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College basketball

4-game win streak has BYU basketball back in Big 12, NCAA Tournament conversation

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PROVO (KSL.com) — The men’s college basketball season can often change on a dime, or at least on the right two-week stretch, and no team in the country may illustrate that quite like BYU.

Few teams have had a better two-week run than the Cougars (15-6), who are tied for fifth with a 6-4 record in the Big 12 Conference after a four-game winning streak following Saturday’s 81-75 road win over UCF.

Since the days following BYU’s 73-72 overtime road loss Jan. 18 to in-state rival Utah, the Cougars have been on a tear. Four consecutive victories. The Cougars’ first road win over an ailing Colorado squad. Two Quad 1 wins — at home against No. 27 Baylor and on the road over No. 64 UCF.

And potentially a chance for another Tuesday night against Arizona, which improved to 15-6 and 9-1 in Big 12 play with its 11th win in the last 12 games with an 81-72 win over Territorial Cup rival Arizona State (more on that in a moment).

BYU coach Kevin Young hasn’t shied away from calling attention toward big moments during the Cougars’ season — he was none-too-pleased when BYU lost four of its five games, and he let his emotions show on the Hill in Salt Lake City. Before BYU’s win over the Knights, the Cougars were among the “First Four Out” by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and UCF in the “Last Four In.”

Saturday’s win over the Knights, then, was “really big” that has BYU back in the conversation for an NCAA Tournament berth.

“We know where we’re at in our season,” he said after the game. “We let a couple of games go early on in the year that we felt like were right there for us. Our guys stayed the course, but we know that we have work to do. This was a step in the right direction against a good team that is well coached.”

Indeed, a UCF team that “punked” BYU — to borrow the word used on the ESPN+ broadcast by leading scorer Richie Saunders, who had 22 points in the win — was flipped around in the second half as the Cougars limited their turnovers, forced 10 of their own off seven seals, and outrebounded the Knights 40-34.

BYU also got two key blocks in the final moments from Keba Keita, who also had 10 points and seven rebounds, and the Cougars shot 48% from the field while assisting on 22 of 28 made field goals.

“I was super happy with the way we moved the ball,” said Saunders, who is averaging a team-high 15.3 points on 51.2% shooting including a 45.3% mark from 3-point range that leads the conference. “They’re a physical team (in UCF) … and Mawot getting into the lane and making the extra pass, that’s what we’re all about.

“Something happens when you do that; the karma gods let that thing go in.”

Then there is Mawot Mag, the Rutgers graduate transfer who arrived in Provo known for his defense but has been an offensive spark during the Cougars’ latest run.

In BYU’s run to start the month of January, the Cougars were playing like the No. 60 team in the country, according to barttorvik.com. In the last four games, BYU is up to 11th by the same metrics — playing at or close to the caliber of Auburn, Texas Tech, Ohio State, Purdue, UCLA and St. John’s, according to the same metric.

Mag, the 53% field-goal shooter who averages 5.7 points and 1.8 rebounds on the year, has been a key figure in the renaissance.

The 6-foot-7 wing from Sudan who grew up in Melbourne, Australia, before prepping at Prolific Prep in California, has scored in double figures twice in the last four games including his season-high 19 against UCF to go along with five assists and three rebounds.

Sharing the basketball ball at the 22-of-28 clip could go a long way against Arizona, led by the conference’s fifth-leading scorer in Caleb Love who had 27 points, seven assists and six rebounds against the Sun Devils before he was ejected with a Flagrant 2 foul following BJ Freeman’s apparent head-butt against Love with 30 seconds left.

“Words that were said back and forth led to the moment where Freeman lost it, lost his cool, because of the constant talk that was allowed to go on,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley told reporters after the game — one in which he pulled his team from the court before they could shake hands with the Wildcats.

“It was just two competitors going at it,” added Love. “It escalated and the refs made a call. … We just compete. It was a great atmosphere, great game and we came out on top.”

Tuesday’s tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. MST on ESPN.

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