HOUSTON — For exactly a month now, BYU’s basketball team has sat on that 83-64 loss at Providence College on Dec. 3 in which the Cougars were embarrassed by a Friars team that has proven to be mostly mediocre with a 7-7 overall record.
Sure, the Cougars won their next four games in December by an average of 28.2 points, including Tuesday’s 76-56 blasting of Arizona State in their Big 12 opener, but none of those contests were played in front of a hostile crowd, as the Providence game was.
That means Saturday’s Big 12 showdown with No. 14 Houston at the 7,035-seat Fetitta Center (noon MST, ESPN+) marks the first opportunity in a month for BYU (10-2, 1-0) to make amends for that abysmal showing on the East Coast, and obviously first-year coach Kevin Young’s squad is eager to show they have what it takes to win on the road.
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“I think more than anything the Providence game just woke everybody up, led by me,” Young said. “We learned a lot in that game. Probably the best thing that has happened to us to this point. I think our guys are ready to take what we learned there on the road, against a really good Houston team that played really well in their opener, too. So yeah, I think we are all really excited for the opportunity.”
Kelvin Sampson-coached Houston (9-3, 1-0) was picked to finish second in the Big 12 behind Kansas, and has played some of the best teams in the country, with close losses to Auburn, Alabama and San Diego State. The red-wearing Cougars have wins over Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Butler and most recently a 60-47 victory over Oklahoma State last Monday in their Big 12 opener.
“I think more than anything the Providence game just woke everybody up, led by me. We learned a lot in that game. Probably the best thing that has happened to us to this point.”
— BYU coach Kevin Young
Houston has won 29 straight games at Fertitta Center, the longest active home winning streak in the nation. It is No. 6 in the primary sorting tool for the NCAA Tournament, the NET rankings (BYU is No. 40) and No. 4 in the 2025 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings (BYU is No. 34).
Kenpom.com gives BYU a 15% chance to win, and favors Houston by nine points. In other words, this could easily be BYU’s most difficult game in the month of January. In February, the blue-wearing Cougars have road games at Cincinnati, West Virginia, Arizona and Iowa State.
“I say this all the time: I personally try not to make a big to-do of road and home (differences),” Young said. “The game plan is the game plan, the other team is the other team, whether you are at home, or on the road.”
But Houston is Houston, coached by one of the legends of the game. Sampson’s squad edged BYU 75-68 last year in Provo, avenging a 72-71 home loss on Nov. 15, 2019, when BYU’s TJ Haws hit a last-second shot at Fertitta.
“They were just so tough defensively. Right? And they just really hang their hat on the defensive end,” BYU’s Richie Saunders said, when asked what he remembers about that seven-point loss last year. “They are just a tough team. It is going to be a fun one.”
Saunders scored a career-high 30 points in the win over ASU, while Kanon Catchings chipped in 11 and Keba Keita had 10 rebounds. Saunders seems to play well in day games, having scored 26 points in BYU’s 95-71 win over Idaho on Nov. 16.
“This is a big game (against Houston),” Saunders said. “We know how good Houston is. But you know, we learn. Just like Dawson (Baker) talked about the specifics — we learned that it is hard to play on the road (against Providence). … Now that this one (vs. ASU) is out of the way, we are excited to be back on the road and to be able to learn and grow more on the road.”
As for getting his career-high, Saunders said it was extra-sweet because it was his first game back since sustaining a concussion against Wyoming and a cut lip that required seven stitches to close.
“I just feel so grateful. Getting knocked out, and having that concussion stuff, that was really hard,” he said. “I was just so excited to play again. That for me was one I will remember forever.”
Whether BYU plays well enough in Houston to remember it forever depends on a number of factors, Young said Tuesday after the Cougars held ASU to 36.8% shooting and shot 48.3% themselves. The former NBA assistant coach with the 76ers and Suns said Sampson’s ability to produce hard-nosed, defensive-minded teams is well known.
“I kinda know what their mantra is in terms of their defense and how physical they are, and so forth. But we are a tough team to prep for, too,” Young said. “We got shooters all over the floor. You have gotta pick your poison with our team, which allows us to play in a little bit more space than some of our counterparts. So looking forward to it. That is the fun part of coaching, the chess match part of it.
“Kelvin is obviously an extremely experienced coach, has built a great program at Houston,” Young continued. “That’s one of the reasons the Big 12 was so enticing to me, was to go in and play against the best coaches and best players. So, here we go.”
