It was a simple question, but probably a bit unfair. The pain of losing was still pretty fresh as Young searched for an answer. Like all coaches, his mind was consumed after the loss with what the Cougars could have done differently to change the results.

So there was a long pause before he responded.

“Games are won in the margins, I say it all the time,” Young said. “The marginal difference in that game was our inability to get stops. And what does that mean? Where was the breakdown in coverage? If we were switching, where did we screw that up? We’re continuing to try to show our guys what it looks like in terms of execution down the stretch, on both ends of the floor. That’s one thing.

“The other thing, in terms of learning, is we’re a resilient club. We took three (losses) on the chin in a row, and nobody batted an eye. The sun still came up the next day and we got back to work. That, for me, is exactly where we are now. They (Arizona) are a good team. They beat us. We’re going to take a day off, get ready for an important road trip and go try to win the next game, which has been our attitude all year. It’s been fun, actually, to help these guys pick themselves up when we’ve come up short.”

For 30 minutes, BYU was right with the Wildcats, but the defensive issues became offensive issues (more than seven minutes without a field goal), which allowed the visitors to pull away.

“We have to learn that we’re as good as any team in the country,” Young said. “I firmly believe that we can play with any team in the country, honestly. So I think the internal belief has to continue to grow, which I think it has over the last five games. That’s what you do, you answer the call. We have guys in our locker room that are capable of doing that, and we’ll continue to push them to do that.”

Junior guard Dallin Hall had his best game in conference play with 11 points and six assists, showing a renewed aggressiveness getting to the basket as Wildcat defenders stuck to the perimeter to guard against the 3-point shot.

“I thought it was incredible,” Young said. “That’s the Dallin we want. He’s been a little reserved, for the lack of a better term, in parts of the season. I love seeing that out of him. If we can bottle that up and continue to pull that out of him, that’ll pay huge dividends for us.”

The schedule continues to get tougher but Hall said the Cougars’ performance against Arizona confirms his confidence in the team.

“I think we left a lot of money on the table, which is frustrating,” Hall said. “We obviously didn’t shoot well, and with our execution of the game plan in general, we’ve got to make some space there. But we just have so much shooting, so much talent and IQ on the floor. It’s really our intensity and attention to the scouting, the game plan and what we want to do offensively. So those are two spaces we’ve got to grow in, and our toughness as well. I think this was a battle. Those are areas we have to improve in if we want to beat any team in the country.”

Scouting Report

BYU outscored Cincinnati 52-29 in the second half on Jan. 25, finishing with an 80-52 rout in the Marriott Center. The Cougars shot 62.5% from the 3-point line (15 of 24) and 57% (28 of 49) from the field.

The Bearcats were ranked as high as No. 14 in the AP poll during non-conference play but started  0-4 in the Big 12. On Wednesday, Cincinnati shot a blistering 58.5% from the field and outscored UCF in Florida 93-83 to end another four-game losing streak. Guard Day Day Thomas, making just his second start of the season, scored 18 of his team-high 20 points in the first half. Former UVU center Aziz Bandaogo had 16 as the Bearcats poured in 56 points in the paint.

“”I think they did a good job resetting this week,” Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. “I think sometimes people can perceive what they watch in a game in different ways. The thing I’ve noticed is we’ve been carrying too much on our shoulders, whether it’s pressure individually, as a team or wanting it too bad.”

The Bearcats problems have been on the offensive end, where they are 15th in the Big 12 (out of 16) in scoring offense (62.6 points per game) and field goal percentage (.409) as well as last in 3-point field goal percentage (.270) and 3-pointers made (5.6 per game).

Men’s College Basketball

BYU (15-7, 6-5 Big 12) at Cincinnati (13-9, 3-8 Big 12)

Saturday, 4 p.m. MT

Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati

TV/Streaming: ESPN2

Radio: KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM, BYU Radio

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: The is the sixth all-time meeting between the two teams. … BYU leads the series 3-2. … The Cougars and Bearcats played in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament, with Cincy winning 84-59. … BYU claimed a 80-52 victory in Provo on Jan. 25. .. The Cougars are making their first trip to Cincinnati since 1931.