Courtesy BYU Photo

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the second straight game, an opposing player scored 30-plus points against BYU.

How did the Cougars counter it?

With depth and balance.

On Saturday, Oklahoma State’s Javon Small scored 34 points. Darius Johnson, who seemed to pick shots with the highest degree of difficulty and make them, scored 32 points for UCF in Wednesday’s second round Big 12 Tournament game at T-Mobile Center.

Against the Knights, BYU won 87-74 and had four players in double figures, with four scoring at least eight points.

Courtesy Big 12 Conference

“I’d say depth is our superpower,” said senior guard Spencer Johnson, who flirted with a triple double (nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists). “It’s been that way the whole season. That’s just our super power as a team. We’re at our best popping the ball around and everyone is shooting confidently. It’s just so hard to guard us when we’re playing that way.”

In BYU’s 21-3 opening run, six different players scored points. UCF eventually whittled the lead down to three, 59-56, with 13:38 to play. The Cougars responded with a strong defensive effort that led to a 12-0 run. Again, six different players contributed in scoring during that key stretch.

“With our team its always ‘next guy up,'” sophomore guard Dallin Hall said. “That’s kind of the moral of the story for our team this year. I get into a little foul trouble and I trust Trey Stewart a ton. He goes out there and gets great minutes. Then Jax (Jaxson Robinson) shifts over to the point guard. This team is just built with guys who are ready to step up.”

Still a Swiftie

BYU head coach Mark Pope has four daughters and has been to several Taylor Swift concerts, so naturally, Tay Tay’s name has come up several times during the season in post-game interviews.

Specifically about the number 13.

“When I was in this building seven months ago I talked about how we were excited to be picked 13, which is Taylor Swift’s favorite number,” Pope said. “This morning I found out courtesy of the greatest statistician/SID ever (Tyson Jex) that our first game against UCF was on January 13, our second game was on February 13 and our third game was March 13. Like, the deck was stacked against these guys (UCF). It’s not even fair.”

Pope turned to Richie Saunders and Fousseyni Traore, who had joined him on the podium for the post-game interview.

“If I had told you guys that before the game, would you think, ‘Our dude has lost his mind?'” he asked.

Saunders responded with, “A little bit.”

A Hall of an effort

“Dallin Hall stepped up and made a couple of huge shots,” Pope said. “His ball protection under incredible duress was fantastic. I thought he was really special that way. And then sitting most of the first half (due to two fouls), for him to come in and bang another shot to start the second half, he didn’t miss a beat.

“He and Richie and Fous really set the tone. The challenge for us in a game like this with a team that so athletic and so physical and so aggressive and made such big shots is, as things are starting to get hairy and complicated, do we stay aggressive? Dallin helped us stay aggressive. Richie Saunders was a star helping us stay aggressive and Fous definitely helped us stay aggressive security wise. I thought Dallin was the leader of that push and probably the deciding factor in the game.”

Making a run

Can BYU’s style of play result in a good post-season performance?

Hall likes to think so.

“I think with that ‘next guy up’ mentality, it will translate well to this tournament and to the future tournament,” Hall said. “Game after game is just wave after wave of our guys. I think the way we play when we stick to it and execute our game plan, it’s perfect for tournaments. We love to play fast. And when we execute on defense, I think we can beat anyone in the country.”

A helping hand

Aly Khalifa finished with eight points and five assists, marking the 12th time this season he has had five or more assists in a game. Khalifa, who is Muslim, is observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan by fasting during daylight hours.

“He was incredible,” Pope said. “He sure didn’t miss a beat to start the game. He threw one pass today, that little pocket pass around the wrong side. I was like, ‘What is happening here?’ I thought he was absolutely terrific.”

Is it over?

UCF is 17-15 overall and hoping for an invitation to play in the post-season.

“I think BYU played a really good game,” Knights coach Johnny Dawkins said. “They started off hot and really shot the 3-ball well to start off the first half, something they have done well all season long. We were trying to contain those 3’s but give them credit, they were able to find openings and more importantly knock down shots even under pressure. They are a very good basketball team.”

Tip-ins: BYU’s victory against UCF was the second time in the Pope era that the Cougars have beaten a team three times in the same season (Loyola Marymount in 2022). … Traore had his first double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) of the season and the 19th of his career. Traore also became the 53rd player in program history with 1,000 career points. … Hall finished with three or more 3-pointers for the seventh time this season. … BYU made 10 or more 3-pointers for the 21st time this season. … Jaxson Robinson extended his 3-point streak to 19 games, the seventh-longest in program history.

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