BYU basketball has been on a tear to start the season. If you are looking for my one newsletter focused on BYU basketball, this is the one for you. They are 8-0 on the season and currently ranked 14th in the nation.
BYU Basketball Rankings
BYU basketball jumped up 5 spots in the AP poll from 19 to 14. They are currently at top 15 team in the nation now. Whats crazy about this is that they are still, based on the AP poll, 5th in the Big 12. WHAT? Yes. #2 Kansas, #3 Houston, #6 Baylor, and #12 Texas are all ahead of BYU. The Big 12 has a total of 6 teams ranked in the top 25, most by any conference so far. And there are 14 unbeaten teams left in the nation, The Big 12 has 6 of those, 2 of which aren’t even ranked in Cincinnati and TCU.
Im telling you all of this to basically say, with the 6 ranked teams and 2 unbeaten teams who arent ranked, there are 8 GOOD teams in the Big 12. And we havent even talked about Kansas State or Texas Tech who are usually pretty good too. Thats at least 10 teams who could make March Madness from the Big 12.
NET Explained
BYU is ranked as the #1 team in the nation according to the NET rankings. The NET rankings are college basketball’s version of a college football committee. This is a big indicator and user for who makes March Madness and who doesn’t. If you click on this link, youll see that BYU is #1. #1 in the nation!! The NET Rankings are measured using a algorithm based on a couple of things. You can click on this link to read about it more, but basically it comes down to:
- Team Value Index: Game results factored by opponent, location, and winner.
- Net Efficiency: Offensive efficiency (Total points \ (FG attempts – offensive rebounds + turnovers + .475 x FT attempts)) – Defensive efficiency (Opponents total points \ (Opp FG attempts – opp offensive rebounds + opp turnovers + .475 x opp FT attempts)) when you subtract a teams offensive efficiency minus their defensive efficiency that gives you their net efficiency.
- Winning Percentage: Wins \ Total Games Played
- Adjusted Win Percentage: weighted value based on location and result.
- Scoring Margin: Team Score – Opp Score
This gives us a number that puts BYU as the #1 team in the nation. They have been great. They have killed the teams they were supposed to and their offensive and defensive efficiency is off the charts.
ESPN Bracketology
Joe Lunardi has moved the Cougars up to a 4 seed, still in Salt Lake City, against the 13 seed Grand Canyon. Ive said this before, and I know its only December, but this will be something to watch as BYU could virtually play a home game if they get put in the West Region of the bracket.
Games Recap vs Fresno St and Evansville
In case you didnt hear, Fouss is out for the time being. Mark Pope has said day to day but he then right after that said it could be a “long” day to day. We dont know what that means and he is a vital part of this team. Lets hope its not too long without him! But BYU has been doing work without him.
BYU won against Fresno St, in Provo, 85-56, last Friday. The leading scorer for BYU was Jaxon Robinson with 24 points. Robinson has been coming off the bench to start the season and he has thrived in that position. He is currently leading the Cougars in scoring and has been their go to star player in crunch time and down the stretch. Spencer Johnson also had 22 points. There were 4 total guys who were in double figures in terms of points. They were favored to win this game by 15 points and ended up winning by 29.
BYU then took on Evansville at home, yesterday, Tuesday night, and won 96-55. BYU was favored by 25 and ended up winning by 41. You can see what they are being rated so highly in the NET rankings. Jaxon Robinson again led the way for the Cougars with 19 points. 5 guys were in double figures for the team in points in Waterman, Hall, Knell, and Ally Atiki along with Robinson.
This team is so fun to watch right now. They have such great continuity and play so fundamentally sound. BYU rebounds and are aggressive on defense. They can also shoot the lights out. Against Evansville they shot 44% from 3 with 14 made threes. Against Fresno St they shot 38% from 3 with 11 made threes.
The Holy War…Basketball Style
BYU plays Utah this weekend in Salt Lake. Utah was supposed to be pretty good this year and they are, but they have not lived up to their preseason expectations. They are supposed to be the #14 team in the nation, not BYU. Utah lost two early games to St Johns by 9 and #6 Houston by 10. Both of those teams are pretty good and they hung around in each game. So those arent bad losses by any means. But they recently just played Southern Utah and only won by 2. So they are kind of a mixed bag right now.
Utah’s star player is Brandon Carlson. Carlson is like a mini Viktor Wembayana. He is 7 foot but plays like a guard. He can shoot and rebound. And he can see the floor really well. He will be big to Utah’s success. If BYU can at least contain him, they should win this game.
Gabe Madsen is also a guy to look out for as well. He is a bigger guard who can shoot but prefers to drive the ball. He will be big as well to contain for the Cougars. Rollie Worster is also another guard to watch. Worster is smart and can really pass the ball well. He is also just a menace. He pesters you on defense and is physical. BYU needs to not give in to him. The last person BYU needs to watch for is Keba Keita. He is a 6’8″ forward who doesnt usually start but is a great rebounder and can score. He will be hard for BYU, especially on the second team.
Prediction
Im nervous about this game because its in Salt Lake and Utah has a good team and everything is rolling for BYU. The Utes can absolutely destroy BYUs almost dream season so far. They can easily beat BYU. But BYU and Utah play two different styles. BYU likes to rebound and go on the fast break and shoot 3s. Utah is more of the slow paced, half court set, type of team. Whoever controls the tempo of the game will win this game.
I think BYU has all the momentum and is shooting really well. They are also playing really good defense and will stifle Utah a little. I think BYU keeps their shooting going and does just enough on defense to win this game by about 2 or 3, but itll be close!
BYU Womens Sports Update
The women’s volleyball and soccer both lost their last games. The volleyball team lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament and the soccer team lost in the final four. It was a great run for each of them. They were super fun to watch and follow!
BYU News
For those of you who didnt see, Puka Nacua set the record for the most receiving yards by a Rams rookie. Thats a pretty cool milestone to hit. Nacua has been killing it in the NFL.
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