BYU’s collapse continues.
The Cougars suffered their third straight loss Tuesday, this time at Cincinnati in blowout fashion, falling 90-68 to a Bearcats team on the NCAA tournament bubble.
BYU is now 20-10 on the season and 8-9 in Big 12 play, having lost nine of its last 13 games.
3 takeaways
BYU’s offense hit rock bottom. The Cougars were no match for Cincinnati’s strong defense, shooting just 41% from the field and 29% from 3-point range.
BYU also committed 15 turnovers, resulting in 21 Cincinnati points.
Of BYU’s 68 total points, 44 came from AJ Dybantsa and Rob Wright III, but the pair combined to make just 40.5% of its shots and committed nine turnovers.
Only two other Cougar players scored more than two points — Kennard Davis Jr., who scored six points in the first half and none after halftime, and Aleksej Kostic, who flashed again with 14 points and four made triples but did post a team-worst plus/minus of -25.
BYU averaged just .958 points per possession, lost the rebound battle, missed 11 layups and managed just two points in transition.
BYU’s defense was gashed yet again. Cincinnati, averaging just over 73 points per game heading into Tuesday, scored 90 against the Cougars, who allowed 1.268 points per possession and continue to struggle night in and night out.
All five Bearcat starters scored in double figures, with Cincinnati shooting 50% from the field and hitting 10 3-pointers.
The Bearcats scored 12 fast break points, 17 second chance points and 34 points in the paint, and dished out 24 assists on 32 made shots.
BYU is now allowing 82.8 points per game against Big 12 opponents, having surrendered at least 90 points for the fifth time in the past 10 games.
BYU will not have a bye in the Big 12 tournament. The Cougars will either finish in the No. 9 or No. 10 spot in the conference — a major letdown after being picked second in the preseason poll.
In the program’s first-ever first round Big 12 tournament game on Tuesday, BYU will either play Kansas State or Utah. The Cougars will be favored, but a loss to either squad — which would be a devastating blow — can’t be ruled out at this point.
BYU is still a lock to make the NCAA Tournament, but the Cougars’ seeding could get pretty ugly.
One final regular season Quad 1 opportunity awaits BYU at home Saturday against Texas Tech.
