The Big 12 had one marquee game on the docket as BYU headed to Boston to face UConn in the Hall of Fame Series at TD Garden.
It was the latest quality game on a weekend in which Arizona faced UCLA on Friday and Houston will face Auburn in Birmingham in The Battleground 2k25 on Sunday.
Here are three things we learned about Big 12 basketball on Saturday.
A MARCH FEEL IN NOVEMBER
Saturday’s game between No. 7 BYU and No. 3 UConn had a big-game feel. It was at the home of the Boston Celtics. It marked the return to BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa to his hometown of Boston. The game was on Fox. Bill Raftery was on the mic and talking about that “old time religion with that left hand,” as Dybantsa made a reverse layup to his left hand in the second half.
If you turned it off after the first half, or if you turned it off with about 10 minutes left, or if you turned it off when UConn took a 20-point lead, well, you missed a show. BYU lost, 86-84, but the Cougars nearly climbed the mountain to win that game.
UConn was going to be hard to beat, especially the way it played on Saturday. The Huskies shot 57% for the game and it was consistent from half to half. They controlled nearly the entire contest, leading for nearly 35 minutes. UConn had a margin in just about every significant statistical category, even a small one. The Cougars were without Kennard Davis and lost Keba Keita to an injury during the game.
Yet, BYU, down 59-39 at one point, fought back. Dybantsa was at the heart of it. After a pedestrian first half in which he scored just four points, he lit up UConn for 21 second-half points for a total of 25 points. He only missed one field goal in the final 20 minutes.
The Cougars chipped away consistently in the final minutes and got a little help from UConn with a missed free throw or two. The Cougars had it one possession with less than a minute and a shot to tie the game before guard Robert Wright III turned the ball over trying to crossover a dribble in front of his defender. It was about as ill-timed a turnover as one could imagine. Wright had 16 points and four assists. Richie Saunders added 17 points but was 0-for-7 from the arc.
No coach will tell you they like a moral victory. This wasn’t one for BYU. The Cougars were talented enough to win. But they fell so far behind it was going to be hard to win the game. The fact that BYU didn’t pack it in down 20 and nearly tied the game says a lot about what to expect from the Cougars in Big 12 play. They’re going to be a hard out. We suspected that, but occasionally games like this are the proof needed to confirm it.
MISSING DARRYN PETERSON
We knew that top Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson would miss Saturday’s game against Princeton. Kansas won the game, 76-57. Now, after the game, it’s not quite certain when he’ll be back.
What does “immediate future” mean?
“We’re not, obviously, going to have him at least for the immediate future,” Self said to reporters after the game, including the Kansas City Star’s Shreyas Laddha. “I just don’t know how long that’ll be.”
Peterson has already missed two games with hamstring tightness. That’s one of those injuries that one wants to get right this early in the season. Hamstrings can linger if they’re not allowed to recover properly. The temptation is to rush him because Kansas plays Duke on Tuesday and the Blue Devils have the Boozer brothers, two of the top freshmen in the country. Self has committed to making sure the injury is right, which is the right call.
But this is a brutal stretch coming up. The Jayhawks face Duke, Notre Dame, Syracuse, UConn, Missouri and NC State in the next four weeks. It’s meant to be a gauntlet to prepare them for Big 12 play. They may have to do some of that without Peterson, who averages 21 points per game.
He’s a huge part of what Kansas needs to be successful this season. This is a “lose the battle, win the war” kind of move. Tuesday’s game could be rough.
A 2-1 NIGHT FOR THE BIG 12 WOMEN
Kansas renewed its rivalry with Missouri and beat the Tigers, 82-77, in a neutral site game at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, which will host the Big 12 men’s and women’s basketball tournament in March. Elle Evans and S’Mya Nichols each scored 20 points, while freshman Jaliya Davis scored 15 and Regan Williams added 14. The quartet is forming a nice core group that could be dangerous in Big 12 play.
Kansas improved to 4-0. So did BYU, which hosted Fresno State and wone, 63-43. Delaney Gibb scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Olivia Hamlin came off the bench with 14 points. Lara Rohkohl added eight points and 10 rebounds. The Cougars are still a few games away from a high-major test, but they’ll be on the road next week at Montana.
Utah suffered its first loss of the season, falling 72-61 to Washington. The Utes had no answer for Sayvia Sellers, who dropped 30 points on them. The Utes must like the balanced scoring — 13 points from Maty Wilke, 12 points each from Lani White and Reese Ross, and 11 points from Chyra Evans. But the other six players added just 13 points. Utah will need more depth in Big 12 play.
