Something very, very weird kept happening to the CBS scorebug during the Wisconsin-BYU game Saturday night.
Fans loved it.
Wisconsin’s John Blackwell hit a 3-pointer with just under five minutes remaining in the first half and the Badgers trailing 38-24. That shot made the score 38-27, and the scorebug recorded that.
Then it kept going, quickly chalking up 30 for the Badgers, then 33, 36, 39, 45, 48 and 51, rolling up numbers like a Vegas slot machine paying off. Wisconsin’s score then went really crazy, hitting 111, 147, 186 and several other triple-digit scores.
Finally, after the scorebug gave the Badgers 225 points, it disappeared for more than a minute before finally returning with the correct score.
The CBS scorebug did not know what to do when Wisconsin made a three-pointer vs BYU.
Get ready for a wild ride (followed by the disappearance of the scorebug for more than a minute). 🏀📺🎢😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/2JWLBGknl8
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 23, 2025
The problem seemed to be under control, but early in the second half, it struck again, and once again, it happened after a Wisconsin three-pointer, this time by John Tonje. This time, the Wisconsin score ticked all the way up to 346 before the bug disappeared.
CBS has a real problem on its hands. 🏀📺🎢😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫 #MarchMadness https://t.co/ZwpKg2L6IL pic.twitter.com/eSRzWt19Qb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 23, 2025
Maybe someone kept spilling a drink on the scorebug input. Or maybe CBS is experimenting with an AI scorebug that isn’t sure how much a three-point shot is worth.
Either way, fans found the incidents hilarious.
Wisconsin is really running up the score on BYU! pic.twitter.com/aXmIXA84Oo
— Swoozy (@Swoozy724) March 23, 2025
Wow Wisconsin is apparently on fire. Just look at that score! #byucougars #byuhoops #MarchMadness #gocougars pic.twitter.com/D9tdELPR3b
— PRB 🇺🇸 (@datanotion) March 23, 2025
Never seen a 100 point basket like what kind of sorcery was that 🤯😂🤣 (watch the Wisconsin score below) pic.twitter.com/ZRuadeN3iD
— Countesses of UNC (@CountessesofUNC) March 23, 2025
When the madness hits you all at once pic.twitter.com/YaP9WDCwEo
— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) March 23, 2025
Wisconsin paid the refs and the score keeper 😬 pic.twitter.com/cmv5PqietH
— Juiced Bets (@juiced_bets) March 23, 2025
If anyone saw what just happened to the score bug in Wisconsin BYU, I hope you laughed as much as I did
— Jake Sirkus (@JakeSirkus) March 23, 2025
Fans love to talk about scorebugs, guessing and speculating about redesigns as if they were state secrets, then criticizing those new designs. And sometimes, they just get silly, as in all the buzz recently about the infamous NBCS Philadelphia “POOP” scorebug when the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates play.
But if scorebugs could talk, the CBS scorebug would have a funny story to share with its fellow bugs.
