After BYU rolled past Arizona State 91-81 on Wednesday to complete a sweep of the Arizona schools in the Big 12, Cougars coach Kevin Young was asked how to “fix” the Phoenix Suns, the NBA team he worked for from 2000 to 2024.
“You gotta take care of business. West Virginia is really good.
— BYU coach Kevin Young
Young politely refrained from throwing in his two cents, but noted he is still “rooting” for the club and loves the players and coaches who are still there.
“They will get it figured out,” he said.
He said the same thing about his players a couple of months ago, after the Cougars had lost four of their first six Big 12 games. And he was right.
Since losing by a point in overtime at Utah on Jan. 18, BYU has won nine of its last 11 games, including victories over nationally ranked Kansas and Arizona.
Improved offense has been the key, as the Cougars have risen to the top of most of the offensive categories in the Big 12. Defense, however, is a different story.
“Our defense has to be better,” Young said, noting that a shorthanded ASU team was still able to put up 81 points on the Cougars.
Speaking of defense, BYU (20-8, 11-6) now hosts one of the stingiest teams in the Big 12, West Virginia.
The Mountaineers (17-11, 8-9) will play at BYU for the first time ever on Saturday (8 p.m., ESPN2) at the Marriott Center.
The rematch of BYU’s 73-69 win in Morgantown on Feb. 11 pits WVU’s stellar defense against BYU’s outstanding offense. BYU is No. 12 in the country in offensive efficiency, according to Kenpom.com, while the Mountaineers hang their hat on defense as the No. 14 team in the country in defensive efficiency.
After making a season-high 17 3-pointers against ASU, BYU has risen to the No. 32 team in the country in 3-point field goal percentage (37.5%). West Virginia is ninth in 3-point defense (29.2%).
The stakes are high as both teams jockey for better position in the upcoming Big 12 tournament. BYU is currently tied for fourth with No. 9 Iowa State — and plays in Ames on Tuesday (7 p.m. MST, ESPN2) with a chance to earn a double-bye in Kansas City if it wins this weekend against WVU.
“You gotta take care of business. West Virginia is really good. It was a tough, tough game we had out at their place. We were fortunate to get out of there with the win,” Young said Thursday night on his coaches show.
“They have one of the most dynamic guards, certainly in the Big 12, in Javon Small, who is coming off a really good game. We did a good job against him up there. So I know they will be scheming some different things to get him going. So that will be a tall task for us.”
Small had only nine points in 35 minutes, 18 seconds, as the Cougars focused on the high-scoring senior and dared other players to beat them.
Small had 23 points in WVU’s 73-55 win over TCU on Tuesday and is averaging 18.4 points per game — second in the Big 12 behind UCF’s Keyshawn Hall (19.1).
“Javon Small gives us a lot to game plan for,” Young said. “And then defensively they are one of the best teams in our league, and in the country. So we will have a tough task on both sides of the floor.”
West Virginia gives up only 64.1 points per game; BYU averages 81.1 points per game and makes 10.9 3-pointers per game, tops in the Big 12.
“I just think it is a credit to our guys’ connectivity. Our spacing separates us, quite frankly, in terms of our competition,” Young said. “We have a lot of guys that can make shots, and you got Egor (Demin) and Dallin (Hall) facilitating things. You got Keba (Keita) and Fouss Traore) rolling to the basket.”
Opponents are forced to make a decision, take away the inside shots at the rim, or take away 3-pointers.
“We do present that pick-your-poison problem, and when the 3-ball is falling for us, we are a really hard team to defend,” Young said.
