BYU came back from being down 17 points at halftime to beat TCU, 87-75. Not only did they come back from being down 17, but they won by 12! Thats a 29 point turnaround.
Game Recap vs TCU
BYU defeated TCU, 87-75, behind Fouss, who scored 21 points, and Knell, who had 20. BYU was sloppy to begin this game. They had 8 turnovers at halftime and had shot 1-13 from 3 at the break. That is not good when you are playing on your own court, at home. But BYU came back. They only turned the ball over 3 times in the second half and ended up shooting 8-15 from 3 as well.
Box Score
Knell finally had a breakout game. We had really been waiting the whole season for a breakout game. But it came at the right time. Knell had 20 points with 4 3s. Fouss led the team, though, with 21 points. Hall had 12 points along with 7 assists and 6 rebounds, Johnson added 10 more points, and Saunders had 11 points as well. Saunders really changed the momentum of this game. He came in, hit some shots, and was getting huge rebounds as well. He was a game changer.
Team Stats
BYU shot the ball well overall, shooting 52%. They were iffy on the 3 due to them not shooting well in the first half. They shot 32% from 3. The Cougars also struggled to shoot FTs. They shot only 67%, 14-21. BYU also showcased their passing, once again. They had 19 total assists on the game. They also dominated TCU in points in the paint, thanks to Fouss, scoring 10 more points in the paint than the Horned Frogs.
Game Preview vs #6 Iowa St
The biggest game of the year is happening TONIGHT at 7pm MT on ESPN2. the #20 ranked Cougars are taking on the #6 ranked Cyclones in Ames, Iowa. Iowa St is GOOD. They are ranked #6 in the nation, are undefeated in conference play at home, and have beaten Kansas AND Houston. But, Iowa St has only had 1 loss in conference that was by double digits, and that was to BYU, in Provo. They only have 4 losses in conference are currently in second place in the Big 12 behind only Houston with 3 conference losses.
The Cyclones are going to be out for revenge. If you remember last game, the ending was a little chippy. During a FT, Saunders got elbowed in the throat area by Hason Ward. That lead to a double flagrant and ejection for Ward. The whole game was fiesty and physical. Johnson led BYU with 28 points and was able to keep Iowa St to only shoot 29% from 3. They also had 13 turnovers. I dont expect that same thing to happen for them at home. They will most likely shoot better and not turn the ball over as much.
Player Preview
Iowa St is very similar to BYU. They spread the ball around and like to drive the ball. Lipsey is their star, though. He is averaging 12 points a game along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He likes to get to the bucket and create. In Provo, he only had 9 points. So BYU has to contain him, again.
The #1 scoring threat for Iowa St is Keshon Gilbert. He is averaging 13.8 points per game. In Provo, he had 16 points. Gilbert is a freak athlete and really hard to guard. He is long and lengthy and can shoot the 3, hes at 34% on the year.
The other guy to keep an eye on are Curtis Jones whos averaging 10 points per game. He was in foul trouble in the last game vs BYU and only had 3 points. He likes to drive the ball.
Team Preview and Prediction
Iowa St is known for their defense. Is is physical and they are super fast. They take away many of your options and force you to take shots that you dont want to. They make you uncomfortable. The Cyclones are also the #6 scoring defense in the nation, giving up the #6 lowest points per game. They are also #2 in the nation in turnovers forced per game, with 17.9. They do a lot of presses and traps on defense. BYU is not great at that, but they have to be ready for it and know where to go with the ball. I am sure that Mark Pope has the team ready for it.
BYU has a 20.4% chance to win this game according to ESPN Analytics. When they played Kansas in Lawrence, it was about 30%. So ESPN thinks that this game is going to be even harder for the Cougs. I think so too. Kansas has been fading lately, Iowa St has not.
I am excited to see how BYUs defense does against Iowa St’s offense. Of course, the highlighted matchup is BYU’s offense and Iowa St’s defense due to both of those being tops in the country, but BYU’s defense needs to match the same intensity as Iowa St’s defense. Iowa St is also undefeated at home in conference play. Does BYU beat the Cyclones and end their home streak just like Kansas? I dont think so. BYU is hot, but going to Ames is another world, almost. I think BYU makes it closer than what the line is right now, currently 7.5, losing by 5.
Game Preview vs Oklahoma St
BYU closes out the regular season conference play against Oklahoma St on Saturday, 7pm MT, on ESPN+. BYU should win this game. But they did lose to Oklahoma St not too long ago on the road, in Stillwater. I think being hope will help them out a ton.
Player Preview
Last game against Oklahoma St, BYU did not play defense. They gave up 93 points. All 5 of Oklahoma St’s starters were in double digits. That cant happen. Oklahoma St has a very spread out scoring. They have to keep tabs on Jamyron Keller. He had a career high 28 points against the Cougars last game and didnt miss a single shot, shooting 8-8 from the field.
Team Stats and Prediction
The Cowboys are kind of a wild card right now. They beat Cincy after beating BYU and took Oklahoma to OT before losing on a last second shot. Oklahoma St tends to fall in love with the 3 and sometimes it doesnt really give back. In their last loss to Texas Tech, they shot 28 3s and 26 2s. They only made 6 of those 3 point attempts. Thats 21%.
Where BYU got killed against The Cowboys last game, was on the 3 point line. Oklahoma St show 50% from the 3 and thats not really their game. I dont expect them to shoot well in Provo so look for them to drive the ball and get fouls early. BYU has to avoid the early foul trouble and shoot well from the 3 point line.
BYU has a 94% chance to win on Saturday. I dont think it will be that wide open, but I would like to think that BYU could win this game by double digits. I think BYU wins by 9 points.
Other BYU Basketball News
BYU finishes the conference regular season on Saturday after the game against Oklahoma St. The conference tournament bracket will then be released shortly after and games will go from Tuesday, March 12th to Saturday, March 16th. BYU is currently sitting at 6th in the Big 12. The top 4 seeds get BYES to the quarterfinals. See bracket breakdown here.
BYU, in order to get the 4 seed has to beat both Iowa St and Oklahoma St and have 2 things happen. Kansas needs to lose to Houston and Texas Tech needs to lose to Baylor on Saturday. Right now, the most likely outcome is that BYU goes 1-1 in their last two games, Kansas loses to Houston, and Texas Tech loses to Baylor. If that happens, BYU, Kansas, and Texas Tech will all be tied and BYU will be 5th.
BYU also jumped up to 20th in the latest AP Poll after not being ranked last week. Thanks to wins over #7 Kansas and their comeback win against TCU.
Joe Lunardi released his latest bracket projection yesterday and thanks to BYU going 2-0 on the week with a win over #7 Kansas, BYU was bumped up to a projected 5 seed, in Salt Lake. If BYU can get a 4 or 5 seed, they most likely would be headed to Salt Lake in basically a home game for those first two rounds. Utah St also jumped into the AP Poll and went up in the latest bracket projection as they are now projected to be a 6 seed. Utah is still among “First Four Teams Out”, second on the list.
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