BYU just made its long-awaited return to the win column.
The Cougars snapped their 4-game losing streak with a 99-94 road victory Tuesday night against Baylor, coming back from an early deficit and hanging on late to notch their fifth Quad 1 win of the year.
BYU is now 18-6 on the season and 6-5 in Big 12 play.
3 takeaways
BYU needed this one badly. Had the Cougars fallen to Baylor, they would have lost five straight games for the first time in more than two decades and sunk below .500 in conference play on the season.
Things appeared dire early, as BYU trailed by 12 points after 12 minutes of action in the first half. Kevin Young’s crew then orchestrated one of its famous comebacks, however, going into halftime on a 20-8 run to knot the score at 41 points apiece.
In the second half, BYU averaged 1.57 points per possession and made 80% of its 2-point baskets, leading by as many as 17 points before a late Baylor surge cut the Cougars’ winning margin to five.
BYU now has its first Quad 1 win since beating Clemson at Madison Square Garden in December, having dropped each of its past five Quad 1 opportunities.
But more importantly, the Cougars have some positive momentum for the first time in weeks.
Rob Wright III and AJ Dybantsa both dominated in historic fashion to carry the Cougars’ offense. Against Baylor, Wright and Dybantsa became the first pair of BYU teammates since 1984 to each score 30+ points in the same game.
But Wright’s performance was especially notable — and personal — as it came in his first game back in Waco since leaving Baylor for BYU.
The hostile Bears crowd booed every time Wright touched the ball and showered him with chants of “Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!”
It didn’t faze Wright one bit, as he scored a career-high 30 points on 12 of 21 shooting with four rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Dybantsa complemented Wright’s inspired effort with 36 points of his own, hitting 14 of 20 shots, dishing out seven assists and grabbing five rebounds. It was his fifth 30-point outing of the season and third against a Big 12 foe, continuing to make his case to be the top selection in this summer’s NBA Draft.
In addition to the Wright and Dybantsa show, Richie Saunders had 15 points with nine rebounds, while Kennard Davis Jr. added another 12 points, including four clutch made free throws in the tense final minute.
BYU scored 99 points despite making just three 3-pointers, doing most of its damage down low for 64 paint points.
In all, the Cougars shot 56% from the field and averaged 1.44 points per possession — impressive numbers in any setting, let alone on the road in the Big 12.
BYU’s defense took a step in the right direction. Yes, the Cougars did allow 94 points on 51.6% Baylor shooting, but the overall defensive effort and intensity was noticeably improved.
BYU’s 13 forced turnovers resulted in 24 subsequent points — more than the team had amassed in its past three games combined.
They clearly could have used more, but the Cougars did get stops against Baylor that had previously seemed impossible against Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma State and Houston.
In their 20-8 run in the final eight minutes of the first half, the Cougars held Baylor to 2 of 12 shooting.
In the second half, BYU’s defense helped compile separate Cougar scoring runs of 15-2, 9-3, and 15-4.
With Keba Keita on the bench for nearly the entire second half due to foul trouble, Khadim Mboup played 17 minutes as BYU’s de facto center and gave Baylor trouble with his length, athleticism and hustle.
He did log a block, steal and 10 rebounds on the night, but Mboup’s greatest contributions were the kind that don’t show up in the stat sheet. Look for the redshirt freshman to get more run down the stretch. The Cougars need the spark he provides off the bench
BYU still has plenty of work to do defensively. Had the Cougars not exploded on offense, how they played on defense wouldn’t have been enough to win.
But the defensive effort against Baylor is something BYU can definitely build on going forward, especially considering the increased energy and focus displayed by the Cougars.
