No. 19 Cougars not forgetting what happened two years ago when they were also undefeated heading into December
Don’t forget what happened in 2021.
That’s quickly becoming the mantra of coach Mark Pope’s BYU men’s basketball team this season, after the Cougars picked up a No. 19 national ranking due to their 6-0 start to the 2023-24 campaign.
“We are just staying on our toes, making sure that we are not too focused on the rankings, stuff like that, and making sure we are taking care of business is the biggest thing.” — BYU basketball’s Jaxson Robinson
BYU got off to a 6-0 start that year, too, knocking off San Diego State at the Marriott Center, Oregon at the Moda Center in Portland, and Utah at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
They took a No. 12 national ranking into the crosstown rivalry game with Utah Valley in Orem, suffered some injuries that sidelined key players, were stunned 72-65 in overtime, and were barely heard from again, at least from a national perspective.
“It does feel really good,” senior Spencer Johnson said of the early-season success and national ranking. “But we still have a lot left to accomplish. My second year here we were ranked No. 12, we beat Oregon early in the year.”
But Oregon proved to be not that great, Utah was once again mediocre, and the Cougars struggled in the West Coast Conference. They finished with a 9-6 conference mark, 25-11 overall, and failed to make the Big Dance.
“So it is a long season,” said Johnson. “There is a lot left to accomplish. There is a lot left to do.”
The surprising season continues Friday night at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, as BYU matches up with 3-3 Fresno State of the Mountain West Conference, a former WAC rival. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. and the game will be available on the ESPN+ streaming service.
Once again, the Cougars are dealing with some injuries after defeating Arizona State and North Carolina State on consecutive nights last week to win the Vegas Showdown. Pope said starting center Fouss Traore, who missed the second half against the Wolfpack with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, is probably going to be out for awhile.
Pope said it is “day to day to see how it goes, see how he feels,” but didn’t sound hopeful that the 6-foot-6 junior who is averaging 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game will be back anytime soon.
Pope said Traore’s injury and the absence of 6-10 junior Atiki Ally Atiki — who was suspended against NC State for throwing a punch in the ASU game but will be back Friday for Fresno State — forced coaches to play Aly Khalifa more than they would have liked, and the Charlotte transfer delivered.
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“He’s done an unbelievable job getting in shape and so now we don’t have any other alternatives,” Pope said of Khalifa. “We have to use him. I think he’s excited about it and he is probably (back) a little quicker than I would have chosen in a perfect world, but it gives us a new dynamic and new ways to try and grow and it comes with some other challenges, too.”
Pope said Khalifa has been slowed by a strength disparity in his two quads, “that makes us nervous with his knee.”
BYU has also played six games without UC Irvine transfer Dawson Baker, who had offseason foot surgery. He was not asked about Baker’s status for Friday’s game, but has said in the past that they hope to get the 6-4 junior guard on the court sometime in December.
As far as staying grounded after another strong start is concerned, Pope said this squad is better equipped to handle the distraction.
“I do think we have a built-in advantage,” he said. “We have guys who are centered and grounded and so I expect us to keep trying to get better. We are barely into the infancy stages of the season, and we know what the season is going to bring. We are going to get punched in the face, multiple times. And we are approaching the season incredibly humbly.”
Fresno State dropped to 3-3 after a 69-65 loss to UC Santa Barbara on Monday. The Cougars are 13-5 all-time against Fresno State, but the teams haven’t met since Nov. 12, 2010, a 83-56 BYU win.
Cougars on the air
BYU (6-0)
vs. Fresno State (3-3)
Friday, 7 p.m. MST
Delta Center
Salt Lake City
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM, BYUradio SiriusXM 143
“We are just staying on our toes, making sure that we are not too focused on the rankings, stuff like that, and making sure we are taking care of business is the biggest thing,” said BYU sixth-man Jaxson Robinson, the team’s leading scorer with a 15.3 average off the bench.
Pope was asked by a television reporter how the Cougars are staying focused on the next two games — they host Evansville next Tuesday — with a trip to the University of Utah on the docket on Dec. 9. Utah, 4-2 after dropping Saint Mary’s 78-71 in Moraga on Monday, plays Hawaii at the Delta Center Thursday night and then hosts Southern Utah next Tuesday.
“I wish we were good enough to worry about Baylor or Kansas State or Kansas. Right? But we got Fresno State. It is a really good team. And we are going to have our hands full,” Pope said. “… It is not hard to look around and see all the stuff that happens in college basketball every day. We know if we don’t come and perform our best and we are not playing on our toes, the night can get really hard. So we gotta go find a way to win Friday.”
