BYU basketball does not have any chemistry and they dont have any continuity. Just take this year’s basketball team for example. New head coach and coaching staff, of BYU’s 9 man rotation, 4 guys are new to this team, and the returning guys also have to get used to playing with a new coach and system. We should have expected some growing pains this year for basketball, but the hype was real!
What is Wrong with BYU Basketball?
Before I get into the games from this past week, I want to talk about some of the things that is bugging me about this year’s team.
First, BYU cant have a 9 man rotation. Its too many guys playing. I get that it means leaving out some players who you may have promised would play, but something has to change to play guys more who can impact the game more. Just take last game for example. Kanon Catchings, a projected NBA pick, who has started to find his groove lately, only played 19 minutes. 19!! He played just a little under only half of the game. That is not going to help him stay in his groove.
Second, why didnt Keita play more? Keba Keita only played 17 minutes. This was my biggest frustration. Towards the end of the game, Williams from Texas Tech started to post up many of our guards. Texas Tech would have a guard come and screen Williams guy and BYU would switch so a guard would end up guarding Williams. Williams then proceeded to back down these guards and make his way to the basket and score.
But BYU didnt adjust. They didnt stop switching, they didnt put in bigger guys to help at the rim, like Keita, they didnt send a double team, they didnt trap him like they were doing at the beginning of the game. Keita is that guy in the middle of BYU’s defense who makes people scared to take the ball to the basket. I get hes not the best offensive player, and thats ultimately why Young left Fouss in, but when Texas Tech is making a run at the end of the game, you need to stop it. I think Young should have put in Keita and played both Fouss and Keita earlier. He did end up doing this with about 4 minutes left in the game, but it was too late, Texas Tech had already made their run.
Lastly, something has to change with Demin and Hall. First, I dont think they are playing enough. 29 minutes for our supposed best players is not enough. Texas Tech’s best players played 37, 36, and 32 minutes. Second, I dont think Hall and Demin play very well together. Hall is a much better player and is way more aggressive when Demin is not on the floor. Demin doesnt always play well with Hall on the floor because Hall is not the slasher type player who Demin can feed the ball to. Hall can hit shots though, and Demin does find shooters. I could see Hall going and playing with the bench and leading them there. But will he WANT to do that?
Those are my 3 gripes that I have right now about BYU basketball. 9 man rotation is not working, we need to figure out how to utilize and play both Keita and Fouss, and something has to change with Demin and Hall whether thats Hall going to the bench or something else.
What is Right with BYU Basketball?
There have been some positives though from BYU so far this season. The first is that Mawot Mag has started to blossom as of late. He plays elite defense, is a good rebounder, and can hit the 3.
The other bright side is that Fouss is still Fouss. He is a certified bucket. He knows exactly how to score on the low post and BYU seems to go to him whenever they need a basket.
BYU has some role players who can really score…if they play strong and confident. Baker and Knell are great players off of the bench. They can shoot and light it up and every team needs someone like them to come off the bench.
Next, Kanon Catchings is starting to look like the long, athletic player that NBA teams love. He is being more aggressive as of late, driving the ball to the basket, and can hit the 3. He still needs time to figure some things out like his shot selection and his on ball defense, but that will come. We are only in January. We have 2 more months of basketball. Egor Demin also seemed to find some things in this last game. He drove the ball really well and had some great layups and passes in the lane. He still cant shoot though. That is partially due to him being a little rusty, it was only his second game back from injury, and partially due to his shot selection not being the best.
Lastly, BYU’s defense really ramped up from Houston to the Texas Tech game. They looked so much better on the defensive side of the ball. They still allowed 72 points to Texas Tech and only forced 9 turnovers, but it was a step in the right direction. They mainly played a matchup zone that worked really well at times. Texas Tech found ways to exploit it though in the second half and that is what led them to the win, but it was a step in the right direction.
Game Recap vs #14 Houston
Wow. I am not going to talk about this game a whole lot. BYU lost by 31 to the #14 ranked Houston Cougars. A lot did not go right with BYU this game. They turned the ball over, no one seemed to play with any energy, and BYU did not shoot well enough to pull off the upset. BYU was 38% from the field overall, 33% from 3, and 73% from the FT line. All of those are below average, I wouldnt say horrible, but not enough to beat the #14 team in the nation on the road.
Add in that BYU had 15 turnovers and Houston scored 24 points off of those turnovers compared to BYU’s 5 points off of turnovers, and that is where the blowout happened. BYU was also severely outrebounded. Houston had 13 more rebounds, 8 offensive and 5 defensive. Houston also shot 49% from the field overall and 47% from 3. That will do it for you.
BYU Box Score
Only one BYU player scored in double digits and thats all you really need to know to find out how this game went. Knell led the team with 12 points. Keba Keita, who averages 9 rebounds a game, had 1 rebound. Egor Demin had 3 points on 1-6 from the field. It was just a sloppy game and our guys didnt come ready to play. Saunders shot 1-5 from 3. Baker was 0-3 from 3. It was a rough, rough game.
Game Recap vs Texas Tech
This game was super painful to watch and very frustrating. This game went back and forth. The largest lead for BYU was 5, with 8 minutes left in the game. In those last 8 minutes, Texas Tech outscored BYU 24-14 to win, 72-67. I talked a little about it above, but Texas Tech kept posting up one of their best players who is a bigger forward, and BYU didnt do anything to adjust or stop it. They just kept letting it happen.
Texas Tech did a good job to surround him with 3 point shooters so if BYU double teamed or trapped him, he could get it out to a shooter, but dont you take that risk? Wouldnt you rather have someone shoot a 3 compared to a shot in the paint? Maybe not if you have Steph Curry out there. But there was also no help defense in the paint. No one came to help and Keita couldnt do his thing because he was not in the game.
BYU played a pretty good game. They only had 8 turnovers and were only -3 in the rebounding margin. What did BYU in was their FT and 3 point shooting. BYU shot 12-21 from the FT line. 57%! That is awful. If BYU just made 5 more they would have tied the game. Or even 6 more and won the game. That should not happen at home. Another thing that shouldnt happen at home is shooting 22% from 3. BYU only made 5 threes the whole game! Texas Tech’s Hawkins had 6 threes. He had more the whole game than BYU. Some of the shots were wide open too! It felt like a lid was on the basket from the 3 point line.
It was right there for BYU and they lost it, right at the end of the game. It was a good test for BYU. The sad part is that this span of 8 games in January are much easier than the 8 games in February. In January, BYU plays teams likes TCU, Oklahoma St, Utah, and Colorado, who are all not doing very well this year, while also having home games against Cincinnati and Baylor. In February, BYU plays Cincinnati, West Viriginia, Arizona, and UCF on the road while also playing Arizona and Kansas at home. Harder road games and harder home games for the month of February are in the future, so BYU has to win games in January.
I am looking at this next stretch of 5 games. We will find out a lot about BYU in the next 5 games. BYU will play TCU whos 1-2 in the Big 12, Oklahoma St whos 1-2 in the Big 12, Utah whos 0-3 in the Big 12, Colorado whos also 0-3 in the Big 12, and Cincinnati whos also 0-3 in the Big 12. BYU is 1-2. How they do in these next 5 games will be big. After those 5 games, BYU plays Baylor whos 2-1 in the Big 12, UCF whos 2-1 in the Big 12, and Arizona whos 3-0 in the Big 12. Will they fold or will they adjust and find what works in these next 5 games to help them for the harder February?
Game Preview vs TCU
BYU plays TCU on Saturday at 12pm MT on ESPN2. This is going to be an interesting game. Both teams are not doing so hot right now. On Monday, TCU went to Houston and played the #12 Cougars and got beat 65-46, similar to BYU’s game. They then came back and pulled out a win at home against Kansas St, 63-62. Kansas St is 1-2 in the Big 12. So this sets up to be a similarly close game.
TCU’s best player is Noah Reynolds. He averages 12 points a game while also averaging 4 assists per game. Hes not a great shooter, shooting about 29% from 3, but he can make it every now and then. He only shoots about 2-3 a game. The other star players for TCU are Trazarien White. Hes a forward but plays like a guard. He is their best shooter, shooting 36% from 3 while also averaging 10 points game. With BYU’s zone, they will have to make sure they know where White is at all times. Lastly, we have Vasean Allette. Hes a guard who is aggressive. He likes to drive the ball and draw the foul, a typical slasher type player. BYU will need to contain him and not let him find the holes to drive the ball in the zone.
Prediction
This is going to be a close game. ESPN Analytics gives BYU a 50.9% chance to win, a true toss up game. BYU is on the road, they have to travel to Fort Worth. I think that will be the difference in the game. BYU does not look good right now, and neither does TCU, but with the Horned Frogs at home, I think that will help push them past BYU just barely. I see it being 64-63, TCU.
Game Preview vs Oklahoma St
BYU returns back home and plays Oklahoma St, in Provo, on Tuesday the 14th, at 7pm, on ESPN+. This game may not be close. Oklahoma St is really struggling. More than BYU. They just picked up their first conference win against Kansas St, so things may be turning around for them. We’ll have to see how they do against Utah on Saturday, but there are not a lot of guys who do a lot for them.
They really only have 2 guys who lead the way That is Abou Ousmane, a 6’10 forward. He averages 13 points a game and is a bully inside. He also averages 6 rebounds a game. Keita and Fouss will have top play tight defense on him and be physical with him. Their other main guy is Marchelus Avery. He is a 6’8 forward who is more like a guard. He shoots 33% from 3 and takes a lot of them. He is long and lenky and will be tough to guard for BYU. I think the zone will help defend him, but BYU has to know where he is.
Prediction
BYU has an 88.5% chance to beat Oklahoma St according to ESPN Analytics. I think the size and length of Oklahoma St may give BYU problems at times, but with BYU deploying a matchup zone lately, I think that will help to defend the inside and help BYU pull of the win. I think BYU wins by 12, 72-60.
