The Salt Lake Tribune 1 hour ago
BYU is one of the best offensive teams — and most dangerous — in the country
Provo • Now ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll – the first time BYU has found itself in the AP Top 25 in nine years – the Cougars are turning heads. But if people would have been paying attention throughout the entire season, there’d be no need to get whiplash now.BYU – which has only three regular-season games left starting on Thursday when Santa Clara comes into the Marriott Center – has been silently working on this all year.And the way the Cougars have been building their success has come through their offense.In fact, BYU has the third best team offensive efficiency (1.111) in the...
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 18, 2020
BYU’s Sara Hamson joins her sister and mother in the 300 Block Club
Provo • There must be something in the Hamson genes. Or better yet, it must be in the Spaulding genes.Either way, last week Sara Hamson became only the third player in BYU women’s basketball history to reach 300 blocks.The other two players? Her older sister Jennifer Hamson and mother, Tresa Spaulding Hamson — a former All-American.Hamson, who so far has 308 career blocks as a junior, is on pace to break her sister’s total of 340. Her mom’s school record (494), however, looks to stay intact. The Cougars have four regular-season games left — and will next play at Santa Clara this...
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 18, 2020
BYU vs. Houston moved to a nationally televised Friday showdown
Provo • Friday night football is coming to LaVell Edwards Stadium this fall.BYU and ESPN announced Tuesday that the Cougars’ 2020 home football game against Houston is moving to Friday, Oct. 16 as a featured national television matchup on ESPN or ESPN2.This will be a second visit by the Houston Cougars to Provo. Houston lost to BYU 33-25 in a 2014 showdown.The BYU and Houston Cougars have met a total of two times before, with BYU leading the series 2-0. The first matchup between both schools took place in 2013 at Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium) in Houston when BYU quarterback Taysom...
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 17, 2020
BYU breaks into the AP Top 25 for the first time since the ‘Jimmermania’ days
Provo • For the first time in nearly a decade, BYU has cracked the AP Top 25, coming in at No. 23.The last time BYU was ranked was at the peak of “Jimmermania,” back in 2011 during Jimmer Fredette’s Player of the Year season. That year, BYU ended the season ranked No. 10 in the final rankings, but had been ranked as high as No. 3 throughout the season.The Cougars are currently on a six-game winning streak, with only three regular-season games remaining, and have already improved on last year’s record (19-13). In Mark Pope’s first season at the helm, his Cougars have a 21-7 overall...
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 16, 2020
BYU guts it out in SoCal, earning two hard-fought wins to improve chances of breaking into the AP Top 25
San Diego • The past week wasn’t pretty, but it was what the Cougars needed. And it may help bump the BYU men’s basketball team into the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in nine years.BYU survived two games on the road, beating Loyola Marymount on Thursday and San Diego on Saturday for six-straight wins. The Cougars, however, secured the wins differently than before.After shooting a record-tying nine games straight above 50% from the field, BYU struggled with getting shots to fall last week. The Cougars still managed to pull away from the Lions but had to rely on defense —...
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 16, 2020
BYU beats San Diego 72-71 on alley-oop from Haws to Childs in final minute
San Diego • There’s something about the Jenny Craig Pavilion – a place BYU has historically struggled playing at. And Saturday was no different.But luckily for the Cougars, they were able to keep fighting the whole game and held on to beat the Toreros 72-71.The win extends BYU’s win streak to six, improving the Cougars to 21-7 and 10-3 in West Coast Conference play.Since joining the WCC, BYU had previously gone 4-4 at USD, with losses in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2018.The Toreros got off to a hot start, going on a 7-0 run right after tipoff. The Cougars looked to get in on the action, and...
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 14, 2020
Gavin Baxter is back for BYU, and the Cougars’ basketball fortunes are better for it
Los Angeles • Less than five months after suffering a possible season-ending injury, sophomore Gavin Baxter put aside the option of redshirting this season and instead returned to the Cougars.The 6-foot-9 forward, who tore his labrum during a preseason practice in late September, made his comeback in last week's win against San Francisco and saw some added action at Loyola Marymount on Thursday.He should see some more time at San Diego on Saturday.For Baxter, it was never a question of if he'd be able to play again this season, but when.“When I got my shoulder injury, the doctors told me...
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 14, 2020
BYU plays long-ball, sinks school-record 18 3-pointers in 77-54 win at Loyola Marymount
Los Angeles • A 3-pointer in the final seconds from Evan Troy not only sealed BYU’s win over Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles on Thursday night, 77-54, but it gave the Cougars a new program record for most 3-pointers made in a single game.The Cougars nailed 18 of their long shots.However, for the first time in 10 games, BYU was held under 50% shooting from the field. Still, the Cougars have now won their last five games and improved to 20-7 on the season and 9-3 in West Coast Conference play.BYU got off to a slow start, missing its first five shots while allowing LMU to get off to a 4-0...
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 13, 2020
Eye on the Y: For Cougar basketball forward Dalton Nixon, it’s gotta be the shoes
Eye on the Y is The Salt Lake Tribune’s weekly newsletter covering BYU athletics. Subscribe here.By now we’re all familiar with Dalton Nixon, right?The 6-foot-7 senior forward has been an important cog in the Cougars’ machine during his tenure here, but did you know he has a sizable (and impressive) shoe collection? The Daily Universe wrote about Nixon’s “addiction” recently, talking to the Cougar about how his collection started and what the sneakerhead loves about it.“It’s a huge part of who I am, huge part of my personality,” Nixon told the campus paper.Understandably,...
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 12, 2020
The BYU Cougars have a solid NCAA basketball tournament resume — now they have to enhance it
Provo • Cosmo the Cougar may have made national highlight reels after dunking a 3-pointer last weekend, but the Cougars aren’t doing too bad themselves.Actually, this is shaping up as potentially the best BYU squad since the Jimmer Fredette days.The Cougars have already matched last year's win total with a 19-7 record and still have five regular season games remaining, starting at Loyola Marymount on Thursday.As of Wednesday, BYU is ranked No. 23 in the NCAA’s Net Rankings, No. 16 by KenPom.com and received 43 votes in Monday’s Associated Press rankings to put the Cougars at No....
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 12, 2020
The 2020 BYU-Northern Illinois football game is being moved to Chicago
Provo • Instead of traveling to DeKalb, Ill. at the end of October, the BYU Cougars will instead play Northern Illinois at the SeatGeek Stadium in Chicago for a featured matchup called the 2020 Huskie Chi-Town Showdown, it was announced Wednesday.SeatGeek Stadium, which is 12 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, is the current home of the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League and former home of the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer. The game will be the first for the Cougars in a venue built for professional soccer. The 2020 Huskie Chi-Town Showdown will also be the...
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 11, 2020
This week’s opponents have won only two WCC games each but still pose a threat to BYU
Provo • On paper, this week's games may not seem as important to the Average Joe, but they're anything but.Sure, Loyola Marymount and San Diego, who BYU will face on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, are two of the bottom three teams in the West Coast Conference at the moment. But that’s part of what makes the games more dangerous.The Cougars will also be facing these hungry teams on the road. BYU currently has a losing record in true away games, 3-5, but hopes to even that out this week.Either way, coach Mark Pope believes that what is so beautiful about league play is that every...
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 9, 2020
The BYU Cougars are on a roll, but upcoming basketball road trip will be critical
Provo • BYU can shoot — there’s no question about it.It has led the Cougars to a four-game winning streak after defeating Portland on the road and San Francisco at home this week.But where there is some concern is on the other side of the ball, as was shown Saturday against the Dons.When USF cut the Cougars’ 25-point lead to 7, on a pair of free throws by Trevante Anderson, it was reminiscent of the past couple of times BYU played USF. The Cougars surrendered 14-point leads in both of the past two games against their West Coast Conference rival, which resulted in losses.However, BYU...
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 9, 2020
Gordon Monson: BYU a ‘dangerous team’ chasing ‘lofty goals’
Provo • At first glance, BYU basketball appears to look the same as it ever has.Good. Limited. Vanilla.You know the story and the history. Exceptions there have been over the past two decades, a few isolated years when the Cougars cranked it up a couple of notches, the most memorable being Jimmer Fredette’s reign. On the other end, there was trouble in the vacation of wins.In the mix, everything had settled on down to more winning than losing, but … nothing exceptional, not enough winning to make boundless anyone’s expectation, not enough elasticity to stretch anyone’s imagination....
The Salt Lake Tribune Feb 8, 2020
BYU finally breaks through against San Francisco, wins 90-76
Provo • It was about time. And it was long overdue.After losing the last three games to San Francisco, BYU finally broke its skid against the Dons with a 90-76 victory Saturday at Marriott Center.The Cougars extend their winning streak to four and improve to 19-7 overall on the season and 8-3 in West Coast Conference play.After going score for score in the opening minutes, BYU used an 18-2 run – helped by four USF turnovers during that period – to start distancing itself from the Dons.With 4:16 left in the first half, Gavin Baxter checked into the game, making his season debut. Baxter...
