BYU Basketball hasnt been great to start the season. They are only 14-6 right now. But, this team is catching on at the right time. They have now won 3 straight games, something that they never did last year, even with how good of a team they were last year. 2 of the 3 wins have come against teams who were ranked in the top 25 to start the season in Cincinnati and Baylor. Leading up to the Baylor game, BYU was 0-4 in games decided by less than 5 points. They picked up their first win in this situation against Baylor. Could this team be turning the corner?
Game Recap vs Cincinnati
Before we dive into how tis team is currently playing, lets recap the game last Saturday against Cincinnati. The only lead that Cincinnati had the entire game was when they scored the first basket of the game, making it 0-2. After that, Cincinnati was never in the lead again. It was utter domination from BYU. BYU won, 80-52. I thought this game was going to be close. Cincinnati was a former top 25 team and are a pesky team. I didnt know that BYU was going to shoot 63% from 3 and 57% from the field overall.
Team Stats
BYU mad 15 threes against Cincinnati. Just about half of BYUs shots were from behind the arc. Richie Saunders made 5 threes, Egor Demin made 3, Kanon Catchings made 3, and Knell made 2. It was a 3 point barrage. Whats crazy is that BYU had 14 turnovers and still won by 28. That is still a thorn in BYU’s side. Turnovers are still killing BYU. BYU also outrebounded Cincy by 6. BYU is one of the best rebounding teams in the country.
Box Score
BYU had 3 guys who scored in double digits. Saunders had 21 points, Demin had 15, and Baker had 11. Demin had a great game, almost a sort of a coming out game. He played great and also had 7 assists. Saunders was a man on a mission from the 3 point line. He has such a quick shot and release and BYU was setting up great shots through their offense.
What stood out to me the most was BYU’s defense though. They held a team that is averaging 71 points a game to 52 points. That was impressive. They played well and forced contested shots.
Game Recap vs Baylor
BYU picked up their first quad 1 win against Baylor last night beating Baylor 93-89 in OT. BYU was in control for most of this game. Baylor only led by 3 early in the game and then BYU grew their lead up to 13 at one point in the second half. But in BYU fashion, they let the lead slip. Baylor came roaring back and tied the game with 5 seconds left. BYU had a nice play called at the end of regulation, but it was too slow. Dallin Hall hit a shot a second or two after the final buzzer.
In OT, BYU never lost the lead. Dawson Baker hit some clutch FTs at the end of the game to grow BYUs lead from 2 to 4. What troubled me a little is BYUs execution at the end of the second half. They had some bad turnovers and forced shots that werent there. They became to casual and stopped being agressive and moving on offense. It become 1 on 1 ball and it helped Baylor back into the game.
Team Stats
BYU shot the ball pretty well shooting 52% overall. This game, I was surprised at how well they were able to get to the rim. Drives and floaters were the name of the game for BYU. BYU also had less turnovers than Baylor, BYU usually doenst have less turnovers than their opponent this year. I said the name of the game for BYU was to hit their 3s and force turnovers in order to win this game, well BYU didnt make a ton of 3s, only 8, but they did force more turnovers than what they gave up.
Box Score
BYU had 4 players in double digits. The player of the game was Kanon Catchings. He had 23 points on 8-8 from the field and 3-3 from 3. He is the first D1 college player this season to shoot 100% from the field and have 20+ points in a game. Thats amazing! He was so good. He has his confidence back and seemed to just be using it and shooting well. Saunders had 17, Demin had 15, and Knell had 11.
Again, some of the top scorers are Saunders and Demin. Demin has started to come alive. That is now 2 games in a row that he has scored over 10 points and had 5+ assists. Fouss, Hall, and Baker also contributed off of the bench with those 3 guys combining to score 22 points.
Game Preview vs UCF
Now we flip the calendar to February. On Feb 1st, BYU will travel to Florida to take on UCF at 2pm MT on ESPN+. That is never an easy game. Its a far place to travel and a tough team to play against. UCF, last night, lost to Kansas by 4 points, in Kansas. So this team knows how to play and play well. UCF is 4-5 in the Big 12, so right behind BYU. Their losses are to the big dogs of the Big 12 in Iowa St, Kansas, Houston, and Arizona. But they do have some good wins against Texas Tech and TCU. Itll be interesting to see how they play against BYU.
Players to Watch
The starting 5 for UCF are their best players. They dont have a ton of guys on the bench who play well. In their last game against Kansas, only 2 points were scored from their bench. Their main guy is Keyshawn Hall. He is a 6’7 guard. Hall likes to drive the ball and attack the rim. He is super crafty and long. BYU will have to guard him well and have help defense in the paint. He is averaging 18 points a game, the highest on this team. He also plays more of a forward role, so itll be interesting to see who BYU has guard him.
The other main two guys to watch are Darius Johnson, a guard, and Jordan Ivy-Curry, also a guard. Johnson has been with UCF for a couple of years, but he is a great shooter. He is shooting 43% from the 3 point line and also passes the ball well. BYU has to know where he is at all times, because he creates so much for this offense.
Ivy-Curry shoots the 3 ball okay, but its because takes a ton of 3 point shots, so his 3 point percentage isnt great. He is also a shooter, and likes to create offense well too. This offense ranks 6th in the Big 12 in points per game. BYU is ranked 4th. I expect a high scoring game this Saturday.
Prediction
This will be a hard game for BYU. Traveling across the nation and playing in an early game at 2pm ET will be hard. But I think BYU has more talent than UCF. UCF is pesky and annoying. So they could hang around and pull off this win. BYU will have to make sure they keep their foot down on the pedal to win. BYU currently has a 59.6% chance to win this game according to ESPN Analyics. I agree with that. I think BYU pulls this one out by 7, 83-76.
Game Preview vs Arizona
BYU travels back home to play Arizona in Provo, at 9pm MT, next Tuesday. TV hasn’t been announced yet. Arizona will most likely be ranked coming into this game as they just beat #3 Iowa St in OT on Monday. If they beat Arizona St on Saturday, which they should, they will definitely be ranked. This will be a big opportunity for BYU. A ranked team, whos second in the Big 12, and another quad 1 chance.
Players to Watch
Arizona has a ton of guys who contribute. They currently have 8 guys who are averaging 8 points a game. The star of the team is Caleb Love. He is a big guard at 6’4 who averages 16 points a game. He likes to shoot 3s but his percentage is down this year. But BYU has to stop him. He likes to drive the ball so they have to communicate and help on defense. He is all around playmaker for this team.
Arizona also has Jaden Bradley who is very similar to Love. He has a much better 3 point shooting percentage but doesnt like to shoot the ball a lot. Hes likes to get to the paint and create and draw fouls.
Arizona has 2 guys who come off the bench that contribute in Carter Bryant, a 6’8 forward whos a big guy but can shoot the ball and KJ Lewis whos another guard. He is quick and fast and likes to attack the rim.
For this game, BYU has to protect the paint. Arizona likes to drive and kick so BYU has to get out to the 3 point line and defend but shut down the paint.
Prediction
Like BYU, Arizona hasnt had a great start to the year, but they are starting to find their groove as we get into February. This will be one of BYUs hardest games to date. As much as I want to pick a BYU win, especially being at home, Arizona is cooking.
But I bet it to be close, since BYU is home, and they play much better at home. ESPN Analytics currently gives BYU a 46.2% chance to win the game. I hope that BYU pulls it out, but I think Arizona’s overall talent is too much. I see BYU losing by 4, 73-69. Here’s to hoping that BYU proves me wrong! I really want them to pull this one off!
