After losing back-to-back games for the first time all season, No. 16 BYU is hoping for a breather from facing some of the toughest teams when it plays unranked Oklahoma State on Wednesday in a Big 12 game in Stillwater, Okla.
BYU’s losing streak wasn’t as disheartening as a two-game downturn might typically be, given that the Cougars (17-4, 5-3 Big 12) lost Saturday to No. 14 Kansas by a score of 90-82 after losing to No. 1 Arizona by just three points.
In fact, all of BYU’s four losses have come to top 25 teams, with the other two losses coming in the form of an 84-71 loss on Jan. 17 to then-No. 15 Texas Tech and a two-point loss to No. 3 UConn back on Nov. 15.
If Oklahoma State provides a breather, it won’t be much of one, as BYU takes on No. 8 Houston Saturday.
“That’s the blessing and a curse of being in this league,” Cougars coach Kevin Young told reporters after Saturday’s loss. “It feels like every night, for the most part, is a night where you have an opportunity to get a big win. We are a battle-tested group. We’re a couple of shots away from having some of those.”
Last season, when the Cougars earned a sixth seed in the NCAA Tournament, BYU did not get a major Big 12 win until beating Kansas at home Feb. 18.
The Cougars went on to beat Arizona and then beat Iowa State twice to earn a high seed in the Big Dance.
Senior Richie Saunders, who had 33 points in the loss to Kansas, has been through this before and he believes the Cougars are ready.
“I’ve been in this position many times throughout my career,” the senior, who is second on the team with 19.5 points per game, told reporters Saturday. “I know the flip side of what’s waiting for us.”
The Cougars are led by AJ Dybantsa with 23.3 points per game.
Robert Wright II is scoring 17.5 points per game and leads BYU with 110 assists.
A pair of wins this week would be a good jump start to a Big 12 run with the Cougars playing No. 8 Houston, No. 1 Arizona and No. 7 Iowa State in February.
March also offers Cincinnati, a rematch with Texas Tech and the Big 12 tournament.
The Cowboys (15-6, 3-5), meanwhile, are coming off their first Big 12 road win in nearly two years after beating Utah 81-69 on Saturday.
Anthony Roy led the way with 26 points, including five 3-pointers, as Oklahoma State ended a 15-game conference road losing streak.
Christian Coleman had 14 points and 10 rebounds as coach Steve Lutz believes his team is rounding into shape for the stretch run.
“I’m happy to get a road win — it has been a while for the team, it has been a while for the program,” Lutz said. “As good as this league is, road wins are hard to come by. I thought our defense carried over from the second half of the Iowa State game and that made the difference.”
Lutz also pointed out the importance of Roy not being afraid to shoot.
“He is obviously one of the best 3-point shooters in all of college basketball,” Lutz said. “On his catch-and-shoot 3s, he is making 54%. I never expect him to miss. Then he misses three in a row and we came in the huddle and I told him, ‘Those are great shots, keep taking them.’ ”
Roy knows his leadership will be key the rest of the way.
“Everybody knows I can shoot and score,” Roy said. “Now the big emphasis is to do it within the offense. Everyone is comfortable with me shooting and confident in me shooting. And I’m comfortable.”
–Field Level Media
