‘We like being in the ruckus’: BYU eager to test itself in Big 12, beginning Saturday against Cincinnati

The narrative has changed the past couple of months for the BYU men’s basketball team.

When it comes to Big 12 play, the Cougars have gone from hunter to hunted, and they can only blame themselves.

No longer is coach Mark Pope’s crew seen as a team that will be lucky to win a handful of games in the so-called best basketball conference in the country, a team that was picked to finish 13th in the 14-team league.

That pressure begins Saturday night, as the No. 12-ranked Cougars (12-1) host fellow Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati at 8 p.m. at the Marriott Center.

“It is going to be super fun, right?” said redshirt junior Trevin Knell. “To be able to play our first Big 12 game, first time ever, and we get to play in front of our fans. It is super special.”

Knell and senior Spencer Johnson said the Cougars will take the same mindset into their 18 Big 12 games as they had in their first 13, which is to push the pace, shoot 3-pointers every chance they get, and crash the offensive glass.

That style of play has helped them lead the country in scoring margin, rebound margin, 3-pointers per game, assist-to-turnover ratio and assists per game, albeit against a schedule ranked as one of the easiest in the nation. BYU’s strength of schedule has been in the 300 range.

It all changes now, and Pope and the Cougars couldn’t be happier. They insist they are ready for the challenge, while acknowledging there are going to be plenty of “terrifying” moments.

“We like taking big swings and big shots, and we like being in the ruckus,” Pope said. “And we are here now. … Hopefully we will embrace it. I think our guys will.”

Cincinnati, coming from the American Athletic Conference, is in a similar position, having been picked to finished 11th in its new league. The Bearcats have a NET ranking of 37, despite being at less than full strength for many of their nonconference games, just as BYU has been.

Related

• Historically speaking, just how good is this BYU basketball team?

• No. 12 Cougars embark on ‘brutal’ Big 12 schedule as Cincinnati visits Saturday

“It is going to be a great game,” Knell said. “They are a great team, but we can’t get too amped because it is the Big 12 opener. We just have to have that same mindset we’ve had all season.”

Already, national pundits are wondering if the Cougars are legit, and some are predicting they will fall on their face once league play begins.

“Fact or Fiction?” asked The Field of 68 in a post on X. “Do you believe in the BYU hype like the metrics do?”

The Cougars are No. 2 in the NET, No. 3 in Kenpom.com, and No. 12 in both the AP Top 25 and the coaches poll.

They can begin answering those questions Saturday night, and then again next week when they travel to perennial Big 12 power Baylor. And on and on.

“We have been talking about this for a long time,” Pope said. “We are excited to start the journey and find the places where we desperately need to grow and find the places where we can be competitive.”

One of those places is in 3-point shooting. BYU is averaging a nation-best 12.8 3-pointers per game and shooting 38% from beyond the arc. Three Cougars already have 30 or more 3-pointers. They’ve made 10 or more 3-pointers in 12 of their 13 games, falling short of that benchmark in their only loss, at Utah.

Something will have to give Saturday, because Cincy’s opponents have made an average of just 6.4 3-pointers per game. The Bearcats are holding opponents to 31.2% from deep. No team has reached double-digits in 3s against UC all season.

“We are going to keep shooting it. We are going to take good shots. We are going to get out in transition, do the things that work for us,” Johnson said. “No reason why it won’t keep working.”

There will also be a huge emphasis on rebounding.

BYU is No. 1 in the country in rebounding margin (13.8), while Cincinnati is No. 2 (13.6).

“Yeah, we have to rebound for sure,” Johnson said. “They are a top team defensive rebounding-wise, and one of our strengths is offensive rebounding. So we definitely gotta be locked in on that.”

Cougars on the air

Cincinnati (0-0, 11-2)
at No. 12 BYU (0-0, 12-1)
Saturday, 8 p.m. MST
Marriott Center
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM

Pope said it is remarkable that the Bearcats have been one of the best rebounding teams in the country without being fully healthy. Center Aziz Bandaogo, who the Cougars are very familiar with because he transferred from Utah Valley, has been out with a back injury but has been practicing this week and “starting to look like he’s getting back to his old self,” according to UC coach Wes Miller.

Bandaogo “is a great athlete,” Knell said. “Super high level athlete. … Really good at rebounding. So it is going to be a challenge for us. Rebounding is No. 1 on our list. So it is going to be fun to have a little rematch against him as well.”