Shotmaking will be on full display when Cougars, Knights collide in O-Town

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Central Florida guard Darius Johnson drives past BYU guard Dallin Hall during game, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. Johnson has been a thorn in the Cougars’ side in past games. | John Raoux, Associated Press

The first team that plays defense probably wins.

No, that wasn’t BYU basketball coach Kevin Young’s Super Bowl prediction during his coaches show on Wednesday night.

Rather, the first-year skipper was referring to Saturday’s Big 12 showdown (2 p.m. MST, ESPN+) at UCF, which, like the Cougars, is one of the best offensive teams in the league, if not the country.

The Knights (13-7, 4-5) and Cougars (14-6, 5-4) clash at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida, for the first time this season, but for the fourth time the last two seasons.

The Land of Disney is also known as O-Town, and this year the “O” could stand for offense, Young said.

“They are as potent of an offensive team as there is probably in the country,” Young said. “They have got some guys who can really put the ball in the basket. They shoot a lot of 3s, play really fast, and so it will be a whoever-decides-to play-defense-first-probably-gets-the-win type of game.”

UCF’s high-powered offense starts with wing Keyshawn Hall, a 6-foot-7 junior from Cleveland who started his career at UNLV and played for George Mason last year. Hall is averaging 18.0 points in all games, and 21.4 in conference games, which leads the league.

“He is a handful,” Young said.

Then there’s 6-1 senior guard Darius Johnson, who gave the Cougars fits in three games last year, all BYU wins. Coincidentally, those BYU wins came on Jan. 13, Feb. 13 and March 13 by scores of 63-58 (Orlando), 90-88 (Provo) and 87-73 (Kansas City).

Johnson scored 18 in Orlando, 20 in Provo and 32 at the Big 12 Tournament, with six 3-pointers, against the Cougars. UCF’s other top scorer is Pacific transfer Jordan Ivy-Curry, who averages 14.5 points per game.

Of course, BYU has some outstanding offensive players as well, led by…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/shotmaking-full-display-cougars-knights-233000460.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2025-01-31 23:30:00

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