While Wednesday’s overtime loss at Utah Valley is disappointing for the BYU men’s basketball team, it’s really just one game in early December.

In the latest ESPN Bracketology, the Cougars are still a No. 7 seed, despite suffering their first loss of the season.

The greater issue is how No. 12 BYU moves forward without Gavin Baxter.

The hard-luck senior tore the ACL in his left knee against the Wolverines, the third time in his career he’s suffered a season-ending injury. Baxter was averaging 8.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game this season but the loss of his ability as a rim protector and inside presence is a huge blow to the program.

On Friday, Baxter posted on Twitter: “Thank you Cougar Nation! I had fun!” which puts into question whether or not he will attempt another rehab and comeback.

With projected starter Richard Harward out indefinitely due to a cardiovascular issue, the bulk of the minutes inside will fall to 6-foot-8 sophomore Caleb Lohner, 6-6 freshman Fousseyni Traore and 6-foot-9 freshman Atiki Ally Atiki.

The Cougars won’t face many players like Utah Valley’s 6-11 monster Fardaws Aimaq (25 points, 22 rebounds on Wednesday) but Lohner, Traore and Ally Atiki will be truly tested as they see more minutes.

“It’s daunting to think about all the work that has to continue to go on, but I think our guys are cut the right way,” BYU coach Mark Pope said. “They’re built the right way to do that. And so we just have to get better. Every season is this incredible saga and journey of ups and downs. We’re going to have a bunch of ups and downs as we move forward. The most important thing is we have to get better and clearly, there are so many ways we can get better right now.”

The Cougars shot the ball poorly against Utah Valley – 32 percent from the field (23 of 72) and 26 percent from the 3-point line (7 of 27). It’s a dangerous trend even though Pope has said many times during the preseason he’s not concerned about the outside shooting of his team.

“We can earn ourselves better shots,” he said. “We haven’t been a great ball movement team. We run a lot of stuff through our bigs at the top and we spent a lot of time playing two rookie bigs tonight (against Utah Valley). They’ll catch up.

“This is why we play this schedule. We’re going to get punched in the mouth more. The whole idea is how good can we be when we’re done with the season? We have a lot to learn and a lot of ways to grow. We have some younger guys that need to grow really fast, and we will. We’re not going to roll through this gauntlet and not be exposed sometimes.”

SCOUTING REPORT

BYU leaves the state for a true road game for the first time this weekend, facing Missouri State in Springfield at JHQ Arena on Saturday. At No. 12, the Cougars are the second-highest ranked team to ever play against the Bears in that venue. In 2014, Missouri State lost to No. 6 Wichita State 72-69.

Just like on Wednesday with UVU, BYU is the biggest game the Bears will play all season.

Missouri State was 17-7 last season and return four starters including 6-9 senior forward Gaige Prim, whose averaging a double-double with 20 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Junior guard Isaiah Mosley is averaging 18.3 points per game. Starter Keaton Hervey, a 6-7 senior, is a former teammate of BYU wing Gideon George. The two players were together at New Mexico Junior College during the 2019-20 season.

The Bears are 4-3 so far this season, going 2-1 at the Naples Invitational (beating Long Beach State and George Washington, losing to East Tennessee State) and falling 79-74 at Illinois State on Wednesday. Missouri State is projected to be a Quad 1 road game (NET ranking of 75 or higher) by the end of the season, but the Bears currently hold a NET ranking of 97.

MORE RIVALRY

The No. 21 BYU women’s basketball team travels to Salt Lake City to play Utah at the Huntsman Center on Saturday, with tip time at 5 p.m. MT.

The Cougars are 7-0 after winning the St. Pete Showcase in Florida, defeating No. 17 Florida State 61-54 and No. 22 West Virginia 58-57. The Utes are 6-1 overall, with their one loss coming to Gonzaga 89-71 in the Rainbow Wahine Showdown last week.

Utah leads the overall series 67-41, having won the past two meetings in 2018 and 2019.

Men’s College Basketball

No. 12 BYU (6-1) at Missouri State (4-3)

Saturday, 2 p.m. MT

JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo.

TV: CBS Sports Network

Radio: BYU Radio, Sirius XM 143/BYU radio app, KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: The two teams have split two previous meetings. MSU won 62-61 in 1987 and BYU won 66-46 in 1984 with both games in Provo. … The Cougars are coming off their first loss of the season (Utah Valley, 72-65 in overtime). … Missouri State’s Gaige Prim (6-9 Jr.) has scored 47 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the past two games. … BYU is in a stretch of seven of eight games away from the Marriott Center.

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