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We're gonna get into the minds, the hearts, and we're
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all right. When Byu is down down for the count,
when the whole jeckel and hide and the undulation's harder,
we're tossed to and fro by every wind of negativity,
I have to bring in the most positive man in Kugarnation,
the man that can never say a bad word about Brigham.
Let's welcome him into the show Spencer Linton Coast, the
bo Sports Nation, part of the BYU TV network.
Speaker 1: What's up, Spencer?
Speaker 2: How are you Ben? Good to be with you? Brother?
While I didn't say anything that could be perceived as
quote unquote bad, I'd be lying if I said I
wasn't thinking bad things right along with Kevin Young last night.
He actually said some hard things and I don't fault
him for that. A rough, rough night for BYU, And
it feels super dramatic because it's juxtaposed against the best
performance of the season seventy two hours before. So it
just feels like the most dramatic high high and then
an immediate low low.
Speaker 3: Yeah, what was the vibe like at the at the arena,
What was the feel like on the core, What was
the vibe like from the players the coaching staff like
throughout the game? And how would you just describe the
spectacle that was the lost versus U.
Speaker 1: See they were down thirty for most.
Speaker 2: Of the game. Yeah, let's go ahead and start chronologically
with the first frustration timeout that Kevin Young took when
BYU was down fourteen to four. Before you could say,
you see and guys came over to the bench, and
immediately Tim Fanning, who's essentially the defensive coordinator and one
of Kevin Young's assistants, started talking about effort and the
game plan of you know what UCF's gonna do. You've
got to get back on defense. Guys, we know what
they're gonna try and do, and it just kind of
seems like BYU never engaged, they got punched super early.
And where they have been so good is at some
point something clicks. Sometimes it's at halftime, sometimes it's late
in the first half, sometimes it's midway through the second half,
but like typically they will re engage and then go
on like this crazy run, right, it just never happened
last night. And Kevin Young said he's been coaching basketball
for a long time, and he said, occasionally you just
encountered these games where it feels like absolutely nothing can
go your way, and it felt like it was a
comedy of errors and the perfect storm all combined into one,
and then you just like you want to keep playing hard,
and it's not like the guys weren't still playing, but
it just felt like the details went out the window
early and it was like, well, what do he want
us to do? UCF has made eleven of sixteen three
pointers in the first half. Were down by twenty four.
We're not making layups, we're not closing out on shooters,
and not just the team across the way making three pointers,
but it was the open shots. It was the quality
of shots that UCF was getting. Everything felt easy, and
so felt like no matter how many timeouts to be
what you called, the message was still the same, like, you, guys,
where's the intensity, where is the effort you've got to
get out on shooters. I mean they're feeling it. Guard
a guy five feet behind the line, like you have
to be in his face. And so they tried a
number of different things, tried to go to a zone
just to try and disrupt UCF a little bit, and
and then started switching every pick one through five no
matter what, and went with a bigger lineup to try
and help it there, and it just felt like nothing
would work, at least not consistently. So the vibe was
defeat really. I mean at halftime, when BYU walked into
the locker room down twenty four, it felt very different
than previous times when it was like, Okay, well they'll
make some adjustments and they'll come back and they'll be okay.
And they were down by twenty one against Clemson at
Madison Square Garden and it was like, what the heck
was that? But they came out with a fury and
a vengeance. Just felt like Byu was tired and Kevin
Young said they were sleepwalking, which I think is an
accurate depiction of what it felt like, and just a
stunned crowd And didn't help that it was a nine
pm tip and everyone's tired and impatient and wondering how
is this the team that we saw beat Iowa State
three days ago? But they just could not be more different.
I'll add this though, the presence of Richie Saunders just
even being on the bench in that Iowa State game
was an immediate mood lift and such a boost for
guys like Kava Cata and some of the bench players.
Like his presence there just kind of is like, yes,
we meet, We're so glad to have Richie back in
any capacity. Were Richie's doing his thing. He's having surgery
this week, so he couldn't be there last night, and
I don't know that he all of a sudden would
have been like this magic potion for Byu but my
point is even him being around the team as a
true BYU guy brings an immediate change in the atmosphere
of the locker room, the team dynamic, just because when
he's around, he makes everybody better. And I hope to
get him back on the bench as soon as possible.
I hope as surgery goes super well to replace or
to rather repair his torn acl and we'll see. But yeah,
I mean, that's a long answer for you, but there's
a lot there, because they felt like dead man walking
about four minutes into the game and it was just like, man,
can we end this game? When the last time you
remember Ben thinking like, oh, just end the game and
like let's get onto the next But that's kind of
how it felt last night when Bay was down by
thirty six at one point, absolutely unbelievable.
Speaker 3: Like you've been covering BYU for how long now, Spencer
at the basketball basketball specifically at the Merritt Center.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is thirteen years.
Speaker 3: Okay, So in those thirteen years, how many times has
BYU fans booed their team?
Speaker 2: I was thinking about that last night as the team
ran out the floor at halftime. Yeah, I thought, wow,
booze and again. Kevin Young was like, look, they I
get it. I'm not mad at our fans, Like our
team deserved it. They played darable. Yeah, And but I
I was thinking, like I don't remember. I don't remember.
Speaker 1: That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 3: I don't remember the last time and like I mean,
I've been around since five is when I arrived at BYU,
Like I don't I don't remember from in the last
twenty years a BYU basketball team getting booed on their
home court.
Speaker 1: Like even when you lost by like thirty.
Speaker 3: To Gonzaga at home, they weren't getting booed because, like
the effort was good, It's just Gonzaga was that much
better and we weren't. Just we just weren't hitting shots right.
And so they were like, Okay, it wasn't an effort issue.
Does that make sense? Like I don't remember the last
twenty years BYU fans going out of the way to
boo their team.
Speaker 2: Correct, especially not in the Marriott Center. Do not remember
a single time.
Speaker 1: Like Edwards is different.
Speaker 3: The fans there that boo about anything, right, but like
married Center's different.
Speaker 1: Like they don't boo.
Speaker 3: So do you do you think are do you think
they're ticked off about are they ticked off more at
the coaches or the players?
Speaker 1: Right now?
Speaker 2: Oh man, I think it's kind of a combination of everything.
I think there's frustration that there there are injuries, and
BYU is I mean, I think all of the frustration
just boiled over for all of the reasons, injuries piling up,
inconsistent defense, and I mean, where's the you like to
use the will of accountability, where is the where is
the accountability in that it's Is it on the coaches primarily?
Is it on the players or is it just like
a perfect mix of both. And I think the answer
is probably closer to an even draw on that blame.
But BYU's defense, especially after playing better against Arizona and
Iowa State, they were engaged, they were better, they executed
the game plan. They this never showed up last night.
So I think it all kind of culminated in this.
Dang it, we miss Richie, we missed Ustin Baker, like
Cape's hand is injured. We miss Nate Pickens, who's a
good defender and he's happening to sit out like and
you've showed us that you're still capable, So what the
heck changed, And is it on the coaches? Is it
on the players? Probably both, but I think it's just
all boiled over. And then we saw them play the
worst half of basketball we've seen all season. Seventy two
hours after they're two halves of the best basketball and
the most complete game they've played. So understand the booze.
Still kind of shocked by it because it never happens
at home, And I was trying to think when it
happened in general from like BYU fans, and I thought
of two occasions. Remember when by you lost that absolute
head scratcher at the Depth Center. I think it was
against South Dakota in twenty twenty one or twenty twenty two,
and it was like by you just lost to a
team that has a net ranking of like two hundred
and eighty in Salt Lakes, and fans were they were
a little disgruntled, and there were some booze and lost
that game or the game in the West Coast Conference
Tournament against San Diego in Dave Rose last year when
it was like four forty seven to nineteen at halftime
or something, and then there were some booze and a
lot of frustration. BA fans, But gosh, those were both
on neutral sites. This one, this one is unique. I
know you probably want me to answer the question like
where is more of the accountability? Because I know how
these coaches operate, and I know them well, and I
know how they probably would answer. They're gonna say it's
on them, like they will take the blame. Kevin Young's
gonna take the blame, like, hey, I have got to
figure it out. I got to find my core, my rotation.
I don't know if he deserves it and if Tim
Fanning deserves it, but he is going to take the
blame for his players about not having them mentally right
and then falling victim to the whole old big win
hangover it felt last night.
Speaker 3: Yep, No, Dad Spencer letton BYU Sports Nation here on
your Utah ESPN Radio Network in a cougar beat, talking
some Brigham basketball. So a couple other things that we've
been broaching today, is you know, best path forward? Obviously
there were some a couple of silver linings, ty them,
russ A Lexikostick. You always like to talk about silver linings,
But what what's the best path forward right now? And
where do you see this team going to end the
regular season.
Speaker 2: Well, I think the challenge for BYU is to find
the true ability to have that flush mentality, where like, Okay,
this is a game where you watch film, you discuss
basic consistent breakdowns in it and say, we're never going
to do that again, Like this is absolutely unacceptable effort
and I don't care who's playing, Like we will find
the five on the floor who will give maximum effort
for the whole game. Like that is that's the feeling
I got from Kevin Young last night. We got to
find the five guys who were giving the most consistent
effort on both ends of the floor. So like locating
the core of who's going to do that. They thought
it was Mihaila Boskovich that could be the guy that
is the consistent starter, and he has been for the
past few games in place of Richie. But maybe it's
somebody else. Maybe maybe it's Alexi Kostitch, or maybe it's
a game where Hadeem Boop starts because they want more
they just want more energy on the floor immediately. I
don't know, but like they have to find the core
and then the great thing about basketball is BYU doesn't
have to wait that long, like they can just get
back to work and they got to go win a
road game at West Virginia, so rediscovering the winning formula
and getting right back after it. Like it's not like
football where you have to sometimes like you lose a
game and you have a buy sometimes you gotta sit
on the loss for two weeks. BYU doesn't have to
dwell on this for very long. It's like, Hey, we're
gonna be on the plane in Morgantown on Thursday, and
like we got we gotta go again. As far as
big picture for what was still available for BYU, man
the loss to UCF really hurts in the Big Twelve
standings because they only play once speaking of the Knights
and the Cougars, and now UCF has a full game
lead on BYU plus the tide breaker with only three
to play, which means BYU has to win out and
UCF has to drop two of three games for BYU
to regain that sixth position for the Big Twelve tournament.
I don't think it's gonna happen because UCF's schedule includes
a home game against Baylor, a home game against Oklahoma State,
and then a road game against West Virginia, so maybe
they go two and one. BYU wins three. They finished tied,
but By is most likely going to be the seven
or Gould the eight seed in Kansas City for the
Big twelve tournament. Best course of action Ben is just
beat West Virginia and then figure out how in the
world you're gonna go to Cincinnati, a place you got
boat raced in last year, and try and do something
that you're not expected to do, which is to sweep
this road trip before you come home. And now have
to take on a resurgent Texas Tech team playing without JT. Topping,
but they looked awesome. Christian Anderson's still awesome, And now
you've got to beat Texas Tech on your home four
on Senior night when you're honoring Richie, Saunters and Kavakeda
and you don't want to send them off with a loss.
So gosh, just just beat West Virginia. Try and write
the ship a little bit, find your defensive corps and
start with the simple things. Man. Just effort, consistent effort.
That's what BA needs to find right now. More than
anything else.
Speaker 3: B YU have suffered many season and injuries. This is
the most season aning injuries I've ever seen in basketball,
and it's crazy.
Speaker 1: I don't know why, I don't know how.
Speaker 3: I'm sure they'll try to diagnose and treat that particular
issue in the off season, try to figure it all out.
But I want to ask you this question. So we've
seen the jackal and hyde, we've seen the ups and
now we've seen the ceiling. We've kind of seen the
floor of this team as it is currently constructed. How
much grace will be what you fans have considering the investment,
considering the expectation of the preseason, considering everything that has
gone into not only the personnel on the roster, but
the personnel and the resource allocation on this staff. Right, Like,
I wonder if our happiness as people as humans in
the fallen state that we're in, okay, is it's determined
by expectations.
Speaker 1: Let's be honest, Like, what are expectations and we meet?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 3: What have we have we met the have we met
the expectation? Did we get the roy we were looking
for this year? And I know that there have been
expectations maybe modified and changed all things considered, right with
those season any injuries? But what what is what is
the expectation now going forward.
Speaker 1: From the the.
Speaker 3: Fan base, the donor base, the collectives, you know, those
individuals that have buoyed up this program to to be
set up for a potential deep run in the NCAA tournament.
Speaker 2: Yeah. The key to happiness in life really is managing expectations,
isn't it. It's a simple concept, but it really is true.
Speaker 3: And tell my wife all the time, Babe, you gotta
have low expectations with me. Just don't have high expectations.
You're gonna be a lot happier and.
Speaker 2: You'll be happy.
Speaker 1: You're so happy, You're so happy.
Speaker 2: The question you ask is difficult because it's been such
a moving target based on who is available and when,
and the injury is no doubt about that factor in.
I think once Dawson Baker and Nate Pickens went down,
it was like, okay, well, we're good as long as
nobody else gets injured, like this is still like an
Elite eight caliber team. And then when Richie went down,
it was like, oh, man, like can BYU win a
tournament game? And I thought that was a little dramatic
to think that it's like, okay, stop it. AJ is
still the best player in college basketball. He is now
at this point the expected number one pick in the
NBA draft. You still have Rob right the third, and
you still have a great length on your team, like
you have athletes if you as a long team. And
they showed what they are capable of in the games
against Arizona and Iowa State when they were playing elite
level competition and their backs were up against the wall.
So the OI fan's got a taste of what it
could look like without Richie, and when they were close
at Arizona and then finally had to breakthrough against Iowa State.
I think it went from man, can BYU win again?
Can they can? They? Can they even get out of
the second round? Two? Okay, yep, UYU is still Sweet sixteen? Good,
We're good, right bee? Diowa State? Like yep, like DUI
still Sweet sixteen team. But after last night, it's like again, oh, man, well,
what if the OA gets like a seven seed in
the NCAA tournament and they're in a brutal seven to
ten matchup and it's not great? Like are they are
they gonna get upset in the first round? Like any
if they win the first round, is there any chance
they could beat a two seed and get to the
sweet sixteen. No way you can expect that that that
BA is gonna all of a sudden magically rediscover what
they did against Iaowa. Say, it's all about matchups in
March madness, It's all about the matchups, and the prospect
of BA being a seven and taking on a two
is not great at the moment because you just you're
kind of floundering for consistency. So I would say that
right now the general expectation, and I would love to
hear if people feel differently about this, But I mean,
I've talked to a lot of people. I spend a
lot of time with BYU personnel, whether it's staff, coaches
and athletic administrators, school officials, and then obviously we're dialed
into the fan base through our social media interactions. But
if I'm kind of combining all of that right now
for what Bye's expectation is this season, in the moment,
it's it's probably okay. Ba's probably a second round exit
from the NCAA tournament, and that will feel disappointing because
of everything that's gone into this, even with the injuries,
even with the excuses, Like I think the expectation is, yeah,
probably win a game, and then fingers crossed, like maybe
they make you know, they do something that they haven't
done a lot of the season. They make a bunch
of threes, like they bring great effort, and then they
get out of the second round. They get back to
the Sweet sixteen. But I don't see how it's fair
to expect this currently constituted team with who is available,
to go farther than the Sweet sixteen. And maybe you
feel differently, Ben, but I feel like if BYU got
to the sweet sixteen after everything that has happened, most
people would feel like, gosh, you know, it was a
wild ride, a lot ups and downs. But BA got
to another Sweet sixteen, back to back Sweet sixteens for
the first time ever. AJ was incredible. We'll call it good,
Like get to the sweet sixteen, We'll call it good.
But I think people are not saying the quiet part
out loud, which is this is probably a second round
exit team right now, and we're hoping it ends in
the sweet sixteen at least.
Speaker 3: Yeah, quota expectations, they got to win it, well, at
least one game. If they don't win one game, an
CUA tournament bou fans are going to be to oed.
Speaker 2: Then it's gonna be really weird. Absolutely, they're gonna.
Speaker 3: Be to o all right, Spencer Lytton, we appreciate you,
We love you. Thanks for hopping out for a Cougar beat.
Let us know you need anything from us. Thanks for
all that you do.
Speaker 2: You got it, brother. Just remember this DYU team. They're
still twenty and eight, still twenty one in the net,
still have aj still have rob right third, still have
shown the capability to be a competent team. So my
word of caution as I say goodbye to you guys
is do not judge EYU on the Pinnacle game against
Iowa State. Do not base your judgment of this team
on the low point either. Rather look at the whole resume,
which is they've still beaten five Quad one teams and
their worst losses are against Oklahoma State and UCF, which
are Quad two. BYU is the team that has played
twenty eight games, that they have been showing you consistently,
especially over the last few weeks, which is hey still
top twenty five calibers, still in the six seed range.
Like I think they're going to prove it again when
they go and win at least one of these two
road games. And I think they're going to beat Texas
Tech on Senior Night, and we're all going to be saying, Okay, yeah,
there was a regression of the mean. This team is
still worthy of a six seed in the NCAA Tournament
regardless of what happens in Kansas City. And that, my friends,
is how I will end that. But I appreciate you guys,
thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1: Always a pleasure, always a blessing.
Speaker 3: Talking ball with Spencer lettin byu TV, Follow him on
X listen to him, watch him on by U TV.
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