Scouting BYU in the Big 12 Tournament

The No. 2 seed Houston (26-5) will face the 10 seed BYU (22-10) in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The Coogs defeated the CoUgs 77-66 on February 7 in Provo. In that game, freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa scored 28 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. He got to the paint and drew a ton of fouls, getting to the free-throw line 12 times. I think it will be a point of emphasis to force him to take and make tough shots, rather than fouling him (easier said than done). This will be BYU’s third game in as many days.

Although he only had 7 points in the game in Provo, BYU will be without Richie Saunders (torn ACL). That will allow the Coogs to focus more on stopping Dybantsa and point guard Rob Wright III. The CoUgars limped into the Big 12 tournament, but have looked really good in Kansas City. They are adjusting to life without Saunders, giving the ball to Dybantsa and telling everyone else to get out of the way. Guys like Dominique Diomande and Aleksej Kostic have stepped up recently, providing BYU with some help off the bench.

Houston will need to have a better start to the game than they have in the past three, where they have trailed from the beginning. Now is the time to put everything together and start preparing for a run into April. The Coogs have been able to closely watch BYU over the past couple of days and will have an excellent game plan going into Thursday night’s game.

My Gameplan vs. BYU

1. Hold AJ Dybantsa to his average and limit everyone else. The Coogs usually do a good job of keeping superstars under their averages. But at times, they allow role players to shine. I’m ok with AJ getting 25 points, but Rob Wright can’t have his average, and Moo Davis can’t have a great game as he did vs. WVU.
2. Look to get paint touches early. JoJo has improved tremendously on offense, so I’d look to get him the first touch of the game and see how it goes. The BYU post defense is limited when Keita gets in foul trouble. The Coogs need Kingston, Milos, and Emanuel to attack the paint to open up three-point looks. Houston had 30 points in the paint in Provo.
3. Defensive transition. BYU likes to run, so I’d look to try to slow that down and pack the paint to keep AJ out of there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a college player with a longer stride for a first step towards the rim than his. BYU only had 5 fast-break points in the first UH game, and that was a huge key to victory!
4. Attack in offensive transition. BYU is #237 nationally in scoring defense and #296 in three-point percentage defense. I’d look to run on offense when it is available, attack the paint, and make inside-out passes to get three-point looks for shooters. The Coogs only had 4 fast-break points in Provo.
5. Crash the offensive glass. Houston grabbed 13 offensive rebounds, creating 17 second-chance points in Provo. They dominated the offensive glass down the stretch and will need to again Thursday night.

BYU Personnel (*Indicates likely starters)

*#3 – AJ Dybantsa – 6’9″ – FR – Forward – 25ppg, 7rpg, 4apg.

• Head of the snake;
• Tall/super athletic/three-level scorer;
• Probable #1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft;
• Leads the nation in scoring;
• Extremely good at getting downhill in the paint. Can finish with either hand;
• He is really good at driving off a pick-and-roll and getting to the rim;
• Nice mid-range jumper off the bounce. Loves to shoot the step-back around the free-throw line;
• Really good at shot fakes to get the defender off-balance, so that he can jump into them and draw a foul. He’s ranked first in the Big 12 in free-throw attempts and makes (203-268, 76%);
• Decent three-point shooter (45-133, 34%);

*#1 – Robert Wright III – 6’1″ – SO – Guard – (Baylor) – 19ppg, 4rpg, 5apg.

• Smaller do-it-all point guard from Baylor;
• Nice floater with both hands in the paint;
• Good at finishing with contact at the rim;
• Outstanding three-point shooter (54-131, 41%);
• Excellent at getting paint touches and finding open shooters;
• A threat to throw his head back when dribbling to force a foul call.

*#13 – Keba Keita – 6’8″ – SR – Forward – (Utah) – 6ppg, 7rpg, 2bpg.

• Big/strong post player. Legitimate tough guy in the Big 12;
• Excellent rebounder on both ends of the court. UH has to be STRONG and box out on defense. He will look to shove you under the rim and get you out of position to get a defensive rebound, like Toppin did at Texas Tech;
• Very good shot-blocker;
• Always a lob threat in the pick and roll;
• Solid scorer around the rim. Not going to shoot many outside of the paint.

*#30 – Kennard “Moo” Davis Jr. – 6’6″ – JR – Guard – (Southern Illinois) – 8ppg, 3rpg.

• “Three and D” specialist guard;
• 151 of his 214 shot attempts have been from behind the arc, but he hasn’t shot as well as they expected on the season (47-151, 31%). Can shoot it from DEEP. Made 5 3s last night vs West Virginia;
• Not bad at driving to the rim going right;
• Tough defender.

*#6 – Aleksej Kostić – 6’4″ – FR – Guard – (Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions) – 4ppg, 1rpg.

• Has started the last three games (3-0) after coming off the bench all season;
• Solid three-point shooter. MUCH improved since we last saw them;
• 72 of his 87 FG attempts have been from beyond the arc (28-72, 39%).

#7 – Khadim Mboup – 6’9″ – RS FR – Forward – (NBA Academy Africa) – 3ppg, 5rpg.

• Primarily an athletic defensive/rebounding forward;
• Has not made a three-pointer since we last saw them (0-6);
• Not very good on the offensive end. Best at offensive rebound put-backs;
• Hard worker on defense. Good rebounder and shot-blocker.

#5 – Mihailo Boskovic – 6’10” – SR – Forward – (KK Dynamic, Igokea) – 3ppg, 2rpg.

• He’s not very good at basketball;
• Big man off the bench. Prefers to play outside of the arc;
• Hasn’t been good from three (15-53, 28%);
• Not bad in the paint;
• Playing a little harder than he has in the past. Had been super finesse previously.

#24 – Dominique Diomande – 6’7″ – RS FR – Forward – (Washington) – 2ppg, 1rpg.

• VERY athletic forward off the bench;
• Plays really hard on both ends of the court;
• Not a three-point shooter (2-15, 13%);
• Good at catching lobs and running out on the fast-break for easy buckets.

#34 – Abdullah Ahmed – 6’10” – SO – Forward – (Westchester Knicks) – 2ppg, 3rpg.

• Tall back-up post player from the G-League; Turrible;
• Good offensive rebounder. Affects shots around the rim;
• Zero skill as an offensive threat. Everything he scores is off of offensive boards.