Speaker 1: About stats Man.
Speaker 2: Let's talk about stats. Been Credal and his team of
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Speaker 3: Stats. Welcome back Cougar Sports. One of three nine ninety
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A with our tax smart wealth Advisors Today, Ronald three Man,
we were by my side vic Raham on the data
aggregation on the newsletter. We appreciate all your Cougar fans
in Cougar Country showing up, showing out and being a
part of our show today. I have asked a couple
of questions that we're going to delve into, and let's
talk about stats segment. Some of the silver linings that
you've been able to to, you know, just come to
you know, you know, as a form of positivity. You know,
after that game, after that loss eighty six eighty three
through the u of A Wildcats. What are the silver
linings to this game? A couple of people Chapman Cougar's
that says b what refuses to roll over? That competitive
spirit has provided some camouflage for some of the underlying
issues holding the team back.
Speaker 3: I'd agree with that.
Speaker 4: How many games versus formidable foes as byu clod back
from nineteen twenty twenty two points down? Finding a way
to keep it respectable, to keep it competitive? Ukhn clems it.
You found a way and then you of a right,
was it luck that brought this Cougar basketball team back
from the dead of these games? Or was it good coaching?
Great players? What was it great defense? When you see
these three games right where byused down double digits, twenty
plus points and by you cause back, what is that?
What when you're trying to diagnose what's happening, Ronald, what's
your immediate conclusion as to what's happening, why it's happening,
and how you know, you know, what's the potential this
BAU basketball team, seeing what you've seen in these three
particular games, Well, look.
Speaker 5: The potential is supposed to be in an Elitia competing
for a final four.
Speaker 1: That is the potential.
Speaker 5: Look, there's a lot of people and I had discussions
yesterday if we were saying final four. I didn't come
out and say final four. I said this team should
be in the Elita competing.
Speaker 1: For a final four.
Speaker 5: I think everybody got ahead of their horse because it's
one of the best talented rosters in BYU history. So
everyone's jumping so fast and it's like, okay, well then
the injuries occurred. It is like a lot of want
to hear about injuries, you know, and you know it's
a they got the team. It's like, well they don't
have the depth now and we're seeing that. You know,
it's being tested. It really has. And the guys that
maybe needed to go through the player development Lakahaden Boop
had to step up and have to make shots early, like,
let's be on, it has been.
Speaker 1: Let's be real.
Speaker 5: No one expected Alexi Coachest should play right now. You
expect it to be Nate Pickens, Dawson Baker. So the
silver lining for me is that the guys that they
still have gone out and what I make of this,
have still been able to perform, you know, still been
able to make shots, like if Alexi doesn't hit those
two threes, they're dead to right. So it's not just
even what Coucker stats to stand about the will of
competitive natures that this roster and the guys that they
have at the end of the bench still are that good.
It reminds you of you know, the NBA. You're looking
at all twelve of those guys, Well, that guy never plays.
Speaker 1: Is he really good?
Speaker 3: Bet?
Speaker 5: He could smoke you though, And you see that with
this Boe roster, Like is that guy really good? And
then he comes out and he goes to it to
You're like, yeah, that guy can play.
Speaker 1: He can play.
Speaker 5: He might not play over these guys, but he's still
really good. I look at this roster, I'm like, how
many of these other guys will go be starters?
Speaker 3: Right now?
Speaker 5: Ben at the Division one label for another program. I'm
looking at it and I think a lot of these
guys could and a lot of these guys left their
program Ben to come take a different role at BYU.
That's how good this BAU team is and how the
good those players were, that's just what it is. So
to me, I think the issues is really it's the
first half. And I think something else is the free
throw shooting. They were twelve of nineteen last year. They
turned it up in what February and definitely in March
they really did. But AJ going eleven of sixteen that
hurts you when you look back at it. Not saying
that he needs to hit all of them, but you
look at Arizona, who you know, they were twenty six
to thirty two. They shot more, but Burry's thirteen of fourteen,
Bradley four or five, cod Pete two of four, a
walk of five of seven. So even the best players
on Arizona only miss two. If AJ's fourteen of sixteen
been that's three more points than this game goes in overtime.
So I think free throw shooting is something that we're missing.
I think we're focusing so much on the misshots, but
the charity stripe, when you're getting there, you gotta knock
them down too. But still I like the sixteen attempts overall.
But there's a bunch of stuff. But I think it's
first half woes, the defense not maybe playing as hard
hard as it could at times, because in the last
minute when they hit shots and locked in, it was like, Okay,
they're looking like an elite a team. But I think
right now that's it's the first half walls sometimes the
defense of miscues and struggles and then a free throw shooting.
Speaker 1: I think it's really what's hurting his team.
Speaker 4: Yeah, my guy Rob Long had showed up and we
were talking about it here in our Banderwilth Studio.
Speaker 3: Shout out to Rob Long.
Speaker 4: We love and appreciate him stopping by and saying hello,
a good friend of vic Ram as well as mind.
Speaker 3: He's concerned about the free throw shooting.
Speaker 4: Last year it was the same song and dance BYU
was struggling from the charity strife. These things were not
free and we declared at that time and place, we
said that if there's one thing, if there's two things
a BYU basketball team should do, can do, should be
able to do, is they hit seventy five percent of
their free throw attempts and thirty five percent from the
three point line consistently. That is is BYU, who are you?
Where did you come from? And where are you going
BYU basketball, you gotta know your identity. AJ, Okay in
the post game, I want to get to some AJ
sound if we could.
Speaker 3: Okay, one one of the.
Speaker 4: Things that AJ brought up in the post game, Okay,
this is it's on the It's on the Twitter handled
as well, Roddy Uh yeah, I just go with that one.
AJ stayed in in the post game. We found our identity.
You know what, I would like to see how that
identity be.
Speaker 3: Okay, hitting a.
Speaker 4: Wide open three point shot thirty five percent of the time,
and we did collectively. We I guess we shot almost
forty percent from the three point line. By the way,
just because Coastick was hot. Richie hit the ball, hit it,
hit it well. And then Cannard Davis Junior. Did BYU
basketball find its identity last night versus the U of
a wildcatch?
Speaker 3: AJ said they.
Speaker 6: Have that we found the identity that we're gonna fight
to the end when I can just fold and we're
down a certain amount of points, and that just proves
that we can play anyway in the team if we can,
you know, hold the number one team to not we
didn't hold them, but they were up big, and we
can fight back and come back and then make it
a one position game. It just shows that what the
possibilities of us, what we can do in the future.
Speaker 3: Do you think that that Bay you found their identity
last night? What is their identity?
Speaker 5: I mean, I think they've always had the second half identity.
I think this team might just have noticed it and
but that they haven't had to do that like that.
Speaker 1: That's why the Clemson one was a whole second half. Right.
Speaker 5: They come out and they blitzed them, They started out
scoring them, they got a big jump on them. That
was different being that was a different part of the
identity that was tested last night. I think this identity
because it's a second half team, right, It's like the pyramid,
k so second half team and then you drop down
of Okay, big time come back in the second half,
one of the largest they've already completed that. Okay, come
back down from eleven and a minute in two seconds,
going eleven to two run to close out you know
the game, and Arizona did overcome the eleven to four run.
Speaker 1: Excuse me said eleven to two. My apologies, but.
Speaker 5: This was a different form of it that was tested
because I've seen this team push and have good stretches.
I've seen them be able to go on that run
and get up by eighteen against Utah with AJ's performance.
Speaker 1: So it's always been there.
Speaker 5: This was just tested differently because it was the best
team in the country. But you do like that silver
lining because in a March Madness game, what could that
look like? Momentum is different in the house. You know
that Jimmer built things will go differently. But in a
March Madness game than this, Arizona loses this game, I
think on a neutral I'm gonna be honest, I really
do think a comeback like this because March is so.
Speaker 1: Big, Momentum is so huge.
Speaker 5: Where you're going in these big time atmospheres and people's
water gets turned off themselves, honestly, So I really like
what BYU did.
Speaker 1: But I'm glad that they.
Speaker 5: Feel like they found their identity because guess what, You're
gonna need the identity on Saturday because you go into
a hostile environment. Now, you dropped the game at home,
you didn't protect home court. You gotta go steal one
on the road. But this is a great moment, man.
This game I think will truly define BYU basketball for
the rest of the season. I don't think that's hyperbole.
You come close to beating the number one team in
the country after what happened right the offensive foul that
you get, the flagrant one that Tommy Lloyd was upset about,
and you almost come close to a block shot of
doing it, and now you have to go win on
the road like there is no line, there's no margin forever.
You can't drop back to back games, you can't. Ben
they Jonathan Tabernario says it's a must win. I know
we viewed that differently, but this is a must win game.
You have to win this game because it will set
the tone. You gotta win this going against Oklahoma State
and in Houston the week after, because it doesn't get
any easier. So I want to see what this team's
identity truly is because on Saturday, you're going into one
of the toughest places to play in college basketball and
it's gonna be a premier matchup game day all the hype.
Speaker 1: Can you live up that? Or will the stars be
too bright?
Speaker 3: Ben? Let's play the rest of this now.
Speaker 4: The post games sound from aj Ritchie uh and uh.
We'll kind of read between the lines with that what happened,
why it happened?
Speaker 3: AJ and Ritchie the Todd King.
Speaker 4: I'll ultimately break it all down and in you wonder
is B YU has B where you found their identity
going forward? Like as I mentioned earlier, take out the
first half?
Speaker 3: UH and b Y.
Speaker 4: Who's the best second half team in college basketball this season?
Speaker 3: Okay, they are one of the best teams. Uh.
Speaker 4: They are the best team I think in the second half,
and I expect that to continue. I don't know why
it is. I don't know if that's a player issue.
I don't know if that's a coaching issue, that that
they can't find their groove in the first half. But
it's gotta it's it's gotta be trending in the right
tre now.
Speaker 3: Remember let me let me take a step back.
Speaker 4: Okay, so last year around this time, we were discussing
is yegor a lottery pick?
Speaker 3: Why is it that b Why you can't hit three throws?
Speaker 4: They're inconsistent from the three point line, And they found
a way they were trending in the right direction in
late February. I think this coaching staff knows how to
get them right. I really do. Would wins versus u
A at home the number one team in the country.
Help with BAYU seeding, no doubt, no doubt, And so
that's what hurts is g Man, I always say, shot
through the heart. You want to be at worst a
three seed. You want to be a worse three If
you're a five seed, because you fall to some of
these teams, that would be that would be devastating. At worst,
you want to be a three seed. So you got
to win some of these games, okay, And I think
b way you will. They're gonna trend in the right direction.
I think this team will get this coaching staff will
get them right. And anyway, let's get back to the
sound here in this let's talk about stat segment rotch
to buy betterwealth betterwealth dot com. By the way, get
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Q and a with our text more wealth advisors. Maybe
you'll obtain a few gems with your wealth management and
your financial vision. Let's get to it, AJ, Debotcha Richie
Sanders post.
Speaker 7: Game, AJ, can you talk about what you saw in
that final play?
Speaker 6: I mean, Rob just made a good play agains at
the rim. I think Jane and back guy is gonna,
you know, try to bump and have the ball strong.
Ref said as a clean box. It was a clean block.
I think it was a good opportunity. I think the
way we file was a little bit better and I'm
just happy to we fought Ritchie.
Speaker 1: You guys are down double digits about a minute to
go in this game.
Speaker 3: How did you just call your way back into.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean just as a whole, we didn't execute
as well as we'd like to, but in that last
little bit we execute it well. And that's that's what
it came down to. So go figure out how to
just keep chipping away at making that forty minutes instead
of just just good stretches.
Speaker 4: AJ, what was Arizona doing to to you defensively the
night that led to not just the vision of a
nights you can proto best with nothing.
Speaker 6: I misshots, miss shonts time I normally make my maids
wasn't falling white off, my things weren't falling that's mis shots.
Speaker 7: Mitchie uh Kevin said that this kind of prove you
guys can play with anybody when you're when you're on.
Speaker 3: Would you agree with that? And how can you guys
be a on this what can you take from.
Speaker 8: Yeah, a hundred percent agree. Just like I was saying,
like with to execute for forty minutes, just you know,
it's it sucks when this happens and when you come
up short, right, but just if we can figure out
how to just execute for that full forty minutes and
we gotta say not have lapses like that's that's that's
when we're gonna reach where we where we can reach
our potential.
Speaker 9: AJ, this is your first time I don't guess a
cod and you play together all through your youth, but
your first time going together to the history or in college.
Speaker 6: What was your that's one of the match up I
mean how it's always been. I mean I played with
him for three years, one three going medals with him.
Just a great player. I mean, guess down hell she
used the MIDI well, big strong body. I mean I
think he's will be you know, imposing as well this
whole season and you know and the next up or two.
Speaker 3: He how encouraging if that's the right word.
Speaker 9: Wasn't to see move banging down some breeze and the
coaches code in the second half and then providing.
Speaker 3: Some some triples.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean moves down. It was was bound to
make something, you know, he was he was due for it.
He uh, he's an incredible shooter. And I'm really happy
that he kind of just find that rhythm and and Alex, that's.
Speaker 3: What he does.
Speaker 8: You guys don't get to see that all the time,
but we do, and probably him for stepping up. And
what question, Richie?
Speaker 1: How hard was it to be out fouled out?
Speaker 3: Would not be on the.
Speaker 5: Floor and during that stretch.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean it sucks, It sucks, its it sucks,
and it feels just like a personal thing of just
letting like letting my team do not not be there
for my team when I need to and gotta clearly
f out and a pick up a couple of those.
And so that's that's what I'll be watching this week.
But it sucks, all right.
Speaker 3: Last question.
Speaker 1: Is you guys befoward here that's the number one team
in the country music. He's just coming pretty fast and
heavy down the stretch here. Just what do you take away.
Speaker 6: From a game like this that we found our identity
that we're gonna fight to the end when I can
just fold and we're down a certain amount of points,
and that just proves that we can play anybody in
the team if we can, you know, hold the number
one team to not we hold them, but they were
a big and we can fight back and come back
and then make it a one position game. It just
shows that what the possibilities of us and what we
can do in the future.
Speaker 3: Therego.
Speaker 4: That's uh a J Debossa and Richie Saunders. Uh, you
were there at the UH at the postgame press conference, Ronald,
the three man we were Uh. Did you like what
you heard from AJ and Richie? The accountability, the uh
uh you know, the somber looks that they had, the
missed opportunity.
Speaker 5: I did like the accountability. No one ran from anything.
I think the you know, he didn't buy into that.
Oh did there gonna do anything? I'm just min shots.
I would have liked to hear more. I gotta take
better shots, maybe not force any, but that's nor here
nor there. But I mean he acknowledged he miss shots.
He said midt, he wasn't falling, Triple wasn't falling. I
think I need to and I don't need to hear this,
but I hope behind closed doors and this will tell
me on Saturday, if you go out and do the
same thing where you're not getting calls, you keep trying
to draw fouls, then obviously the accountability won't be there.
But then that's gonna be tough because if you ask
Kevin Young that you don't want to get him in
trouble to say anything about the officials in the post game.
So I hope behind closed doors and when tape is
being watched that they do that because that was an issue.
When shots aren't falling, you're trying to draw fouls, been
over and over and the officials aren't given. You got adjust,
You got adjust to the game. Like I said, Aj
had a great moment where they're trying to double and
he wasn't gonna go for the fouling. He just stormed
past him and dunked it. You need more plays like that.
And then Richie Ben loved the accountability. The main thing
for me is the falling out of the game. He
needs to be on the floor. He needs to be
on the floor on Saturday in the most crucial moment.
Those moments, Ben are not meant I'm not gonna say
not built, but not meant for the Alexi coach.
Speaker 1: What is it?
Speaker 5: The Alexi coaches guy even though he wasn't in the
game or me Hilo, I know Mahala was in because
Richie was on the bench. It's meant for the top
King Rob Wright and aj Canard and Kaba, So you
got to get that figured out. Love that he said
he'll watch in the film and then we'll see what
they do on Saturday. But this is why I love
Kevin Young as a coach.
Speaker 1: Ben.
Speaker 5: He always gets these guys dial. They're always able to
bounce back in a way. You just hope that they
can string together what they did last year and get
off a couple.
Speaker 1: This is the time now. I think if you're able
to get Kansas, then you.
Speaker 5: Can talk about getting Houston. But if you don't get Kansas,
then you start to get in mud. But this is
the time to turn it around. Not like they did
later in February last year. Ben, he's been here before.
He's got a better team. Start to turn the page now,
turn the page at the end of the month now
and get back into it.
Speaker 1: Because we saw what they did last year and it
went on a run.
Speaker 5: They were arguably the best team in college basketball, the best.
I think they have a good opportunity and they're way
more talented. Let's see what they do. But still, you
don't want to be playing your best basketball right now.
It's still too early to do that.
Speaker 4: By the way, be Waiaer's net efficiency ranking by half
for the entire twenty twenty five twenty twenty six season.
Speaker 3: First half they're seventieth in the nation. Second half they're first.
We are we are the second half coogs.
Speaker 4: Let's uh, let's uh just do away with suirk that
first half koug mentality. We gotta we gotta find a way.
In my opinion, that's that's my biggest gripe. It's just
not able to get into a groove in the first
half versus these for even like the mediocre average teams
that be way these Quad three, Quad four games and
even Quad two games, Like we're not playing good basketball
versus inferior opponents.
Speaker 3: It's not just the Quad one games.
Speaker 4: When your seventieth in efficiency in your first half, that's
against the low end too, the low rung. The inferiority
of these opponents is not is not a determining factor. Okay,
they just they just don't play well the first half.
I don't know why, Please diagnose and treat this sickness
in the first half. Hopefully the coaching stafi figure out.
I believe they will. Let's go to break. Let's get
into a Cougar byte on the flip side. Couple things here.
Tommy Lloyd went off on a few die tribes in
the post game. What did he say about this Cougar
basketball team that coming up next? This is Cougar Sports
on one O three nine, ninety eight point three e
s PN the.
Speaker 2: If you are listening to Cougar Sports and it's time
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three nine at ninety eight three ESPN The Fan Welcome back.
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Time for a little Cougar bike, gett to get Tommy Lloydsott,
the U of A head coaches thoughts on this Cougar
basketball team.
Speaker 3: What happened? Wide happened?
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Odon Men's were dot Com. All right, let's get into it,
Tommy Lloyd head coach you of a post game after
the Big three over Brigham Young University.
Speaker 3: What did he see? What did he like? What did
he dislike?
Speaker 7: Fortunate for me, I've played here a lot, you know,
so I know how hard it is, and I got
a tremendous amount of respect for the BYU basketball program
and the legacy they have, and and so you know,
we we we're coming here. It's got our full attention.
And you know, I mean, I know that you know,
you're you're you're not always going to come out on
the winning side, but you know, uh, we really wanted
this challenge for our team. This was a great opportunity
for us win or lose, and we approached as such. No,
I mean, obviously it's a quick turnaround. We played Saturday,
and you know, we we really only were able to
kind of walk through yesterday. So uh so, you know,
our guys get a lot of credit, our coaching staff.
You know that there's a lot of credit for the
preparation and uh and you know, fortunately we made one
more play than they did tonight where it felt like
for stretches, you know, we made a lot more plays
than them, but but they were able to kind of
close the gap. So we'll evaluate that and figure out why.
But you know, I'm gonna tip my hat to b
YU and I'm gonna tip my hat to our to
our players.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, how did they have to be way
you work? It's it's way back into this game. You know,
shot selection, shot making, good defensive stands uh in critical times.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 4: And so Tommy tips the cap. Now, there are many
out there that felt like you have a deserved a
blowout victory on the Marriott Center floor that rarely, if ever,
has happened.
Speaker 3: It just doesn't happen. Uh.
Speaker 4: In the modern era, it hasn't really happened. Ever, it
seems so uh, B why you found a way to
get back into this game. And you can tell, like
Tommy giving a lot of respect to to b YU
and its coaching staff. B way you gets another chance
at this though, they get another option, had to take
on the Wildcats, and I foresee a win on the
other side of that.
Speaker 5: Ronald, your thoughts, Yeah, remember what happened last time when
these two teams played. I remember when Kevin Young and
players started peaking. When they went at it the first time,
it didn't go be Weady's way at all. There was
a complete difference in disparity. Now, obviously last year's roster
bin wasn't this year's. But yeah, I think the thing
Kevin Young did last year, Ben was he went on
the road and he did what He shocked a lot
of people when did he do it? Did it in February?
You know, did anybody think that he would that they
would beat Iowa State. I thought they would wrap it
up quickly against Iowa State. Not like that the way
they did it, double overtime, you know, Arizona. Sure, But
and that was I was more picking those because okay,
they were losing. They had to win those games for
quad one wins. I wasn't picking those because okay, yeah,
they're gonna just go out there and win that. I
was like, okay, desperation, you have to have this. But
this roster was talented enough to get it, and they
came that close Ben. The first time, they didn't come
that close. Richie Saunders was guarded by Kleb Love. They
really he really struggled in that game last year and
this year. The coaching staff is able to move people around.
They have the space and they have the personnel So
if you lost by three and your best players win
nine to forty and it came down to the wire,
do you think they're gonna be nine to forty next time?
Speaker 1: I don't think so. I'd be shocked if that were
the case.
Speaker 5: Like bau, legit is a legit has a legit chance
of going down to the mckel Center and beating Arizona again,
which has not been done in a while. So if
they were to do that back to back years, if
you're ever to go in the fall out in the
field House and win the both times that you've been
there in conference, play man, this coaching staff would be
really good to submit themselves. And look when you put
Kevin Youngs back against the wall, he's an NBA coach.
They go out there and they perform, they do, they
step up, they feel the pressure, they thrive in it.
So yeah, I think they would go down and I
think they could have an opportunity to really shock the
world because they play Arizona when they were playing their
best basketball last year being and right now was not
when they were doing it, So we might to start
see the turntables and the tides. So however they say it,
I think they might start to turn here within the
next week or so. I think Kevin Young is gonna
get these guys dialed. I think they'll start to get
the free throw shooting dialed. And I really think BYU
has a chance to do what they did last year,
and it will be glorious if they were able to
do that.
Speaker 4: You wonder what Bruce Branch The third thought about here
is by you visit the atmosphere at the Marriage Center.
Many that had never experienced the Marriage Center. They were
chiming in like a bay. He was down nineteen at
one point, and the rock, the BYU Cougar nation was
still rising and shouting. Obviously, the game day experiences is
one of the best at the Marriage Center in college basketball.
You wonder Bruce Branch, the third five star recruit, got
to see the number one team in college basketball come
in and get a dub versus the Cooks. But it
came down to the final moments.
Speaker 3: Is that a good Omen? Bad Omen?
Speaker 4: Is it a you know what do you make of
Bruce Branch? I know you've checked out his film Fine Score.
Hopefully it's that experience. Sways, Bruce Branch, BYU's.
Speaker 5: Way, I mean to play it in that type of environment.
And look, Bruce Branch, you also got a chance to
you know, sit along court side with NSA almost say NFL, excuse.
Speaker 1: Me, NBA guys.
Speaker 5: The Utah Jazz are also an intendant's Ben Ryan Smith.
You know, it was next to Will Hardy and Isaiah
Collier and Keyantay, George Lourie Marker was in the building.
They had some stars. So that's the best. I think
that's the best game of basketball. He'll see an atmosphere
he'll see in a while. I'll be honest, it's the
number one team in the country. For it to come
down like that, I know his hard has probably been
like man BYU was.
Speaker 1: Out of it. They might win this in a while,
Arizona pulled it off. That's it.
Speaker 5: Lets you know, it goes back to it just comments
that he played yesterday, Ben. This is why he came
to the Big twelve, to not duck these type environments,
to not duck the smoke. You imagine if you're Colled
Pete or you know, Braden Burry's that you went to
the Marita, you got that win, you know, like you
can you imagine you didn't duck that you played that
and someone that put out a I don't know who
it is, and you've mentioned it before, so to give
you credit as well. But this is the SEC of football.
This is this is the SEC of football. This is
what it is, night in, night out, the gauntlet that
they have to do nothing else. No other basketball conference
has it's been it's not like this, No, this is
big tool. Basketball is what SEC football thinks it is.
That's really what it is like. This is truly that
to go in night out, that's what it felt like.
Because guess what you played Alabama last week, Ben or
excuse me yesterday.
Speaker 1: You know you got to play on Saturday Georgia. Like
that's what it is.
Speaker 5: You play number one Arizona and then you play number
nineteen Kansas. There's no days off in the Big twelve.
And for him to see that, I think that would
for me as a player. If I were a player
wanted to play against the best talent at the highest
level in the world. I want to come and play
at BOU and I want to play in these environments
because what you saw yesterday you can't replicate that. What
you're gonna get on Saturday, you can't replicate that. So
I think that's why you see these high level recruits.
And you just heard it coming out of the break
of my Cougar Sports press release. Braydon Burry's been he
was a number one guard in California. I'm one player.
He was a number two combo guard in his class.
He was the number nine overall prospect in the twenty
twenty five class in AJ's class.
Speaker 1: That's crazy. Those guys are playing in the Big twelve.
Speaker 5: So hopefully by he gets a commitment out of him,
he can really help BYU because when you look at AJ,
Robin Ritchie, I don't know if all of those guys
will be back next year.
Speaker 1: I know two of them will be gone for sure.
Speaker 3: And that's the thing. AJ wasn't the star of this game.
Speaker 1: It was Braden Berry's and Bradley for Arizona.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and even Bradley Jay and Bradley of twenty six
of his own. And so.
Speaker 4: This doesn't hurt eight. I think that the you wonder
is GMS. His executives are evaluating BYU's talent, their roster composition,
and they compare it to U of A's you compare
contrastic to it. It is it obvious to them that
U of A's roster is more talented, full of five stars,
full of transfer players, is there?
Speaker 3: Because I imagine they the payroll. I want to.
Speaker 4: Imagine it's pretty similar. You of A and b YU,
do you think the payroll is pretty similar round?
Speaker 3: I think it is.
Speaker 5: I think absolutely. I mean Arizona, I know the football
programs there have been, but it's a basketball school.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a basketball will be I.
Speaker 1: Think the I think the payrolls robust the same way
when you.
Speaker 4: Comparing contrast the roster composition of talent, though, who's the
more talent Arizona?
Speaker 1: Not even close to me?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 5: I just gave you the stats of the combo guard
Braydon Berryes. You want me to go to Jayleen Bradley.
Now you want Jaden Bradley next? Like Coopete that guy
who's going to be a top pick as well.
Speaker 1: Like that's three dudes right there. Like I just want
to I want to go.
Speaker 5: Based off of draft Burry's and co I think are
projected to go in the first round. Only AJ is
projected to go in the first round from BYU. We
haven't seen anything for Rob Richie's second right, second to fifty,
first or fifty third to the Cleveland Cavaliers, which I
feel like could be a great spotlight.
Speaker 1: That that's by U's guys.
Speaker 5: B Yu's next best guy is second round and Arizona's
next best guy is in the same It's in the
same first round a few picks. That's how that's how
talented Arizona is. And they guy another guy.
Speaker 4: They were the number They had the number two recruiting
class in twenty twenty in.
Speaker 5: A discussion there it is in a discussion. That's it right,
Tommy Lloyd did a great job getting this class. Like
I'll be honest, Ben, I know people don't like this.
I wanted Braden Burry's to come to BYU, and I
hopefully I see BYU fans understand why after last night
because when I saw this kid player, I say, you
need that kid. I was like, if that kid can
play along next to Rob Richie and AJ I said,
could you imagine, and this is gonna sound terrible, You'd
have to figure out who would be the third option
between Rob rich Robin or Robin Richie. You'll probably be
Rob if I'm be honest, But Bray, you see Berry's
and how fluent he is, like and that's why I
think you have to go get that guy that was there.
Speaker 1: You have to go get him because he gives me
vibes of.
Speaker 5: That a guy that can go get his own shot,
shoot the mid range, go play defense man. This twenty
twenty five class Ben as a basketball fan in general.
Speaker 1: I love crazy, I love it, I love it.
Speaker 3: It is really crazy.
Speaker 9: Uh.
Speaker 3: That was a great segment.
Speaker 4: A little cougar byte brought to you by Odeon Men'swear
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We'll be back with a little Cougar inside a report
coming up next. This is Cougar Sports on one O
three nine ninety eight point three is sanst.
Speaker 2: Let's get the latest news coming out of BYU Athletics
with a Cougar Sports press release.
Speaker 5: This is Ronald the three man Weaver bringing you the
Cougar Sports press release today. Big Monday provided the big
challenge for BYUS. Number one Arizona remained.
Speaker 1: Unbeaten with the eighty six to eighty three.
Speaker 5: Win over number thirteen BYU on Monday night at the
Marriott Center. The Wildcats six tend at their wins for
the twenty one games, holding off from eleven to four
run by the Cougars in the final minutes.
Speaker 1: Here, the road.
Speaker 5: Victim BYU had a chance to tie or win the
ballgame and the close of seconds, but Rob writs a
tenth bill, short handing the Cougars their first loss of
the season. The sophomore point guard over the last five
games has averaged twenty two point eight points per game.
Shooting fifty percent from the field, thirty nine percent from
three point range, and ninety five percent from the free
throw line. The second half comeback trial was provided by
Caernard Davis Junior, who went five to five from three
point range in six to six from the field. Perfect
in the second half, Ritchie Saunders finished with eighteen points
on seven to eleven shooting alongside three three pointers. The
senior added nine rebounds to assistant ones. Still in the
contest for the time this season, agy debounds to reach
to the twenty point range for twenty four points. The Bronckton,
Massachusetts native provided five assists as well as four rebounds
of one steel. Arizona freshman Brandon Burry's delivered the decisive performance,
scoring twenty nine points in the house that Jimmerville. The
six foot four guard from sam Badino, California, shot seven
to thirteen from the field, two or three from three
point range, and thirteen to fourteen from the free pro
line while adding five rebounds of four assists. Burry's, a
five star recruit, was rated the number one player in California,
number two combo guard in the number ninth overall prospect
in the twenty twenty five class.
Speaker 1: He wasn't alone.
Speaker 5: Jayden Bradley added twenty six points, shooting better than sixty
six percent from the floor. He also grabbed three rebounds
and dished out three assist as well. UAU will look
to get the momentum back as they hit the road
to face number nineteen Kansas in a top twenty five
matchup at Allen Field House on Saturday. Tip off the
schedule for two thirty three mount per cent a time
for Lawrence, Kansas mark and Biway's first appearance in the
college game Day for basketball.
Speaker 1: For more Cougar Sports press releases, tuning to Cougar.
Speaker 5: Sports on a one to three, nine and ninety eight
three ESPN fan every day from time to me in
the six, follow me on x last, Twitter and Instagram.
Aroona three man will for all things surrounding YU. This
Cougar Sports press release has been brought to you by
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Speaker 2: You are listening to Cougar Sports with Ben Krettle, and
it's time for a Cougar Insider report. Now, let's get
that proprietary inside scoop on Cougar Sports from Critle.
Speaker 3: Welcome back Cougar Sports.
Speaker 4: One of three nine dot eight four three is being
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Speaker 3: Blaine, how the heck are you, buddy? I'm doing great, always.
Speaker 9: Fun being here, Ben, just for sure, enjoy the show
and uh love the place.
Speaker 3: It's looking good. Hey, looking good, feeling good baby? And
uh you know.
Speaker 4: As a as a fan watching the BAYU men's basketball
team battle it out this year, they li three losses,
all three respected respectable losses.
Speaker 3: Uh, what what is this team's identity? You know what
I mean?
Speaker 4: Like it's obviously a second half team. AJ said, Hey,
I think we know who we are now after this
game and that we can play with anybody.
Speaker 3: What is the identity?
Speaker 4: How would you describe the identity of this bou men's
basketball team.
Speaker 9: Well, they've got a little bit of that cardiac Koogs
to them.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they do.
Speaker 9: Unfortunately these games, they're making them close at the end.
But these are tough teams, tames, and you don't get
that much bandwidth or that much of a least you
might say. I mean, these have been close games, they've
played them tough, but last night was tough, tough to watch.
I don't know yet what the identity is.
Speaker 3: It's tough.
Speaker 4: You just hope they are trending in the right direction
in the lead up to March Madness and they get
a proper seed that allows them to survive in advance
and proceed into at least a Sweet sixteen at worst
to Sweet sixteen right at best. The final four run.
Speaker 9: Totally, totally, and I think we all see it. Having
Aj some of these newcomers, I like our chances. This
team does appear to be better than last year. But
I was listening to you earlier, This Big Twelve, this schedule,
it's a gauntlet, no doubt, but hey, we know it's
through the process that hopefully they're getting refined and toughened
up and that much better for March Madness.
Speaker 4: Is this BYU basketball team right where they sit?
Speaker 3: Are they an overrated team? Are they an underrated team?
Speaker 4: Or are they just right, you know, sitting around to
that they've been around the eleventh thirteen, maybe in that
top fifteen mark. That would put them in a great
position to make a run for an Elite eight, an
Elite eight type of season, do something that only one
other team in boy basketball has ever done, and it
was led by Daddy Age back in nineteen eighty one.
You're seeing these freshman numbers, right, and he's on pace.
AJ Debons is on pace to surpass Danny Aingels freshman
scoring record, and you're like Okay, well, maybe that is
a sign, a good sign that BYU is on track
for something great in the NCAA tournament.
Speaker 9: Well, from my perspective and watching them, I was thinking
a top ten team and holding on to some good
hope there. But as I've watched these games, the way
they've competed against Yukon Arizona, if you think about it,
really wasn't until the end of the games that they
were in them. I mean they were down double digits
in both. These are gritty, their competitive, they're gritty.
Speaker 3: I like that.
Speaker 9: So if we can apply this same formula to the
second half of the season and then in particular in
the tournament, will be all right.
Speaker 3: But you're gonna figure out our first half, So you
got to figure out the first halves.
Speaker 9: And I think that really they're probably positioned pretty fairly
right now and got a chance at a deeper run,
but they've also got to earn it and do a
little bit more than what we're seeing right now.
Speaker 4: What's interesting about this bou men's basketball team getting a
lot of credit. Obviously they deserve it. Some people would
say overrated, people say underrated. Some of the people say, hey,
they're ready.
Speaker 3: Just right BYU Football.
Speaker 4: Let me give you a little cougar inside of report
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Speaker 3: Top ten most over.
Speaker 4: Any teams since twenty twenty per the AP preseason two
final poll.
Speaker 3: Okay, so you.
Speaker 4: Can check the data on this check tape if you will.
LSU sits the top of it all. Clemson, Wisconsin, Texas
A and M Penn State, USC Florida, Oklahoma UNC and
those are the most overrated teams since twenty twenty. The
most underrated teams top ten BYU Indiana, Ole Miss, Tulane, TCU, Northwestern, UDB,
Boise State, Texas Tech, and Houston. Look at all the
big twelve teams there. Look at them all. Okay, Ole
Miss too. Look at what Ole Miss did this last season.
Great job Lane Kiffin. They still were able to win,
and they've retained some of the Lane kiffing culture going
out and tampering. Congratulations on Miss uh. But Tulane, how
about that? Most and what's interesting here is Tulane in
Houston obviously with Willie Fritz at the helm. He was
the former head coach for Tulane, and they've continued to
win and allow head coaches to find their next that
utilized TU lane as a stepping stone, and their head
coaches last year goes off to Florida. Congratulations them anyway,
TCU Big twelve, Okay, Texas Tech Big twelve, Houston now
Big twelve. So teams that started and finished unranked in
any given year all received a rank of thirtieth, and
then the preseason final rakings were compared to that figure
for calculations. By the way, if you want to look
at the charts that my guy Jeff Fuller put out.
Speaker 3: You wonder, Okay, why is it that.
Speaker 4: Over the last fifty years, even but in the modern era,
like you can go to the last fifty years and
b Way is one of the winningest programs in college
football top ten and wins since twenty twenty BYU football
is probably top ten.
Speaker 3: And wins over the last five six years.
Speaker 4: You look at their year over year results and it's like,
wait a second, We've got an eleven win season, a
ten win season, eight.
Speaker 3: Win five, eleven and twelve.
Speaker 4: You're I believe we're top ten in wins in college
football over that six year period.
Speaker 3: How is it that be?
Speaker 4: What you continues to be underrated, underappreciated BYU fans begin
to wonder if the same thing that kept them out
of a power conference for fifty years is the same
thing that continually plagues them in the rankings, whether it's
the CFP rankings, the ap Pole rankings. They begin to
get into conspiracy theories and they wonder, how can they
break up and you.
Speaker 3: Know, just destroy.
Speaker 4: You know, the figurative hand that keeps them down?
Speaker 3: Does that make sense? What is it?
Speaker 4: Why are they underrated time of Like they're the number
one team okay, that is sitting outside the polls, that
enters into the polls and stays in the polls at
the last at the end of the season due to meritocracy,
due to wins and limiting losses.
Speaker 3: You know what I mean. I don't want to be.
Speaker 4: The squeaky wheel that's always complaining about bigotry and prejudice
and like that. There's something, you know that that people
take issue with with the BYU way, the BYU brand.
Speaker 3: But you get enough data points and you're like, maybe
there is some truth to it, Maybe there's something cooking.
Is BYU just a nice.
Speaker 4: Little program pat on the back right that deserves to
be underrated like this right? Or is there enough data
points to say no, like b YU deserves the benefit
of doubt every single year going into the season, especially
especially in the eighties and especially from twenty twenty to
present day. The other heyday, honestly was two thousand and
six to twenty eleven. Eleven wins, eleven wins, ten wins,
eleven wins, seven wins, ten wins.
Speaker 3: Look at that era, that was the era I was
a part of.
Speaker 4: I thought we could play and beat anybody, you know
what I mean, We could compete with anybody.
Speaker 3: The other winningest era.
Speaker 4: You know, if we're breaking down era seventy nine to
eighty five, what a great era that was. Eleven wins,
twelve wins, eleven wins, eight wins, eleven wins, thirteen wins,
eleven wins. So we're living in any six year period. Okay,
there are three winningest eras. It was the seventy nine
to eighty five era, Okay, two two thousand and six,
you can say, two thousand and five to twenty eleven, right,
you know that two thousand and six, twenty eleven era
and the modern Ay, there's three winningest eras in BAU
football history, and we're living in it right now. We're
living in a glory day. That's fantastic for BYU athletics fans,
BAU football fans. That's the inside report that I want
to give you today is that you're living, over the
last fifty years, arguably one of the best eras in
BAU football history.
Speaker 3: Right now. I love it. That's totally cool. And it's
in a power conference. That's right.
Speaker 1: We got more to come.
Speaker 3: More to come, baby.
Speaker 9: One thing too on the list you saw number two
is Indiana then winning the Natty?
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, they're number two? Man? Does that just get
your jazz? Did it gets your juiced?
Speaker 9: And so all I'm saying is, hey, we're living We're
seeing something great happening here, and it's happening across college sports.
Those big boys that were used to having the power
things are changing.
Speaker 3: To Seeing Indiana at number two, give you more hope? Cogrenation.
Speaker 4: Do we have Some people say do we have a
Kurt Signetti at the hell?
Speaker 3: You know?
Speaker 4: And some people say yes. Some people say no, We're
gonna have to do it differently. We're gonna have to
do it our way. We're gonna have to do it
the BYU way. As Tom Homo has stated, many times
in front of the media and on our ways.
Speaker 3: We're gonna have to do it BYU's way.
Speaker 4: Klane's the guy to do it, and I love what
was ultimately accomplished in the off season with retention of
the offensive staff and the majority retention of our.
Speaker 3: Defensive staff and our roster.
Speaker 4: That tells you that Byu' is on the right track
of getting old, staying old, maintaining their culture, maintaining their scheme,
and with all that being considered, with the talent that
they have in the program, football is still very much
a developmental sport and we're developing at a high rate
in strengthening, conditioning, and nutrition.
Speaker 3: This is a.
Speaker 4: Glory era that you know, you gotta be optimistic about.
If you're a BWAYU fan, so are you more excited.
Speaker 3: About football or basketball? For me, it's always football, baby,
It's always football.
Speaker 4: Even though your ad is a bit of a basketball guy,
it's a bit of a basketball guy anyway.
Speaker 3: That's your Cougar Insider Report.
Speaker 4: Great segment brought to you by Game Day Men's Health
Game Daymen's Health dot Com. Find your optimal performance. Get
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Game daymens Health dot Com. Let's go to break, Please
don't go anywhere. Coming up next little college football segment,
Jay Crane will be joining us to.
Speaker 3: Talk college football BYU Football.
Speaker 4: I'm gonna ask him that question, why is BYU the
most underrated team in the modern era AP Pole era?
Speaker 3: Okay, ap Pole rankings. Get his thoughts on that.
Speaker 4: Coming up next, this is Gouger Sports on one three
nine ninety eight point three ESPN The Fan,