Can BYU keep pace with high-scoring Alabama in Sweet 16 matchup? – Deseret News

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NEWARK, New Jersey — When it comes to this juncture of the Big Dance, there are no secrets left to discover, no hidden tendencies remaining to unveil, and no game plans to catch teams by surprise.

“It is about doing everything with intensity and urgency, because you never know if you will get this opportunity ever again.”

—  BYU guard Dallin Hall

“It’s about doing what got you here as well as you possibly can,” BYU guard Dallin Hall said Wednesday after the Cougars practiced at the Prudential Center in downtown Newark and continued preparations to face a favored team that plays a lot like them, second-seeded Alabama, in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game. “It is about doing everything with intensity and urgency, because you never know if you will get this opportunity ever again.”

Tipoff in sixth-seeded BYU’s first Sweet 16 game since it lost in overtime to Florida in New Orleans in 2011 is at 5:05 p.m. MDT, and the game will be televised by CBS. It is obviously 26-9 BYU’s most important game since that one, and to a man Wednesday the Cougars said they feel ready, fortunate and up to the task.

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“We know what is at hand and we know the focus that it takes to advance,” said leading scorer Richie Saunders. “We are super excited, and we feel ready.”

Borrowing from that old Shania Twain song, BYU plans to “Dance With the One That Brought You,” according to Hall — which in this case means the Cougars are going to play to their strengths such as depth, shotmaking and switching defenses, and let the chips fall where they may.

BYU center Fousseyni Traore, left, and guard Dallin Hall practice for the upcoming NCAA Sweet 16 game against Alabama at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Or maybe an old football coach, Darrell K. Royal of Texas, said it…

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Source link : https://www.deseret.com/sports/2025/03/26/byu-cougars-alabama-crimson-tide-sweet-16-preparations/

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Publish date : 2025-03-26 21:06:00

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