BYU continues hot streak with dominant win over Arizona State
No. 25 ranked BYU earned its fifth consecutive victory in a 91-81 win over Arizona State. The Sun Devils came into this one with their leading scoring recently dismissed from the team and several of their players on the injury list. In fact, for this game they only had six scholarship players available.
True freshman Trevor Best was a pleasant surprise for Arizona State as he scored 18 points, his first in his collegiate career. Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, that wasn’t quite enough against a deep BYU squad that saw four different players reach double figures.
Richie Saunders continued an absolute torrent stretch of basketball with his third consecutive game of at least 20 points, he finished with 26. Trevin Knell added 18, Fousseyni Traore with 10, and Dallin Hall tallied 13. Egor Demin was quiet on the scoring front, but showed one of his best skills in passing with 10 assists.
The biggest story of the night was BYU’s red-hot shooting from beyond the arc. The Cougs, who lead the Big 12 in 3-point attempts per game, with nearly 29 per game. Tonight BYU was 17 for 34, with 11 combined makes from Saunders and Knell.
Takeaways for the Cougs
1. Three point shooting might be pivotal for BYU to make a deep March Madness run
We all know that in March, all it takes sometimes is a team to get hot from deep for a run in the tournament. This team has proved time and time again that they are capable of doing just that, and it could prove huge next month.
2. Chemistry is Key
Kevin Young has finally figured out how to get this team to play together, and their chemistry is starting to show on the court. BYU began Big 12 play 2-4, but have gone 8-2 since. Their unity and depth have been two huge keys to their success. Players like Trey Stewart and Mihailo Boskovic playing big roles in small minutes are some of the biggest keys to success.
BYU now looks ahead to Saturday and a rematch against West Virginia. They defeated the Mountaineers to begin this winning streak, and I believe they will extend it in the Marriott Center.
