Many teams would have collapsed after abandoning an advance of 21 points on the road in one of the most hostile environments of all university basketball and being on the wrong side of most whistles in the depths in Ames, Iowa on Tuesday evening.
But these cougars byu showed last month that they are not an ordinary team to build a sequence of victories of seven games, five of these victories of the Quad 1 variety, to win a seeded or better in the Big 12 tournament next week and put themselves squarely in the big dance.
After the cougars (22-8, 13-6) preceded cyclones 88-85 in double extension, coach Kevin Young told the Sports network byu that there was a change of mind a month ago, when Byu beat the UCF 81-75 in Orlando, after having followed 40-38 at the Halftime.
“We had a small situation in Orlando at halftime, in the locker room, where it was sufficient in terms of teams for us, pushing us, not letting us hold space, taking the ball,” said Young. “And I think that since that time, we have taken a ton in this area, and we really impose our will on the teams now.”
The cougars have always committed 29 reversals against the ISU, one of the best teams in the country to obtain take -out dishes. But they compensated for this with an incessant effort in the department of rebound, outside the team at home 52-24 at the Hilton Coliseum, where it is now 33-2 in the last two years.
Keba Keita’s hunting block of an attempt by Dunk was emblematic of this new state of mind, said Young.
“He never abandons games,” said Young. “This is the attitude that our team has really adopted. … The state of Iowa has made things extremely difficult for us. But I think our group has really grown up, and we clearly have more room to grow in this area. But to be able to start one in this place, I do not know what their home file is and all that, but I’m sure it’s quite impressive. “”
The cougars are now 12-3 in their last 15 Big 12 games, after a start of 1-3. They are 2-2 in matters of extension this season, another sign that their mental tenacity and their balance improved after abandoning their first two OT games in Ole Miss and Utah.
These are the most extensive matches for Byu during a season since the 1987-88 campaign.
“I mean, you learn from the experience, and then you can rely on these experiences,” said Richie Saunders, who had 13 out of 13 of the free throw line and made 16 directly from the charitable organization Stripe and 18 on 19. “We have learned that it is just a question of enjoying the opportunity and the moment. the main role.
One of these moments was a pass from Trey Stewart lob to Dallin Hall for a Dunk, a play that made all the concerts late Tuesday evening, as well as the Keita block which is greeted as one of the best defensive pieces in the history of byu basketball.
“It was really good to see the hard work bearing fruit. I thought my teammates really trusted me in the section, and the coach did to play games, “said Hall, who had a 22 -point top. “Despite the turnover, we just had to continue to go. I just wanted to help the team win any possible way, and this evening was the result. »»
Stewart and Mawot Mag were also enormous defensively, in particular on the final possession of the ISU when he was looking for a 3 -point pointer and the defenders of the victory and byu refused an open look.
“It shows tenacity and what we are also,” Mag told the Byu sports network. “Any adversity launched before us, we will always prevail.”
This was not the case on February 8, when Byu was routed 84-66 in Cincinnati and was seriously in danger of missing the NCAA tournament. Now, cougars are one of the most popular teams in the country and seek to improve their sowing in the big dance as much as possible.
After facing Utah (16-14, 8-11) Saturday at the Sold-out Marriott Center (8 p.m., ESPNU), they will only play Thursday in the quarter-finals of the Big 12 tournament at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, having received a double Bye with the epic victory on Tuesday.
They could most likely be against the state of Iowa, if the seeded n ° 5 beat the winner of the 12/13 match next Wednesday. It is not necessarily a good thing for Byu, since fans of the ISU transform T-Mobile into “Hilton South” because it is only half past three and half.
What do young people think of a revenge match?
“Do not return the ball,” he said, categorically, then followed an often repeated story on the way he envied the coaches who were able to live the madness of March when he was assistant to the NBA.
“You are lucky enough to play against very good teams, who are very well trained, so as a competitor, guy, that’s what you are looking forward to, to be able to correct some of the wrongs of this game,” he said. “If it ends up standing true, it will be a big match.”
In the middle of the afternoon on Wednesday, the team had not returned from Iowa. A team spokesperson said Blizzard type conditions and 50 mph gusts have made it impossible to return to Provo.
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