No one likes claiming a moral victory, especially against a rival school. BYU coach Mark Pope says his 8-1 Cougars don’t even consider them. However, there are some valuable lessons that only losing can teach and they range from the silly to the sublime.
Lesson No. 1: As far as BYU is concerned, the Indiana Hoosiers are safe. The Cougars’ 73-69 loss at Utah means they are no longer a threat to Indiana’s place in history. The 1975-76 Hoosiers are the last college basketball team to finish a season undefeated (32-0). If someone supplants them in April, it won’t be BYU.
The loss also ends the possibility of this team exceeding the Cougars’ 17-0 start to the 1987-88 season as the best in program history.
Lesson No. 2: As painful as it is to lose to a rival any time, Saturday’s defeat hardly dented BYU’s big picture goal of making the Big Dance. The Cougars dropped just two spots from No. 1 to No. 3 in the NET rankings. The NET is the system used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee to draw up the field of 68.
Dropping just two spots behind Arizona (10-0) and Houston (8-0) is a sign of BYU’s strength and national perception, even in the wake of a loss.
Lesson No. 3: While 3-point shooting is the Cougars’ weapon of choice, BYU needs a healthy Fousseyni Traore to battle in the paint in the Big 12. The 6-foot-6 junior center has been out since the first half of the USC game on Thanksgiving night.
Traore has four more weeks to rest his right knee before the conference opener against Cincinnati on Jan. 6. Without him, BYU still managed to outrebound the much taller Utes 42-41, but with him, the Cougars could have defended the low post more aggressively. Traore’s presence is a must in the Big 12.
Lesson No. 4: BYU lives by the 3-pointer, but that doesn’t mean they have to die by the 3. Despite making 7 of 30 shots at the Huntsman Center, the Cougars still could have won the game by doing a better job at the free-throw line (10 of 18). BYU showed that it can attack the basket when the long ball isn’t falling, but those shots at the charity stripe need a little more love and attention.
Lesson No. 5: Even when the offense isn’t clicking, it remains imperative that the Cougars trust in Pope’s process. Moving the ball keeps everyone involved and feeds into the rhythm of BYU’s long-distance shooters. Too often against Utah, the Cougars became stagnant and that led to individualism, which played away from their strength.
Lesson No. 6: Pope was right. When he describes Charlotte transfer Aly Khalifa as the best passing big man in college basketball, there is video proof to back it up. Over the last three games, the 6-foot-11 junior has put on a clinic when it comes to distribution with 14 assists and no turnovers.
Khalifa is also getting healthy from a knee injury that sidelined him all summer and challenged his physical conditioning. He and Dawson Baker (foot) are Pope’s pair of portal additions. Baker, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, is on track to make his BYU debut later this month.
The UC Irvine transfer is advertised as a sharpshooter and if Baker shoots as effectively as Khalifa passes, Pope and his staff will warrant a victory lap.
Lesson No. 7: BYU didn’t need to lose at Utah to appreciate what it has in the Marriott Center, but a reminder doesn’t hurt. The Cougars are different at home when they are surrounded by supporters, and they have 13 more home games, including nine in the Big 12.
There are also nine conference road games to consider, but defending their turf, even with a pair of defeats, will put BYU comfortably into the NCAA Tournament. There are no conference cupcakes, but at the Marriott Center, there are plenty of sweet possibilities — and an endless supply of CougarTails.
The journey continues Wednesday against Denver (7 p.m., ESPN+), when BYU can show what it learned from the loss at Utah so the team can get back to winning.
Dave McCann is a contributor to the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.