In case you missed it earlier this morning, BYU played UCF in the 2nd round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament. It was the first game for BYU in the tournament, and they looked good and deserving of the 5 seed that they had earned. They won, 87-73.
Game Recap vs Oklahoma St
Before we dive into the conference tournament, lets first look at BYU’s last regular season conference game. They played Oklahoma St in Provo, and came away with the victory, 85-71.
Team Stats
BYU was shaky in the first half and only lead the game at half time by 3. But they came out in the second half on fire from 3. In the first half the shot 21% from 3. They ended up shooting 39% from 3 for the whole game. BYU overall shot pretty well, shooting 51% from the field. They also had 21 assists. BYU is so good at sharing the ball and are 2nd in the nation in assists per game, thanks mainly to Khalifa and Hall. They also won the rebounding and turnovers margins.
Box Score
Fouss was a monster inside and could not be stopped. He led the team with 19 points followed by Robinson with 17, and Johnson with 14. It was also senior night for Tredyn Christensen, a walk on, and played a little last year, Jaxson Robinson, one of BYU’s best players, he could possibly be drafted this upcoming draft for the NBA, and Spencer Johnson, a great leader for the team. Johnson and Robinson showed out in their last home game of their careers possibly.
Game Recap vs UCF
Fresh since this morning, BYU beat UCF in the Big 12 conference tournament second round. BYU, with their win against Oklahoma St last Saturday, combined with Kansas’ loss to Houston last Saturday, got the 5 seed in the conference tournament. BYU finished 5th after being projected in the preseason poll to finish 13th. Thats a big difference and you have to give props to the players and coaches.
BYU jumped out to a huge lead to start the game. They were up at one point by 18. They had a 14-0 lead and then a 21-3 lead, thanks to shooting lights out from the 3 point line to start the game. But of course, analytics are analytics and BYU has to come back down to earth. UCF made a run in the second half to cut it down to 3 at one point, but BYU ended the game on a 28-17 run to win by 14.
Team Stats
BYU shot the ball very well from 3. They shot 47% from 3 with 14 total made 3s. They ended up shooting 47% also from the field overall. BYU also knocked down their FT shots, shooting 79%, going 23-29. UCF was flustered the whole game. They received 1 technical foul and 2 flagrant fouls. They were aggressive and frustrated throughout and BYU kept their composure and finished the game off.
Box Score
This was a total group effort today. Fouss led the team with 14, Hall and Saunders had 13, Knell had 12, Waterman and Johnson had 9, and Khalifa and Robinson had 8. Johnson also had 7 assists and 8 rebounds. Fouss had a double double with 10 rebounds too.
Game Preview vs #25 Texas Tech
The matchup in the quarterfinals for BYU will be a top 25 matchup as #20 BYU will take on #25 Texas Tech tomorrow, Thursday 3/14, at 10:30am MT on ESPN2 and ESPN+. BYU had a 17 point lead in Lubbock the last time these two teams played, and then BYU lost it and lost the game. I am very interested to see how this game will go for each team on a neutral court.
Player Preview
Texas Tech is good. They are a top 25 team for a reason. In their latest game, they beat #11 Baylor. They did it without one of their top big men in Warren Washington. He has been out for the last 2 weeks due to a foot injury and is listed as questionable for the BYU game. I dont think he will play but who knows. Washington had 19 points and 9 rebounds against the Cougars last game.
Aside from him, Texas Tech has Pop Isaacs and Darron Williams and Joe Toussaint. In the game against BYU in January, Isaacs had 32, Williams had 7, and Toussaint only had 5, thanks to shooting just 1-10. BYU has to run Isaacs off of the 3 point line and help on defense. He made 6 3 pointers against BYU in that game. Williams is agressive. They have to keep him off the boards. Toussaint likes to drive the ball. They have to do the same as Isaacs, funnel him into your help defense.
Team Preview
texas Tech also shot 50% from 3 in that game. I dont expect them to shoot that same percentage with this being a neutral game. They arent even really a great shooting team. They are a good FT shooting team so BYU has to watch their fouls on defense. I expect Texas Tech to be aggressive and fast. BYU will be a little fatigued having just played the day before. I also expect BYU to shoot the ball a little better from 3. They only shot 33% from 3 in their first meeting. I also expect BYU to have less turnovers. They had 12 turnovers in the first meeting as well.
Prediction
Right now, its hard to say. With how BYU played today, I expect them to be ready to go tomorrow. But Texas Tech is good and we cant discount how well they have played lately even with missing one of their key guys. But I think with this game being on a neutral court, that plays into BYU hands. BYU would have won the previous game if it wasnt for Isaacs going crazy and the Texas Tech fans helping them along the way. I think it will be tight, tight, tight though. I see BYU winning this game by 4.
Other BYU Basketball News
BYU stayed the same in the most recent AP Poll. They didnt go up or down but stayed at #20. The previous week they just barely lost to #6 Iowa St by 5 and beat Oklahoma St by 14.
March Madness Seeding
We are 4 days away from March Madness. By the time I am writing my next newsletter next week, we will have a seed and matchup to talk about with BYU. It is going to be exciting! Speaking of exciting, with BYU’s win against UCF, they most likely have locked up a 5 seed, at the lowest, for March Madness. Now if they can beat Texas Tech, they will take on Houston Friday night in the semifinals. If BYU can win those two games and reach the championship game, they would be playing for a 3 seed, in my mind. If they just beat Texas Tech and lose to Houston, they would be a 4 seed.
Right now, Joe Lunardi has BYU projected as a 5 seed. For the other Utah teams, Utah is has suffered some bad losses and are currently not on the bubble anymore. Utah State has picked up some big wins lately and are now projected as 6 seed.
Here’s to hoping that BYU can win these next two tough games against #25 Texas Tech and #1 Houston! Please feel free to share with your friends and family! And dont forget to have them subscribe! You can also check out my previous posts here!
