Analysis: No. 23 BYU Shifts Gears in Win Over Utah, Demonstrating Team Versatility

In his first season as a head coach, BYU’s Kevin Young ended the regular season with a strong display of versatility, resilience, and depth, leading the Cougars to an 85-74 victory over archrival Utah on Saturday night in front of a packed Marriott Center. Despite being outrebounded 53-34 and outshot from the 3-point line 12 to 8, BYU’s defense at crucial moments, forcing 17 turnovers, made the difference. The Cougars also dominated the paint, outscoring Utah 40-22 inside.

“It was another game where we had a hard time finding our rhythm,” Young said during an interview with KSL Radio. “But in the second half, Richie (Saunders) took over the paint, and that helped us build a strong finish.”

The win marked a milestone for Young, tying him with Roger Reid for the most home wins (15-2) by a first-year BYU coach. The No. 23-ranked Cougars are now 23-8 (14-6) heading into the Big 12 Basketball Tournament as the No. 4 seed in Kansas City on Thursday.

Picked to finish ninth in the preseason, BYU ended up tying Arizona for third place in the conference standings and finished with a solid 13-8 record in Quad 1 and 2 games. The Cougars will face the winner of the No. 12 vs. No. 13 seed matchup, with the winner advancing to play No. 5 seed Iowa State.

“I am really proud of how our players have grown this season, and for me, that’s the big takeaway,” Young remarked. “They’ve bought into everything we’ve been teaching them.”

Dawson Baker contributed 15 points, a key factor in BYU’s eighth consecutive win. He hit BYU’s first three-pointer of the game after the Cougars started 0 for 13 from beyond the arc.

“Dawson deserves more minutes,” Young said. “There’s no doubt about it. Whenever he comes in, we make sure to get him involved.”

Baker responded quickly, contributing crucial points at a pivotal time.

Saunders added 14 points, and freshman Egor Demin provided strong early play, finishing with 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting, alongside seven rebounds, six assists, and just one turnover. This victory capped a remarkable season for the Cougars, who head into Kansas City as one of the hottest teams in the league.

In contrast to their dominant rebounding and 3-point shooting performance in the double-overtime win at Iowa State, BYU struggled with both in the first half of this game.

Utah grabbed an early 12-7 lead, dominating the boards 18-9 in the first 11 minutes. BYU struggled with their long-range shooting, missing 13 consecutive attempts. Utah capitalized on the Cougars’ woes, holding a slim lead until Baker and Mihailo Boskovic hit back-to-back three-pointers. A last-second three-pointer by Dallin Hall helped BYU go into halftime ahead 34-30.

Saunders picked up two early fouls, forcing him to sit for most of the first half.

The first half underscored the importance of BYU’s 3-point shooting to their overall strategy. Their poor shooting performance, going just 3 of 18 (15%) from beyond the arc, allowed Utah to hang around and control the tempo. The crowd remained quiet for much of the first half as a result.

After building a 13-point lead with a Baker three-pointer, BYU held a 54-41 advantage. However, a lost rebound by Keba Keita started an 8-0 Utah run, narrowing the Cougars’ lead to five points with 11:47 left.

At this point, BYU shifted gears and found a new way to win.

Despite being outrebounded and outshot from beyond the arc, BYU’s defense held Utah scoreless for over five minutes, allowing them to extend the lead to 17 points at 68-51 with 6:63 remaining.

Mawot Mag’s three-pointer, an offensive rebound putback by Keita, and a 3-pointer by Saunders followed by a driving layup gave the Cougars a commanding 79-61 lead with just over three minutes left.

“This game was emotional,” said senior Trevin Knell, who admitted he was so pumped up before the game that he was shaking. “It was a rollercoaster of emotions.”

Knell shared that Young told the team at halftime that Utah was playing harder and that they needed to step up and play for each other. The Cougars responded with a dominant 51-point second half.