Off the bubble: Controversial ending aside, BYU’s ‘huge’ road victory at No. 19 Arizona will matter a lot in March

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BYU center Keba Keita (13) celebrates after defeating Arizona during an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri) | Rick Scuteri

TUCSON, Arizona — The controversial ending that went in BYU’s favor, some not-so-good-natured jawing that halted the postgame handshake line and boorish behavior from Arizona’s student section garnered most of the headlines late Saturday night and well into Sunday after the Cougars stunned the Wildcats 96-95 at howling McKale Memorial Center.

Lost in the madness was that before the ugliness, the rematch of a game won 85-74 by Arizona in Provo on Feb. 4 was beautifully entertaining, with both squads executing brilliantly on offense and leaving something to be desired on defense.

It was must-see TV, as BYU improved to 19-8 overall (10-6 in the Big 12) and probably punched its ticket to March Madness. Former Pac-12 kingpin Arizona’s losses at McKale are few and far between.

“Hats off to Arizona. It was a heckuva basketball game. They are really good. Tommy (Lloyd) is a really good coach, as I’ve learned in this landscape. He knows what he is doing. He’s very sharp, and they are a good team, and Caleb (Love), he is a gamer. He made plays when they needed him to,” said BYU coach Kevin Young.

“Luckily we were able to make enough (plays) of our own. Richie (Saunders) was incredible. Made those two huge free throws (at the end of the game). In a game like that, it just felt like whoever was going to kinda get the last stop was going to win.”

The Cougars moved to No. 29 in the NET rankings, No. 26 in KenPom.com, and were given “lock” status (at least a 95% chance) to make the NCAA Tournament by ESPN’s “Bubble Watch 2025” feature.

Per ESPN BPI, BYU now has a 96% chance to make the tournament for the second-straight year. The Cougars, who have won eight of their last 10 games and four of their last five away games, might just climb into the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/off-bubble-controversial-ending-aside-003408356.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2025-02-24 00:34:00

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