Its crazy that in a span of 4 days I am going to recap BYU losing to Oklahoma St, the worst team in the Big 12, and then beating #11 Baylor, the 3rd best team in the Big 12. Thats life in the Big 12. Any game and day can change how you play.
Game Recap vs Oklahoma St
I dont even know where to start for this game. This was one of the most frustrating games to watch. BYU was bad. Stillwater proved a tough place to play as BYU lost 93-83. Giving up 93 points to Oklahoma St was not good. The Cougars had a bad defensive performance. And really the last couple of games were bad. 93 points to Oklahoma St, and 88 points to UCF, the game before. Thats not good enough.
Team Stats
Combined with BYU’s horrible defensive performance was also that BYU couldn’t make a 3 to save their lives. They shot 23% from 3. BYU had more rebounds, less turnovers, and more points off of turnovers, but had some bad shooting woes. Oklahoma St on the other hand was on fire. They shot 50% from 3, making 11 total 3s. Jamyron Keller was 8-8 overall from the field and 4-4 from 3. He didnt miss a single shot!
Box Score
Fouss led the team in scoring with 17, Knell had 16, Robinson had 14, and Hall had 12. Knell and Robinson combined to go 3-16 from 3. Your two best shooters cant go 19% from 3. BYU also had 22 fouls called on them compared to only 11 on Oklahoma St. BYU was lazy on defense and their poor shooting dug them a hole.
Game Recap vs #11 Baylor
I was really nervous coming into this game. BYU had 2 games in a row of poor defense and just came off losing to the worst team in the Big 12. This game also started a brutal 3 game stretch for BYU. BYU needed a wakeup call and something to get them going. Thats what this game was. BYU pulled out the win, 78-71. But it wasnt easy. Baylor pulled out to a 9 point lead as BYU could not hit a shot. It wasnt till about 5 minutes left in the first half that BYU started to make some shots and give themselves the lead. The lead was never surrendered after that.
Team Stats
BYU shot the ball much better from 3. They were at a 39% from 3. They also had 9 more rebounds, 2 less turnovers than Baylor, and 12 more assists. BYU had 20 total team assists. That is amazing! BYU is tied for 2nd in the nation in assists per game, at 19.2. Baylor did not shoot the 3 very well after about the first 10 minutes of the game. They started 3-3 from 3 and then ended up 5-20.
Box Score
The player of the game was easily Aly Khalifa. He hit some big 3 point shots from the top of the key and finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. 7 assists for your starting Center is crazy talk. Knell and Robinson both had 13, and Hall had 10. Dallin Hall also had 5 rebounds and 6 assists. He had a great game too.
Game Preview vs Kansas St
This Saturday at 12pm MT on ESPN+, the Cougars will take on Kansas St in Manhattan. Kansas St is NOT an easy place to play. That is why its part of the brutal 3 game stretch. Any road game in the Big 12 is so hard. Kansas St has beaten Kansas and Baylor in Manhattan. It wont be easy to win there. But they have also lost to Oklahoma and TCU in Manhattan, so it could really go either way. The Wildcats are currently on a 3 game losing streak, losing to BYU in Provo, TCU at home, and Texas in Austin.
Like I just said, BYU and Kansas St played each other just a couple of weeks ago with BYU coming out on top, 72-66. In that game, BYU didn’t shoot particularly well from 3, 32%, and got out-rebounded. Why BYU won was because they forced a ton of turnovers and scored off of those turnovers. BYU at one point, had a 17 point lead. I dont expect this game on Saturday, the go the same way. I expect Kansas St to shoot better. But BYU has to force turnovers and hopefully shoot a little better from 3.
Players to Watch
The 3 headed monster for the Wildcats are Perry, Kaluma, and Carter. Kaluma had 18 in the last game against BYU and Carter had 14. Kaluma was also 3-5 from 3. Carter was 0-5. Perry was 1-9 from 3. I dont expect those same numbers with them at home. BYU has to contain these 3 guys and force a lot of turnovers out of them. These 3 guys also had a total of 10 turnovers the last time they played BYU. That has to happen again.
Prediction
This game is going to be TIGHT. Two weeks ago, Kansas St came storming back to make the game close. I dont expect either team to have a lead larger than 10 at any point in the game. Similar to the Baylor game last night. ESPN Analytics gives BYU a 57.8% chance to win the game. Thats close. But BYU is trending up. They have won 3 of their last 4 games and Kansas St has lost 3 in a row. BYU has to carry the momentum and energy from the Baylor game with them to Manhattan because it is not going to be easy. I think this game comes down to the final possession with BYU winning by 3.
Game Preview vs #9 Kansas
The last game of a brutal 3 game stretch is against #9 Kansas in Lawrence. Look at this stretch; #11 Baylor in Provo, Kansas St in Manhattan, and THEN you have to go to Lawrence to play #9 Kansas. Sheesh. Thats why I think its the toughest 3 game stretch here for BYU. But BYU has already picked up a crucial win!
The last time we saw BYU do a 5 day road trip was against West Virginia and Oklahoma. They beat West Virginia, and then got killed against Oklahoma. 5 days on the road is hard and usually the second game of a 5 game road trip is awful, thus the big loss to Oklahoma last time. BYU just so happens to play #9 Kansas as the second game on the 5 game road trip.
Players to Watch
Obviously there is Kansas’ coach, Bill Self. Hes one of the best to ever do it. Kansas is in the top 10 for a reason. They have a great coach and great players. I have watched a couple of their games and here are their top guys. Dickinson, Harris Jr, and McCullar Jr are their 3 headed monster. Dickinson is great around the rim. He is 7″2 and is averaging a double double with 18 points and 11 rebounds a game. Dickinson is a monster. He seems to get every rebound and has great touch around the rim.
Harris Jr is their point guard. He is crafty. He likes to weave his way inside and create havoc for the defense. Harris Jr will score every now and then, averaging 8 points a game, but he loves to pass and dish it off for a shot. He is averaging 6.5 assists per game. Harris Jr is also a killer from 3. He is shooting 41.7% from 3.
McCullar Jr is their last guy. He has been hurt the past couple of games, but returned this last Saturday against Oklahoma. McCullar Jr is physical. He plays tough defense and is always the one going after loose balls. But he has significantly improved his offense this year. McCullar Jr is averaging 19 points per game with 6 rebounds and 4 assists per game. He likes to shoot the 3 but is okay at 35%. He went from averaging 10.7 points per game last year to 19 this year. McCuller Jr does tend to turn the ball over a lot and can get into foul trouble with his physical play. Something BYU should take advantage of.
Prediction
I really wish I could say that I think BYU will win this game. Could you imagine beating Kansas in Lawrence? But Kansas hasnt lost a game at home THIS YEAR. They are 14-0. I dont think they lose to BYU. ESPN Analytics gives BYU a 32% chance to win. I would love for BYU to pull this game and they do have a reasonable chance, but I think Kansas wins by 8.
Other BYU Basketball News
AP Poll Update
BYU dropped in the Top 25 AP Poll going from 19th to 25th after their split last week. They beat UCF by 2 and then lost to Oklahoma St. Not a great look for them. But BYU did beat #11 Baylor and if they beat Kansas St on Saturday, should jump back up to the #15-20 range where they were before.
Bracket Projection
BYU also dropped in the bracket projection on ESPN. They fell down to the 6 seed line and aren’t projected to play in Salt Lake anymore. It will be interesting to see what happens if they beat Kansas St on Saturday. They will most definitely rise up to a 5 seed and maybe even be close to a 4 seed since they will have wins over #11 Baylor and against Kansas St on the road.
As for the other Utah teams, Utah St is projected as a 7 seed and Utah is now in the “First Four Out” Section, not projected to make the Big Dance. Utah St did beat #19 San Diego St last night so they will most likely move up when the next update comes out since they have a BYE on Saturday.
Big 12 Standings
Lastly, BYU is currently ranked 6th in the Big 12 after lasts night win. Here are the top 6 with conference records beside them:
- #2 Houston 10-3
- #6 Iowa St 9-4
- #9 Kansas 8-5
- #11 Baylor 8-5
- #23 Texas Tech 8-5
- #25 BYU 7-6
I dont want to get ahead of myself here but BYU is only 1 game behind being tied for 3rd place. Im just saying… BYU has also now beaten 2 of the top 6 teams in Iowa St and Baylor and lost to 2 of the top 6 teams in Houston and Texas Tech.
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