BYU Roundup: Demin named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week once more
Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald
BYU freshman Egor Demin looks to make a play during the non-conference game against Idaho at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.IRVING, Texas – BYU’s Egor Demin was tabbed as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for a second consecutive week on Monday afternoon.
Demin shared the honor with Arizona State’s Joson Sanon after averaging 15.0 points, 6.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game last week as BYU remained undefeated with wins over Queens and Idaho at the Marriott Center.
In Wednesday’s win over Queens, Demin went 6-of-9 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range en route to a 14-point, five-assist performance. The Moscow, Russia native followed that up with 16 points, seven assists, three blocks and three steals in BYU’s 95-71 victory over Idaho, extending the Cougars’ non-conference home win streak to 17 games. He also went 3-of-4 from 3-point range, raising his 3-point percentage to team-high 55.0 percent.
His performance against the Vandals made Demin one of five men’s basketball NCAA Division I freshmen since 1992 to have 15/7/3/3 in a single game, joining the likes of former No. 1 picks Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz (sports-reference).
Through four games, Demin ranks first among freshmen in assists (30), second in steals (9) and eighth in points (68). He also ranks first in the Big 12 in total assists and assists per game, while ranking second in steals.
BYU concludes its five-game home stand on Saturday, Nov. 16, when the Cougars host Mississippi Valley State. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT at the Marriott Center.
Men’s women’s cross country prepping for finals
No. 1 BYU women’s cross country will also compete for the NCAA national championship Saturday morning/
The Cougars enter the final meet of the 2024 season with five wins and one second-place finish. Most notably, the program won its second-consecutive Big 12 championship. Five women placed in the top 15 to earn All-Big 12 honors.
This week, the women will return to Zimmer Championship Course where they won the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals last month with 105 points. Lexy Halladay-Lowry led the charge for the Cougars as she placed ninth overall in 19:33.4. The 6,000-meter grass course will remain the same as BYU seeks to benefit from its prior experience on the course.
The NCAA has selected a 31-team field to compete at the national championship meet. No. 1 BYU, No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Northern Arizona, No. 4 West Virginia and No. 5 Notre Dame round out the top five teams. The Big 12 will be represented by the top-ranked Cougars, No. 4 Mountaineers, No. 12 Utah and No. 16 Oklahoma State.
The BYU women have now advanced to the national championship race for the ninth-straight season under head coach Diljeet Taylor.
BYU has won five national championships (1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2020-21) and has one individual national champions in Whittni Orton (2021).
Huang, Kovick moving on to NCAA Tennis finals
After making it to the finals at the ITA Sectionals, Bobo Huang and Kendall Kovick are one of 32 teams that will compete in the NCAA Division I Individual Championships next week. Their future performance at the NCAA championships will overcome a 23-year drought of no BYU appearances.
All matches will be the best-of-three sets, with no-ad scoring and a seven-point tiebreaker (first to seven points, must win by two points) at six-games-all. For doubles, a 10-point match tiebreaker will be played in lieu of a third set.
Competition will begin Nov. 19 and last until Nov. 24, hosted by Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
