Its been a couple of weeks since I have sent this out as we had Christmas and New Years. I hope everyone had a good holiday break! We are back and ready to talk about BYU basketball.

BYU basketball is 12-1 after just finishing up their non conference schedule and are currently ranked #12 in the nation. There’s a lot to be happy about. They beat #17 San Diego State, Arizona State, and NC State, and have looked good, blowing out the lower teams as expected. But starting Saturday, the real test will begin. That real test is the Big 12 Conference, the best basketball conference in the nation, with 6 teams in the top 25.

Game Recap vs Bellarmine and Wyoming

In the last 2 weeks, BYU has had 2 games. The first vs Bellarmine where BYU destroyed them, 101-59. BYU had 5 players in double figures with 3 tied for the most points at 14 in Johnson, Knell, and Saunders. Jaxon Robinson did not play in this game as he was nursing some injuries, but BYU didnt need him. It was a collective effort for BYU as they shot 58% from the field and 41% from 3.

We also got to the see the debut of Marcus Adams Jr. He only played 8 minutes but we could see just how much potential he has. Just a side note, he didn’t play in the Wyoming game and I think BYU might save him for next season and have him redshirt this season to help him get back into shape as he is finally healthy after having some injuries as well.

Wyoming

The next game was against Wyoming and it was a sell out at the Marriott Center. If the Marriott Center is selling out for Wyoming, can you imagine what it will be like for conference play? BYU won 94-68. BYU had 4 guys in double digits scoring with Waterman and Knell leading the way both with 17. Jaxon Robinson did come back for this game and he had 10. He looked a little rusty in my opinion, but it was good to see him back. BYU again, shot great, going 53% from the field overall and 44% from 3.

BYU shoots well at home but I am interested to see if they can keep it up on the road. We already saw some struggles in the game against Utah.

Game Preview vs Cincinnati and #18 Baylor

BYU has 2 games this upcoming week before we meet again next Wednesday. The first game is on Saturday against Cincinnati. It is a home game in Provo at 8pm on ESPN2. ESPN’s Analytics gives the Cougars an 82% chance to win. I think itll be a lot closer than that. Cincinnati is 11-2 on the season with their only losses coming to Xavier and Dayton, two good teams who will probably push to make the tournament in March.

Cincinnati Breakdown

Cincy, like BYU, has multiple guys who average double digit points. Those guys are Viktor Lahkin, a forward, with 13 points, Day Day Thomas, a guard, with 11, and Dan Skillings Jr, a guard, also with 11. All 3 of these guys shoot 30% of below from 3. Cincinnati as a whole only shoots about 35% from 3. Lahkin is probably Cincinnati’s best player. He leads the team in points, rebounds, and blocks per game. Lahkin is also 6’11, 240 pounds. He likes to eat it up inside, so that will definitely be a big focus for BYU.

Thomas likes to shoot the 3 periodically but is more of a drive and dish type of person or drive and draw the foul. He is crafty so BYU will have to play sound defense and guard him straight up.

Skillings comes off the bench but usually will play a lot of minutes. He can go off and is a microwave from 3. Once he gets going, he is hard to stop.

Fouss, who has been out for the past couple of weeks, did practice in full on Monday and is “hopeful”, according to Coach Pope, to return for the game against Cincy. That would be a huge lift against a team that has some big dudes.

Cincinnati Prediction

Cincinnati also has a lot of height. They usually start 1 6’11 guy in Lahkin and then have Jamille Reynolds who is also 6’11 come in off the bench. Cincinnati is a paint team. They score most of their points there and like to drive and dish to the big guys or have the big guys post up. Itll be a challenge for BYU. BYU played a similar type of team in Utah in terms of their height, but Utah was a better shooting team than Cincy.

I think BYU will pull it out because they are at home. This game wont be easy though. BYU will struggle with Cincy’s height at times, similar to how they did with Utah. I have BYU winning by 5.

Baylor Breakdown

Baylor plays very similarly to BYU. They have 5 guys who are averaging double digit points and shoot very well, 45% from 3. They also have one of the best coaches in college basketball in Scott Drew.

Their two best players are Ja’Kobe Walter and RayJ Dennis, both guards. Walter might be one of the best players in the nation. He leads the team in points per game at 16 and leads the team in steals. Walter is also lights out from the FT line and 3 point line shooting 88% from the FT line and 41% from 3. Walter knows how to score. He is very athletic. He can beat you in so many ways. BYU will have their hands full. The key should be to limit him. They wont be able to stop him.

Dennis is the playmakers for Baylor. He is still second on the team in points per game at 14, but he leads the team in assists per game at 6. He does turn the ball over a lot and is averaging 3 a game and is a decent FT shooter but he can pass and shoots the 3 really well, 43% on the season.

Baylor Prediction

Baylor is one of the best teams in the country. Their only losses on the season came to #21 Duke and Michigan St, some of the premier teams in college basketball. ESPN Analytics also gives BYU only a 36% chance to win the game. This game is also in Waco, Texas, and is only BYU’s second real away game. I think BYU makes it close and has a late run in them but I still see Baylor winning the game by 4.

Other BYU Basketball News

Jon Rothstein interviewed Coach Pope yesterday. Coach Pope talks about BYU’s success this year, gives an update on Fouss, and talks about the Big 12 conference and what he expects for himself and the team. You can find the link for that here.

BYU Football News

In other BYU Sports news, Ben Bywater announced that he is coming back to BYU for another year. That now makes some key players on the defensive side coming back next year. He is coming back along with Tyler Batty and Isaiah Bagnah.

Misc BYU News

BYU men’s volleyball starts up this week. Itll be fun to see how they fair this year as they are usually pretty good.

Puka Nacua is also only 4 receptions and 29 yards away from setting the NFL rookie record for receptions and receiving yards in the rookie season. He has one more game to go this Sunday against the 49ers. Matthew Stafford isnt starting the game, so itll be interesting to see how much run Nacua gets in this game if the Rams rest their starters and if he can break the two rookie records.

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