No. 23 BYU caps off its regular season with a decisive win over Utah

The last time No. 23 BYU basketball faced the Utah Utes, it was a completely different team.

Following a 73-72 loss in overtime, BYU was 2-4 in the Big 12 and outside the NCAA tournament field. Coming into Saturday night, the Cougars had won 11 of its last 13 games and had one more box to check to cap off an incredible regular season.

“That’s pretty much all I talked about with our group,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “Hey, these guys beat us up there we don’t really need to say much else.”

Whenever the Cougars and Utes face off, it always has the potential to be an all-time classic because of the emotion involved in playing a rivalry game. Eventually, after another slower start, BYU found its groove in the second half and cruised to an 85-74 win on senior night.

“ I hate Utah with a burning passion… so much, man,” Trey Stewart said. “So, just to get that win, I mean, we came in motivated. They got us one earlier, so we owed them one. It couldn’t have been better.”

It took BYU almost the entire first half to get going, but the Cougars bench players Dawson Baker and Mihailo Boskovic carried the offense while everyone else tried to find a rhythm.

“We call him Dawson Baker shot-maker for a reason,” Stewart said.

Baker, a reserve guard, led the Cougars in scoring with 15 points on 4 of 7 shooting from the field to lead BYU to a decisive 85-74 win over its rival Utah. He scored nine of his 15 points in the first half and kept BYU in the game before it closed the half on a 13-4 run to lead Utah 34-30 at halftime.

“Dawson’s a guy who… probably deserves more minutes,” Young said. “The one thing that makes me at least feel better knowing the he does deserve more minutes is, when he comes in I try to go to him. I try to call his number as much as I can because he’s a guy that can deliver.”

Against Utah, Baker certainly delivered. Baker had not scored in double figures since a home win against Cincinnati in January but was ready when his number was called. A trait that has been the Cougars formula to success over its eight-game win streak.

For some teams, you know what you are getting from everyone on the roster on a night-to-night basis. The leading scorers, rebounders and leading minute-getters are consistent.

For the Cougars, they will play an 11-man rotation when fully healthy. Some nights, like against the Utes, Baker and Boskovic, are the right matchup. Other nights call for something different, sometimes it is a steady diet of Fousseyni Traore post-ups against West Virginia, or Trevin Knell getting white-hot from the 3-point line against Arizona State. Outside of Richie Saunders, playing time and roles vary game-to-game for everyone on this BYU team. You are never quite sure who will step up, but over its last 14 games, someone consistently has for BYU.

“I think with our group… you can’t guard it all, can’t prepare for it all, you can’t scout it all,” Young said. “I think we have multiple guys that benefit from that.”

Whatever opposing teams throw BYU’s way, Young and his staff have proved they can adjust and find the winning solution.

On Saturday night, it was Boskovic. He played 17 minutes and was part of BYU’s frontline, which held Ezra Ausar to 12 points. Ausar dominated the Cougars earlier this season at the Huntsman Center, scoring 26 points in the win. Boskovic, after playing irregular minutes all season, has surged into a vital role as a stretchmark forward. His size and physicality keep opposing teams from dominating BYU’s smaller lineups inside the paint and open up the offense with his shooting and slashing ability.

The Cougars’ plethora of weapons is clicking into place and everyone buying into their roles is why this team finished the season so strongly. They finished the regular season 23-8 overall and finished fourth in the Big 12 at 14-6.

In conference play, BYU had to grow into the team it is now after starting 2-4 in the Big 12. After stumbling out of the gate in conference, BYU found its identity as a deep, balanced, unselfish, fast-paced team. A team that has proven, on the right night, it can beat anyone in the country. It has become the team Young knew it could be heading into the season.

“It became pretty obvious for me early that I felt like we could be a good basketball team,” Young said. “ And the more I saw other teams in the league and in the country… yeah, I felt like we were and we have what it takes to be one of the best teams in the country.”

BYU finishes the regular season as one of the nation’s hottest teams and has played its way into being a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament. From now on, it is win-or-go-home time in the Big 12 Tournament and the Big Dance. The Cougars have proven that they are ready for the postseason because of what they have been through this season.

“We’re on a high right now, which is good,” Baker said. “We’re rolling, and we’ve got to experience a lot of big wins like Iowa State and Arizona. Those keep us battle-tested and will have prepared us big time come postseason games when it gets rough. We know that we can make adjustments throughout the game and we can change the course of a game through our energy … so I think we’re all excited, we’re eager. We know how last year went for us.”

Photo by Jordan Burr