Depth and treys: How BYU lived to fight another day in the Big 12 tournament

BYU’s depth rolled over Iowa State like a downhill 18-wheeler.

The Cougars leg game and stamina simply wore the Cyclones down in an impressive 96-92 Big 12 tournament shootout.

“This is the epitome of where our depth shines,” BYU coach Kevin Young stated afterwards.

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BYU may not beat No. 2-ranked Houston to advance to the finals of the Big 12 tournament, but what Young’s Cougars did against defending champion Iowa State was historic and a precedent-setting milestone in school history.

If any team can take down Houston, it would be these Cougars if they rain bombs, as witnessed Thursday.

BYU made an event-record 18 3s Wednesday. It shot 50% from beyond the arc.

That’s sizzling.

Young was ecstatic, away from the griddle and at the press podium.

“I think that’s a season high for us, 18 makes,” Young said. “I just told the guys in the locker room though, you don’t just show up to the gym and go 18 of 36 from 3. It’s not even just the shotmaking. It’s how those 3s are generated, something we pride ourselves on in terms of spacing the floor and trying to turn down a good shot for a great shot.

“Our guys have been that way all season, so for them to do it under the bright lights here against a defensive team that is obviously — that’s their hallmark — that was a really good carryover for us.”

Back-to-back wins over Iowa State? Two games that were absolute TV classics?

A rivalry has hatched.

Iowa State has owned this event the past half decade. It has filled the arena with devoted fans, enjoyed a home-court advantage against everyone, and have been one of the Big 12’s jewels this season.

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But ISU could not answer BYU’s momentum at this stage of the season, which stretched its win streak to nine games, with four wins over ranked teams that included beating the Cyclones in Ames in double overtime a week ago. No Cougars team has beaten four ranked teams since 1951.

Iowa State has been a top-20 team for 28 weeks and KenPom ranked No. 11 in defensive efficiency this season. BYU’s 96 points was a kill shot.

Led by first-team Big 12 wingman Richie Saunders’ 23 points and senior Trevin Knell’s perfect 4 of 4 from distance, the Cougars put on a masterclass in team basketball. BYU had 24 assists on 30 made field goals.

ISU was down two of its best players due to injury, but got a 22-point first-half and 31-point game performance from Big 12 first-team guard Curtis Jones. That nearly killed BYU and erased an early 10-point BYU lead.

But in the end, it was BYU putting tag-team defender Trey Stewart on Jones and playing 11 players that enabled BYU to race back from a double-digit deficit and outrace ISU to the finish by outscoring the five-point favorites 47 to 39 in the second half.

" They were down bodies, so I thought in the second half when Jones started missing shots it was a testament to wearing them out, and here comes Trey, just going back and forth, and not just him,” said Young, who brilliantly switched to a zone defense in the second half to stymie ISU’s tiring legs and lack of penetration as 3-point shooters cooled.

“I thought (Johua) Jefferson got a little tired as well. All their guys, quite frankly. I just told our players back there, for us to be able to have 41 bench points, you can’t scout everything, you can’t prepare for everything, every play, every guy so it’s a huge luxury to have guys that can come in and step up and make plays.”

Reserve Serbian forward/center Mihailo Boskovic scored 10 points on 3 of 7 treys and Stewart made two of his four attempts from beyond the arc. Stewart made a 3 and then stole the ball in his second-half appearance, triggering a BYU run. When he came in with 4:32 left in the game, BYU outscored ISU 12-6.

BYU’s three-headed center group of Keba Keita, Fouss Traore and Boskovic combined for 34 points and 17 rebounds; BYU’s bench outscored ISU’s bench by an impressive 41 to 9.

This win over the Cyclones may or may not impact NCAA seeding for the Cougars, who are projected anywhere from No. 5 to No. 7 when the Big Dance field is announced Sunday. But by beating projected No. 3 seed Iowa State twice in just over a week on ISU’s home court and a neutral court filled with Cyclone fans may add weight to move BYU up.

This is a game where BYU’s stars stepped up.

Nobody was bigger than Saunders, who was perfect 8 for 8 from the line and hit a timely 3-pointer with 48 seconds left to put the Cougars up 92-88. He then blocked a desperation 3-point attempt by Milan Momcilovic, who had 18 points.

Dallin Hall had seven assists and just one turnover. The Cougars had just 10 turnovers after committing 29 in Ames in that double-overtime win.

This game had to hurt the Cyclones and their devoted fans. They are the Gonzaga of postseason tournament loyalists in the Midwest. For them, the trip up Interstate 35 hasn’t looked this long in a while.

For the Cougars, a team that relies on the 3-point shot, they couldn’t have asked for a better time to see the ball go through the net from the outside.

This, after all, is March. A time for madness.