BYU basketball suffered a wire-to-wire 86-55 loss at No. 14 Houston in the Fertitta Center.
It was not surprising to lose at Houston. Houston has won a nation’s best 30 consecutive games at home. However, what was unexpected was seeing BYU blown out by 31 points.
Final score from Houston. pic.twitter.com/Svg6Eg1Gqm
— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) January 4, 2025
BYU suffered the largest margin of defeat since a 33-point loss to Gonzaga at the Marriott Center three years ago.
Here are some takeaways from BYU’s loss, which dropped them to 1-1 in Big 12 play this season.
BYU was dominated from start to finish
Keba Keita had a layup at the 16:48 mark of the first half to lock up the score at 4-4. From there, it was all Houston.
BYU opened Big 12 action earlier this week with a wire-to-wire victory over Arizona State. On Saturday, they were on the opposite end of a wire-to-wire outcome against a Houston team that suffocated them.
BYU fell into the “traps” of Houston’s defense
Houston boasted the No. 1 defense in the nation entering the All-Cougar matchup. They looked the part of the best defense in the land on Saturday.
BYU finished with 15 turnovers in the blowout loss. It wasn’t until five minutes left in the game that BYU had more field goals made than turnovers.
“We fell into their traps, both literally and figuratively, in terms of what their MO is,” said Kevin Young to the BYU Sports Network postgame.
BYU’s starting guards, Egor Demin and Dallin Hall, combined for six turnovers.
As Young noted, nothing Houston did defensively was out of the ordinary.
You have to wonder if the lack of challenges in nonconference action and limited game action with this starting five left BYU stunned with what they experienced against Houston.
The good news for BYU is that no defense in the Big 12 comes close to Houston’s. At the same time, does this show how big the gap is between this BYU team and the league’s defending champion?
We got a glimpse of Keba Keita and Fousseyni Traore on the floor together
To open the second half, Houston was on fire from three-point range. BYU was trailing by more than 20 points and needing some answers.
Kevin Young trotted out a new-look lineup that included Keba Keita and Fousseyni Traore on the floor together. It was the first time this season that BYU had both centers playing at the same time.
The results didn’t change much as Houston continued to make threes. They hit 70% of their first 10 attempts from three in the second half.
The unexpected lineup of Keita and Traore makes you realize that Young is still learning about the best lineups and rotations for his team as they settle into the heart of Big 12 play.
BYU’s freshman stars have to shine on the road
For BYU to become the great team many believe they can be, true freshmen Egor Demin and Kanon Catchings must be special.
Demin and Catchings combined for nine points and 3-11 from the field.
Both players finished with the lowest plus/minus for BYU in the loss, with Demin at minus-31, and Catchings at minus-28.
Both players had some brief, positive moments on the defensive end. Catchings had an impressive block that led to a fastbreak layup from Richie Saunders. Demin’s length forced Houston’s LJ Cryer into a turnover.
Still, if BYU is going to be in the Big 12 Championship race mix, the talented freshmen duo of Demin and Catchings have to shine away from the Marriott Center.
Outclassed on the glass
BYU entered Saturday afternoon’s game as the Big 12’s top rebound margin team, but that didn’t translate against Houston.
Kevin Young’s squad was outrebounded 37-24. BYU’s starting center, Keba Keita, only had one rebound in the game.
Houston had 15 offensive rebounds to BYU’s seven, and the Coogs scored 18 points from those 15 boards on the offensive glass.
BYU needed to do a better job to seal off Houston’s physical frontcourt.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
