Illinois a little bit for its shooting, and Michigan State with its pace.

"It's still about trying to get high-quality shots. If you can get the good ones early, great. If not, they do a good job of spreading the floor, running a lot of middle ball screens … We're going to have to guard them well."

Wisconsin will unlikely have a sustained postseason run if it doesn't shoot better than 7-for-23 from three or get more offense from Klesmit and Tonje, but the program is better to be scratch out wins in those games because of its improved defense.

After giving up 86 points to 17th-place Penn State in the regular season finale, Wisconsin has held five postseason opponents to 66.4 points and less than 41 percent shooting.

"A game under their belt is always important," Gard said. "Now you want to take another step because you're going to be playing an even better team."

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