Finally, a Big Monday. Finally, the Big 12 on a Big Monday. And, it was a Top 25 showdown worth watching. Were you not entertained?
No. 1 Arizona, which hadn’t played a ranked Big 12 team yet, went to Provo to take on No. 13 BYU. Both were coming off blowout wins. BYU freshman A.J. Dybansta was coming off a 43-point game against Utah. Arizona entered the contest with 13 victories by 20 points or more and as one of three remaining undefeated teams in the nation.
Arizona (21-0, 8-0) won, 86-83, keeping its undefeated season alive. The Wildcats proved why they were No. 1 in my power rankings by beating BYU (17-3, 5-2), which pushed the Wildcats to the brink with an incredible comeback. BYU proved that it’s not going anywhere in college basketball’s toughest conference, even when it looks like the game is over. Arizona showed it didn’t matter that it had been a month since it played a ranked team.
What did we learn? What didn’t we learn? Let’s start with this:
NO LEAD IS SAFE IN THE BIG 12
I’ll admit it — I started writing my story with 10:53 left in the second half. That’s when Arizona was up 19 points, 64-45. It looked over. The Wildcat defense was frustrating the Cougars. Arizona’s Jaden Bradley and Bradley Burries were having fantastic nights. Dybansta was having an average night by his standard.
But great teams fight, and BYU did. It wasn’t a surging comeback by any means. Arizona remained in control. That’s what was incredible. The Wildcats were in such control that the Cougars didn’t cut the lead to single digits until 2:02 left, when a Richie Saunders 3-pointer made it 78-71.
I still didn’t think BYU could climb the mountain because it had to send Arizona to the free throw line and the Wildcats were lethal there all night — 26-of-32 for the game. But Arizona also didn’t make a field goal for the final 3:04. The Wildcats didn’t coast. The Cougars just kept fighting. A little mistake here, a little mistake there and Arizona was staring at a loss with 16 seconds left because BYU had the ball down one point.
Burries blocked a shot by BYU’s Robert Wright III. He then made two free throws at the other end with 2.4 seconds left and Wright missed a heave from halfcourt.
Great teams find a way to win. Great teams also find a way to fight. Standings and win-loss records aren’t nuanced. They won’t show how close Arizona was to losing or how close BYU was to executing a 19-point comeback. But each coach — Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd and BYU’s Kevin Young — will remind their teams when they meet in Tucson on Feb. 18.
It’s why this league is so fun to watch. No lead is safe. And, in this case, we get a rematch.
BURRIES AND BRADLEY STEP UP
The difficult part of about trying to slow down Arizona offensively is the Wildcats have too many weapons. Their players also have an impeccable sense of knowing when to step up. A couple of weeks ago it was Tobe Awaka who had a huge offensive game against Arizona State when other struggled. Against Cincinnati it was center Motiejus Krivas who stepped into the spotlight.
On Monday, it was Brayden Burries and Jaden Bradley.
Bradley continues to be an underappreciated point guard nationally. But for those of us that watch the Big 12 regularly, we know how important he is to Arizona’s hopes of winning a national title. He doesn’t have to score a lot of points to impact the game because it’s so well-rounded. But on Monday against BYU, he blew up — 26 points, three rebounds three assists and two steals.
Burries got off to a smoking start, as he scored 15 points in the first 12 minutes of the game and finished with 29 points, five rebounds, four assists, one key block and three steals. This might have been his best overall game of the year.
Lloyd has started three freshmen most of the year and Burries is really starting to trend up of late. This was his second straight game of 20 or more points and his fourth straight game in double figures. Koa Peat gets a lot of attention, as he should. But Burries’ development tracks more like a typical freshman — a slow start, followed by picking up steam in the back half of the season. There’s a reason why Lloyd has preached patience. He knew the potential that could be unlocked.
This is part of the reason why Arizona will be so hard to beat. So many talented offensive weapons that can compensate when a player or two is struggling. Burries and Bradley just happened to be the guys on Monday.
BYU’S BIG THREE NEEDS SOME HELP
I was at BYU’s loss to Texas Tech a couple of weekends ago in Lubbock. It was BYU’s first loss in Big 12 play and its second loss of the season. Arizona was its third loss and all three have been to ranked teams. There’s nothing wrong with losing to ranked teams. But the Cougars are now 1-3 against ranked teams, and that’s a bit of a problem long-term.
Dybansta finished with 24 points, but like the Tech game he had to grind it out on 6-of-24 shooting. Saunders added 18 points. But Wright struggled to seven points on 3-of-16 shooting. It left Young searching for answers and he found a couple.
Kennard Davis Jr. had 17 points. That’s the first time he’s been in double figure in a month. He hit five 3-pointers and the Cougars needed all of them. Aleksej Kostic gave BYU a boost with six points on a pair of 3-pointers. That’s the most he’s scored in a month.
When Dybansta, Saunders and Wright are firing at the same time, it’s like trying to slow down a runaway freight train. But, unlike Arizona, BYU doesn’t have as much scoring depth when one of them misfires. If you’re looking for a silver lining, it’s Davis and Kostic stepping in and giving BYU 23 combined points off the bench.
Young shouldn’t cover up what led to a 19-point deficit. BYU shot terrible from the 3-point line most of the game. The Cougars were outscored in the paint. Arizona protected the rim better. BYU’s defense didn’t impact Arizona until late in the game. Young will have to work with his staff to fix that before the Kansas game on Saturday.
In the meantime, Davis and Kostic should be trusted to give BYU a little more. The Cougars are at the stage of the season where they can’t be so reliant on their big three.
