After a double-overtime, top-10 win at Iowa State, is BYU the hottest team in the country?

After BYU's 77-56 victory over West Virginia on Saturday night, head coach Kevin Young claimed that BYU was "not a one-trick pony."

That was evident again on Tuesday after No. 23 BYU came back from an 11-point deficit, blew a 21-point lead, and battled through two overtimes in a 89-85 victory over No. 10 Iowa State.

This was BYU's 7th win in a row, beating three ranked teams during the streak and winning in every way imaginable. The Cougars are peaking at the right time and just might be the hottest team in college basketball.

BYU's play in the first 12 minutes of the game was — to put it lightly — rough.

The Cougars turned the ball over nine times and only shot 1 of 9 from deep. Iowa State's intense ball pressure was getting to the Cougars, as they couldn't seem to buy a clean possession or look.

But BYU only trailed by five, even with its poor level of offensive play. Iowa State was kicking itself for not taking advantage and being up by more.

With a flip of the switch, BYU ended the half on a 21-7 run and carried that momentum into the second.

At one point in the second half, BYU guard Trey Stewart threw a lob to fellow guard Dallin Hall for the fast break, alley-top slam. This dunk put BYU up by 21 points and forced an Iowa State timeout.

That's when the Cyclones started the comeback. And they didn't stop.

Iowa State finished the second half on a 35-14 run to send it to overtime, stifling the Cougars offense in dominating fashion.

BYU struggled to bring the ball past the half court line, and freshman guard, Egor Demin had four turnovers in the second half.

It took two overtimes to decide this game, but ultimately BYU's excellent free throw shooting — 25 of 31 —and endurance was the difference maker.

Richie Saunders and Dallin Hall combined for 45 points and had four fouls throughout both overtimes. Clutch performances from two veterans.

Like Young said, BYU is not a one-trick pony. The Cougars keep finding ways to win, no matter how unique their tactics get at times.

Photo by BYU Photo

At one point in BYU's seven-game win streak, BYU scored 90-plus points in three straight games. Two of those games were against top 25 teams in Kansas and Arizona.

The last two wins have been defensive slugfests, almost complete opposites from the previous three. But both ways are producing wins.

What is the best group of closers to end games? It changes every game. BYU has an 11-man rotation — 10 with Kanon Catchings injured — and each player is pivotal.

In the win against Iowa State, big man Mihailo Boskovic played 20 minutes. It was the most he has played in a Big 12 game.

Fousseyni Traore, who had a 20-point double-double against West Virginia on Saturday, only played eight minutes against Iowa State.

BYU can beat any team, any way.

With this win, BYU has clinched a bye for the two opening rounds in the Big 12 Tournament next week. This will also propel them to a possible five or six-seed in the latest rounds of bracketology.

BYU is peaking at the perfect time.

As the commentator of Tuesday night's game, Chris Spatola, said after the final buzzer, "There is no hotter team in the country than BYU."