3 keys to No. 21 BYU’s 84-72 Big 12 win over visiting Texas

Blistering shooting helped No. 21 BYU hold off unranked Texas 84-72 at the sold-out Marriott Center Saturday afternoon.

The Cougars shot 64% and held the Longhorns to 44% in picking up their third Big 12 win.

BYU improved to 15-5 overall and 3-4 in Big 12 play.

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Noah Waterman and Jaxson Robinson led BYU with 17 points apiece. 

Here are 3 keys to BYU’s 12-point win:

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• Hampered by a hamstring injury for most of January, BYU junior Fousseyni Traore turned in a masterful performance off the bench. The big man from Mali scored 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting and also pulled down six rebounds in 17 minutes. The Cougars won the rebounding battle 32-24 and had a 14-point advantage (40-26) in the paint.

• Texas came our firing early, and was 4 of 4 from the 3-point line in the first six minutes; However, the Longhorns made just four of their next 18 attempts from deep, and an early lead evaporated. Dylan Disu led Texas with 19 points. Texas shot 63% (10 of 16) from the free-throw line.

• BYU led just 44-41 at halftime — the sixth time in seven Big 12 games the Cougars have had the halftime lead — but took control early in the second half and led by as many as 17 points in final stanza. Sixteen turnovers weren’t ideal, but the Cougars got 29 points from their bench, as Traore led the way.