Is BYU ahead of schedule midway through its second Big 12 season?

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BYU players celebrate a victory over UCF Saturday afternoon in Orlando. Next up for the Cougars is a home game against Arizona Tuesday. | BYU Photo

Judging from the banter on sports radio talk shows and various social media sites, there might be a feeling out there amongst BYU basketball fans that the Cougars aren’t doing as well this year compared to last.

Perhaps it is because of those blowout losses at Providence and Houston. Or maybe it is because BYU lost by a point in overtime to a mediocre Utah team in the first of two rivalry matchups this year.

The reality though is that BYU, 15-6 overall and 6-4 in the Big 12, is doing better this year, despite not being currently ranked. Midway through their 18-game league schedule last year, the Cougars were 4-5, a game below .500.

Saturday’s humongous 93-89 win at UCF pushed BYU two games above .500 midway through their 20-game conference schedule this winter.

BYU is now tied for fifth with Kansas and Baylor after having been picked to finish ninth in the league.

The Cougars’ first close road win “was really big,” according to coach Kevin Young. “We know where we are at in our season. We let a couple games go early on in the year that we felt like were right there for us, and our guys stayed the course. We know that we have work to do and this was a step in the right direction for that against a good team who is well-coached.”

Coincidentally, BYU tied with Kansas for fifth in the Big 12 last year and got the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 tournament due to its 76-68 win over the then-No. 7 Jayhawks at Phog Allen Fieldhouse.

BYU’s s goal now is to win as many Quad 1 games as possible to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume’ and climb in the standings. The top eight finishers in the regular season draw first-round byes in the Big 12 tournament.

The Cougars have clicked several boxes on their four-game winning streak, defeating Colorado on the road, breaking through with a close-game win in overtime against Baylor at home and…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/byu-ahead-schedule-midway-second-000017749.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2025-02-03 00:00:00

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