Cougars are doing historic things, but there are still things to iron out

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BYU players huddle around center Fousseyni Traore (45) during an NCAA men’s basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats held at the Marriott Center in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

The five-game win streak Kevin Young has BYU riding as it heads into Saturday’s home game with West Virginia is built on amazing offensive efficiency.

It’s elite. It’s consistent. And if the bombs drop, it’s deadly.

But Young told folks after his team defeated Arizona State on Wednesday that the Cougars have a lot of work to do and improvement is the goal.

His team can play better defense. It allowed a combined 176 points in games against Arizona and Arizona State. Even in wins, he needs stops.

And his team needs to do far better at the free-throw line. Missing the front end of one-and-ones and splitting two-shot trips to the line will ultimately kill this No. 25-ranked BYU team.

I’d predict one of the biggest factors in an early exit from the Big 12 tournament and NCAAs would be missing free throws.

The 6 for 15 from the line in the ASU win was no bueno.

Payson High or the Timpview 5th ward could do better than that.

Before the ASU game, however, BYU appeared to have an uptick in free-throw accuracy. The Cougars went 10 of 14 at Arizona, 9 for 12 against Kansas, 20 for 26 in beating K-State, 13 of 16 at West Virginia and 8 of 11 in a loss at Cincy.

Young can live with that.

Coaches: @BYUMBB 6-9 Freshman Egor Demin is my favorite passer in college. His Euro background in pick & roll & his unique size has allowed him to master what I call “Three Levels of PNR.” Few college guards understand “destroying the tag help” like he does. @coach_paint pic.twitter.com/1JztijuCv1

— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) February 27, 2025

But burying gimmes at crunch time is absolutely needed in basketball, as Richie Saunders proved in the win at No. 19 Arizona with three seconds left.

Now, back to the magic dust that BYU is riding on not named Saunders.

The standout stat for…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/cougars-doing-historic-things-still-223611554.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2025-02-28 22:36:00

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