Cats Attack: Cougars, Wildcats prep for huge game at Marriott Center
- BYU’s Mawot Mag (0) reacts with teammates Kanon Catchings (left) and Fousseyni Traore after scoring a basket against UCF in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025.
- BYU’s Mawot Mag, right, celebrates with teammate Keba Keita during a Big 12 men’s basketball game at UCF in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025.
BYU didn’t grab Mawot Mag out of the transfer portal to be a scorer.
But it’s nice to know he has that in his bag if necessary.
Mag’s defensive reputation preceded him to Provo and that ability has earned him a spot in the starting lineup the past six games. But on Saturday, Mag scored 19 points in an 81-75 victory at UCF, a season-high and his best game in a Cougar uniform. The 6-foot-7 grad transfer scored 24 points against Wisconsin while playing for Rutgers last season.
“We’re just trying to find ways to put our guys in a position to give them the best chance to be successful,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “So there was a lot that went into that (decision to start Mag). We just felt like Mag’s intensity defensively gave us some better matchups to start the game. We were also trying to find ways for Kanon (Catchings) to find more shots potentially coming off the bench. Some games that has been good, some games it hasn’t. But I think Mag’s experience has really kind of insulated that starting group pretty well.”
Mag shot the ball well (6 of 10 from the field, 3 of 6 from the 3-point line) and also dished out five assists, helping to relieve the pressure applied by UCF on the perimeter and its double teams. The Cougars finished with 22 assists on 28 made baskets.
“We just have a lot of selfless players,” Mag said. “Everybody plays together. I feel like we penetrate to the to the rim, draw another defender and spray (the ball) out, I feel like we have great shooters — Trevin (Knell), (Dallin) Hall, Richie (Saunders) — everybody can shoot. I feel like we just played very unselfish basketball. We share the ball and we just let the game come to us.”
Saturday was BYU’s fourth straight win in league play, the first time the program has done that since the 2020-21 season in the West Coast Conference.
“I’m happy and I just I told the guys in the locker room, ‘Don’t be too high, don’t be too low, just keep being poised,'” Mag said after the win at UCF. “We’re supposed to win so it’s good to embrace it, but now it’s time to move on and get ready for Arizona on Tuesday and win that one back at the Marriott Center.”
BYU is 6-4 in Big 12 play heading into the showdown with the Wildcats.
“It is a gauntlet because of the level of intensity in each game,” Young said. “That’s one of the big differences with the NBA regular season. With the college regular season there are very, very few nights where it’s not just going to be a dog fight. In the NBA you get cupcake games all the time, because guys are on back to back, or this, that and the other. There are so many variations of what each game looks like, whereas in this (college basketball), if you don’t bring it you’re going to get smacked.”
Scouting Report
It’s been a minute since BYU and Arizona met on the basketball floor, but the the past two matchups were pretty memorable.
In 2009, Jimmer Fredette stunned the McHale Center crowd by scoring a then-school record 49 points in the Cougars’ 99-69 victory. The following season, Fredette had 33 as BYU routed the Wildcats 87-65 in the Delta Center (then called Vivint Arena).
As for Tuesday’s late (9 p.m. MT) ESPN tip in the Marriott Center, both teams come into the game on four-game winning streaks. Arizona guard Caleb Love, who averaged 24.5 points per game in two victories last week, is the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week.
Love is a volume shooter who can run hot or cold. The 6-4 senior was just 16 of 41 (39%) from the field in last week’s two games, including 9 of 22 (41%) from the 3-point line. In fact, Love has only shot better than 50% from the field twice in the past ten games.
Still, he will be a major concern for the BYU coaches as they game plan for Tuesday night.
“He’s an electric player and very experienced,” Young said. “He’s a guy that can erupt for 30 on any given night, an explosive scorer. They give him a lot of freedom and he’ll put a challenge on us collectively. And it’s not just one guy (to guard him). We’ve got to do a job on him and try to make everything difficult for him. I think that’s the best way to try to disrupt very good scorers is just trying to make them really have to work super hard for everything that they get.”
Mag will probably draw the bulk of the assignment against Love, but Arizona has others who can do damage, including sophomore guard Jalen Bradley (11.4 points, 3.9 assists per game), Oakland transfer Trey Townsend (9.3 ppg, 50% field goals) and Campbell transfer Anthony Dell’Orso (8.6 ppg, 44% from 3).
“(Arizona coach) Tommy Lloyd is one of the guys who I have a bit of relationship with and I respect him a lot,” Young said. “He’s been at it a long time and does a great job. I’ve actually watched them (on video) a lot. I feel like they’ve played a lot of teams who we’ve prepared for. I’ll be a good game and a great atmosphere. It’ll be another opportunity for us to go out and continue to build on what we’ve been doing.”
Men’s College Basketball
No. 20 Arizona (15-6, 9-1 Big 12) at BYU (15-6, 6-4 Big 12)
Tuesday, 9 p.m. MT
Marriott Center, Provo
TV/Streaming: ESPN
Radio: KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM, BYU Radio
Live stats: byucougars.com
The Word: Tuesday will be the 40th meeting between BYU and Arizona, with the Wildcats leading 20-19. … The Cougars are 14-4 against Arizona in Provo. … This is the first matchup between the two schools since 2010, an 87-65 victory at the Delta Center (then Vivint Arena) with 33 points from Jimmer Fredette. … Both teams come into Tuesday’s game on a four-game winning streak.