The First Round of the NCAA Tournament started on Thursday, and No. 6 BYU played No. 11 Texas in a West Region match up. And while BYU entered the game as a slight favorite, it was the Texas Longhorns who eventually pulled away for an 79-71 win over the Cougars. BYU reached the Sweet 16 last season, but this year, their season ends with a whimper, after struggling in the second half of the regular season. Texas will play either No. 3 Gonzaga or No. 14 Kennesaw State on Saturday. Here are the top three takeaways from the game.
AJ Dybantsa’s First vs. Second Half
Dybantsa had a monster first half with 20 of BYU’s 37 points, but even so, the Cougars were down by nine points. As the game went on, the Cougars become over-reliant on Dybantsa, and he began pressing at times as well. Nearly halfway through the second half, AJ only had two points in the half. While he heated up to finish with 15 point in the second and 35 for the game on 11-25 shooting, along with 10 rebounds, he could not carry this team to a win. And now, he’s off to the NBA.
Texas’ Hot Second Half
The BYU defense has plagued this team all season. And it was the thing that sank them on Thursday night in Portland. The Longhorns had a nine-point lead to start the second half, and BYU just could not get a stop. Texas opened the second half shooting 10-16 from the floor, and BYU was just playing them to a draw, more or less, as the second half progressed. Over the last few days we talked about how BYU had appeared to figure something out defensively in the Big 12 Tournament against West Virginia and Houston, but whatever they figured out, they forgot by the time they took the court against Texas.
BYU’s Season Ends in Disappointment
There’s no other way to look at this season for the Cougars other than as a let down. BYU spent the early part of the season ranked in the Top 10, and then the wheels fell off as the season progressed, with Richie Saunders’ season-ending injury just too much to overcome. But regardless, when you have a Top 2 pick in the NBA draft and you finish with a .500 record in league play, along with a First Round exit in the NCAA Tournament, it’s a disappointing season. BYU has invested with the best in college basketball, and while last season’s Sweet 16 was a great first year for Kevin Young, he will have to re-group in the off-season, and also find some defense.
