BYU has lost to another unranked opponent.
The Cougars’ late comeback attempt at West Virginia fell short on Saturday, with the Mountaineers scoring a 79-71 win that should certainly kick No. 19-ranked BYU out of the next AP top 25 poll.
BYU is now 20-9 on the season and 8-8 in Big 12 play.
3 takeaways
Once again, a slow start cost the Cougars a win. BYU trailed by 14 points at halftime, as it scored just 26 points in the first half on 42% shooting with nine turnovers.
AJ Dybantsa, the nation’s leading scorer, was held to just four first half points, while fellow starters Mihailo Boskovic and Kennard Davis Jr. went scoreless before halftime.
The Cougars heated up in the second half, scoring 45 points at an average of 1.45 per possession and making eight consecutive field goals at one point.
Additionally, Dybantsa shook off his early slump for 16 points after halftime along with five rebounds, but none of it mattered.
West Virginia always had an answer for BYU’s rallying, consistently leading by double digits in the second half and refusing to balk when the Cougars cut the deficit to just three points late.
After never leading once against UCF, BYU held the lead for less than six minutes on Saturday.
West Virginia dominated in the most important specialty statistics. BYU did shoot better than the Mountaineers both from the field (47%) and from 3-point range (38%), but the Cougars have nothing to show for it.
West Virginia killed BYU on the boards, winning the rebound battle by a 39-29 margin and grabbing an unbelievable 18 offensive rebounds, which led to 15 second chance points.
If there’s one thing you can blame for the Cougars’ loss, that’s it.
Additionally, the Mountaineers scored 36 paint points to BYU’s 28, 24 bench points to BYU’s 12 and added another eight points off of turnovers for good measure.
BYU is in big trouble. The Cougars finish February having gone 3-5 during the month, with three of the five losses coming to unranked squads in Oklahoma State, UCF and now West Virginia.
BYU is still starting slow and struggling defensively. The Cougars really miss Richie Saunders. The vibe has soured drastically. The urgency hasn’t been sufficient. Everyone can feel the immense frustration.
Not only is BYU a lock to drop out of the AP top 25 for the first time all season on Monday, but the Cougars are likely lower than a 6 seed in the NCAA tournament right now, which would be a massive disappointment for the program considering the expectations heading into the campaign.
Speaking of tournaments, BYU is also in danger of finishing as a double digit seed in the Big 12 Tournament and could end with a losing record in league play for the first time since joining the conference.
Two Quad 1 opportunities — at Cincinnati and home against Texas Tech — await the Cougars to close out the regular season. Both teams are playing great basketball as of late.
Perhaps BYU is up for the challenge, but it will have to attack such a closing slate with no current momentum. If the Cougars drop both contests, they will have lost 10 of their final 14 games before the conference tournament.