After struggling to put away a couple of mid-level college basketball teams and trouncing two others to get off to a 4-0 start, the BYU men's basketball team gets a chance to breathe a little this week before another cupcake comes into the Marriott Center on Saturday.
New coach Kevin Young's squad, which received 27 votes in Monday's Associated Press Top 25 rankings and would be at No. 29 if the poll extended that far, hosts Mississippi Valley State (1-4) at 7 p.m. Saturday.
A matchup with the Delta Devils, dead last (362) in the NET rankings when the 2023-24 season concluded last March, doesn't require a lot of preparation, so Young and his staff are using this week to re-evaluate themselves and dial in on some details, he said after the Cougars woke up in the second half and buried Idaho 95-71 last Saturday afternoon.
"There is a lot of stuff that is on the board for us that we want to get better at. We will be pretty dialed in and calculated on what we spend our time on," Young said. "I think just shoring up our defense is what is on my mind the most. A lot of situational things — whether that is out-of-bounds defense, whether that is two-for-one strategies (will be examined).
"There are a lot of nuances that we haven't gotten a full grasp yet that I would like to devote some time to next week so we can feel really complete heading into what is to come," he concluded.
What is to come are tougher games.
The Cougars travel to San Diego next week to play in the Rady Children's Invitational at LionTree Arena on the campus of UC San Diego. The Cougars will face Ole Miss (4-0) at 3:30 p.m. MST on Thanksgiving Day in a game that will be televised by Fox Sports 1. Ole Miss, which hosts Oral Roberts on Thursday, is also receiving votes in the AP poll.
North Carolina State (4-0) and No. 6 Purdue (4-0) are in the other half of the bracket; on Friday, losers play at 1:30 and winners play at 4 p.m.
The week after that, BYU plays at Providence College in Rhode Island on Dec. 3.
Young said on his coaches show Tuesday night from the BYU Broadcasting Building that he's been generally pleased with his team through the first four games, notwithstanding the relatively low level of competition.
"The one thing I can say is I really like our group. I think we have a good blend of young guys who are extremely talented with a great blend of guys who are coming back who really know the league, who I have tried to rely on," he said, singling out Richie Saunders , Dallin Hall , Fousseyni Traore, Trevin Knell and Dawson Baker. Hall and the sixth returning player, point guard Trey Stewart , haven't been able to play due to injury.
"So that's where I find some comfort in knowing the (Big 12)," Young continued. "It is going to be a tough task, there is no question about it. But I know our guys are up to it."
After the Idaho game , Young said the 6-foot-4 Hall, a junior from Plain City, has "something going on with his toe" that has kept him out of action.
"He was able to do quite a bit of stuff (last Friday)," Young said. "We got a good week of practice ahead of us where we can gauge where he is at. Things are trending in the right direction."
Although they have won their games by an average of 28 points, Young said the Cougars have missed Hall's perimeter defense. Kenpom.com says BYU ranks a woeful No. 293 in the country in 3-point defense. Opponents are shooting 32.6% (29 of 89) from 3-point range.
How concerned is the coach with the 3-point defense, particularly against the two better teams they played in November, UC Riverside and Idaho?
"I think just defense in general (is a concern). That is something that we talk about a lot. We have great size on the perimeter, but sometimes some of the foot speed can be an issue for us. Obviously, missing Dallin rears its head even more (in that area)," Young said. "That is something we gotta continue to look at and get better at."
Another puzzling shortcoming has been BYU's free-throw shooting. The Cougars have made only 25 of 45 freebies (55.6%) and are 344th out of 355 schools in the country in that category. That's pretty bad.
Free throws "were a challenge for us" in the first half against Idaho, Young acknowledged, but said he was happy with how the players recovered and played better in the second half.
"I thought it was good for our guys to have to go through a game that was closer than what the score indicated, to have to execute things down the stretch," he said. "I was happy with our execution. I thought we ran some timely offense."
On the flip side, BYU's 2-point shooting has been outstanding, thanks to post players Keba Keita (12 of 17) and Fouss Traore (11 of 17) being deadly around the rim.
Freshman Egor Demin has also been outstanding, having made 63.6% of his field goal attempts. And Saunders has picked up where he left off last year, averaging 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. The Cougars have assisted on 61 of 106 field goals.
"That is something we have talked to our guys about. Since I got here, one of our marquee tenets is being unselfish. We talk about it all the time. We want to move that ball around. On certain nights it is going to be different guys and so far it has been that way," Young said. "I think it is a sign of a really good team when you can get multiple guys to be your leading scorer."
The Cougars are 17th in scoring, averaging 92 points per game. They are shooting 35.6% from 3-point range, tied for 109th in the country.
"It is cool how we have so many guys on this team that can just add so much value both offensively and defensively," Saunders said. "So we will continue to get better and better at doing it consistently."
Saunders had 26 points against Idaho. Freshman Kanon Catchings has also emerged as a big scoring threat, averaging 11.7 points per game. In his coaches show Tuesday, Young said Catchings and Demin aren't BYU's only pro prospects.
"I know some of our younger guys are talked a lot about with NBA aspirations, but Richie is right there," Young said. "I tell every scout that comes through I think he is an NBA player. He just fills up the stat sheet. He just plays with an unbelievable motor.
"The thing I love about Richie is that most guys that play that way can't shoot. Most guys have to play hard to get on the court," Young continued. "He plays hard and is a really good shooter, too. He is really unique from that standpoint, and I just love what he brings to the team."
BYU forward Richie Saunders shoots past Queens Royals' Maban Jabriel (9) at the Marriott Center in Provo on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. According to BYU coach Kevin Young, Saunders is very much an NBA prospect. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
