Something very strange occurred with the CBS scorebug during the Wisconsin-BYU game on Saturday night, and fans loved it. After Wisconsin’s John Blackwell made a 3-pointer with just under five minutes left in the first half, bringing the score to 38-27, the scorebug went wild, rapidly increasing Wisconsin’s score to 30, then 33, 36, 39, 45, 48, and even 51—like a Vegas slot machine hitting the jackpot. It pushed the score into the ridiculous territory, showing 111, 147, 186, and eventually hitting an astonishing 225 points before disappearing for over a minute and 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
Initially, the issue seemed resolved, but in the second half, it struck again after another Wisconsin three-pointer, this time by John Tonje. The scorebug escalated Wisconsin’s score to a staggering 346 before disappearing once more.
CBS has a real problem on its hands. 🏀📺🎢😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫 #MarchMadness https://t.co/ZwpKg2L6IL pic.twitter.com/eSRzWt19Qb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 23, 2025
Was someone accidentally spilling drinks on the scorebug input? Or perhaps CBS is testing an AI scorebug that isn’t aware of how much a three-point shot is worth? Regardless, fans found the events to be 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 enjoy discussing scorebugs, speculating on redesigns as if they were state secrets, and then criticizing those new designs. There’s even lighthearted banter about the infamous NBCS Philadelphia “POOP” scorebug during games between the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates.
But if scorebugs could talk, the CBS scorebug would certainly have a funny story to share with its fellow bugs.
