In a league as tough as the Big 12, it doesn’t take long for another chance to prove your worth.
The search for a signature win in the Big 12 will take No. 16 BYU to Oklahoma State on Wednesday. The Cougars (17-4, 5-3) will need to start faster and finish stronger to win in Stillwater, but if they want to make real waves, they will need to take down No. 8 Houston Saturday night at the Marriott Center.
Sure, losses to then-No. 1 Arizona, No. 11 Texas Tech and No. 14 Kansas sting, but the beauty of the Big 12 is redemption lurks around every corner. Wins at Oklahoma State and a home victory against the “other” Cougars will forgive BYU’s misdeeds as fast as a lightning strike.
“That’s the blessing and a curse of being in this league,” said BYU coach Kevin Young after the Cougars’ 90-82 loss at Kansas. “It feels like every night, for the most part, is a night where you have an opportunity to get a big win. We are a battle-tested group. We’re a couple of shots away from having some of those.”
During the four weeks of February, the Cougars will get plenty of chances at redemption. The heavyweights include Houston, at Arizona and Iowa State, but the middleweights will also make for some tough fights — at Baylor, Colorado, UCF and at West Virginia.
March has its own opportunities, including a road trip to Cincinnati and regular-season finale at home against Texas Tech. The Big 12 tournament will offer a few more chances leading up to next month’s Big Dance — when it really matters.
Richie Saunders has seen this movie before. Last year, his Cougars didn’t get their first signature win in the Big 12 until Feb. 18 when they beat No. 23 Kansas in Provo. The one-sided victory improved BYU’s record to 18-8 and 9-6 in the conference.
After the Jayhawks, the Cougars erased an earlier defeat to No. 19 Arizona by taking them down in Tucson. It was only after the win against the Wildcats that BYU cracked the Top 25 at No. 25.
From there, the Cougars topped No. 10 Iowa State, once in Ames and a second time in the Big 12 tournament. Even as they were saddled with nine defeats, BYU earned a No. 6 seed in the Big Dance and sashayed its way to the Sweet 16 and No. 13 final ranking.
“I’ve been in this position many times throughout my career,” said Saunders after the senior scored a career-high 33 points in front of dozens of NBA scouts at Kansas. “I know the flip side of what’s waiting for us.”
The flip side will come as fast as BYU can flip the script. For these Cougars, it’s first things first and that starts with a better first half.
The glowing and nation-leading second-half surges don’t matter much when the uphill climb to recover from the first 20 minutes has them still falling short.
The quest for consistency isn’t exclusive to BYU. It’s like a popular hiking trail that everybody is on — and the topography is constantly changing. The journey is as intoxicating as it is unpredictable.
Even as Kansas celebrates a big win at home against BYU, it will spend Monday night at Texas Tech (7 p.m. MST, ESPN). The Red Raiders, after losing Saturday at UCF, eye beating the Jayhawks as their chance at redemption.
And so it goes.
For BYU, what matters most must be Oklahoma State because they are next. For the fans looking for some pain relief after watching their team go 0-3 against the better teams in the league, it’s almost impossible not to think ahead to Saturday.
Redemption is a powerful thing.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.
Category: General Sports
