BYU must avoid potholes to stay in the Big 12 race

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BYU guard Dallin Hall dribbles during game Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, at Cincinnati. The Cougars fell to the Bearcats, 84-66, and will play at West Virginia on Tuesday. | Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

Big 12 basketball and winter driving share one punishing thing in common — potholes. They show up each February and line a treacherous path to March. Potholes vary in size, but when you hit a big one, it can knock a car, or a team, out of alignment and make it a challenge to stay on the road.

After cruising to four straight conference wins, the Cougars (15-8, 6-6) have hit back-to-back potholes, including a big one Saturday at Cincinnati. The damage is fixable, but BYU is short on time and a long way from the repair shop.

This will be a test for first-year coach Kevin Young and his staff of mechanics as they pull into Morgantown. They will need to work like a pit crew on the clock at Daytona and will have just one practice before getting the Cougars back on the track at West Virginia (15-8, 6-6) on Tuesday night (5 p.m., CBSSN).

Despite getting outshot, outhustled and outrebounded against the Bearcats, the Cougars can take solace in knowing just about everybody else in the Big 12 is also driving a damaged car. The league-wide potholes have teams scattered all over the road.

BYU fans can pull their hair out over Saturday’s second-half performance, where Cincinnati enjoyed an 18-0 run and redeemed itself from a 28-point loss in Provo two weeks earlier; however, Kansas fans are no less distraught after watching the Jayhawks drop their fifth Big 12 game against rival Kansas State — just days after they looked invincible as they pounded No. 8 Iowa State.

Baylor just went through a string of games where it lost at BYU, beat No. 11 Kansas at home and lost at No. 13 Texas Tech. Iowa State beat TCU on Saturday to snap a three-game skid after the Cyclones lost to Arizona and Kansas, but also to Kansas State, 80-61, on their home floor.

Texas Tech went toe-to-toe with No. 20 Arizona before…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/byu-must-avoid-potholes-stay-234734142.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2025-02-09 23:47:00

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