3 takeaways from BYU’s loss to Houston in the Big 12 tournament

Both BYU’s nine game win streak and Big 12 tournament stay have come to an end.

The Cougars were vanquished by No. 2 Houston Friday night in Kansas City, falling in 74-54 fashion to arguably the best team in the sport.

BYU is now 24-9 on the season and will be off until next Thursday’s NCAA tournament first round action.

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3 takeaways

Houston’s defense dominated. During BYU’s nine-game unbeaten stretch, Kevin Young’s squad was averaging 86.3 points per contest.

Against Houston, BYU managed just 54 points.

The Cougars in blue shot just 31.7% from the field, 21.4% from 3-point range and committed 13 turnovers due to Houston’s overwhelming physicality and perimeter pressure.

This is why Houston should be considered a true national title contender — the red Cougars may be the best defensive team in the country, and BYU gave them a perfect opportunity to prove it.

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BYU couldn’t stop Houston’s stars. Even without All-Big 12 First Team selection J’Wan Roberts, Houston had no shortage of horses to take down BYU.

Emmanuel Sharp scored 26 points, LJ Cryer added another 20 and Milos Uzan provided 14 points and five assists.

As a team, Houston made 41.8% of its shots and drained 10 of 26 (38.5%) 3-pointers. The Cougars in red raced to a 15-0 start and never looked back, keeping BYU off the scoreboard for nearly seven minutes to open the game and leading by 21 points at halftime before ultimately winning by 20.

This game shouldn’t concern BYU fans regarding the early portion of the NCAA Tournament. Yes, the blue Cougars didn’t look great against Houston Friday night, but Houston is a juggernaut.

BYU’s two lowest scoring scoring outputs this season have each come against Houston. Over the past month, BYU hasn’t looked anything remotely close to what it played like against Houston.

Friday’s matchup wasn’t a complete fluke, but it was clearly much more exception than rule. Young’s group still has an impressive resumé, six Quad 1 victories and will likely receive a 6 or 7 seed on Selection Sunday.

BYU won’t be facing anyone in Houston’s stratosphere in the Round of 64.

The blue Cougars can certainly be beaten, but given how their offense has rolled in the past month, they’re still explosive, formidable and capable of earning their first tournament win in 13 years.

Let the dancing begin.