No. 21 BYU Basketball Comes Up Short Against No. 4 Houston
Jan 23, 2024, 9:37 PM | Updated: Jan 24, 2024, 2:26 pm
PROVO, Utah – No. 21 BYU basketball gave everything they had against the No. 4 Houston Cougars, but they came up short losing 75-68.
Trevin Knell had a chance to give BYU the lead with 45 seconds remaining on a wide-open three-point attempt. Houston secured the rebound and made critical free throws down the stretch.
Here’s a recap of the only regular-season meeting between these two teams.
Whatever the result, this has been an insanely impressive showing by #BYU.
Down double-digits TWICE in the second half and they are in a position to win this game. #BYUhoops #Big12 @kslsports
— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) January 24, 2024
First Half Notes
15:24 remaining – Noah Waterman got the start after missing the game against Texas Tech. Jaxson Robinson remained in the starting lineup as well.
Aly Khalifa has rescued the Cougars offense in the early moments making both of his three-point attempts. He picked up where he left off in the second half against the Red Raiders. BYU 9, Houston 8
10:58 remaining – Jaxson Robinson appears to have shaken off the poor performance against Texas Tech. He’s up to six points now after drilling a deep three-point shot. BYU is shooting 40 percent from the three. Can they keep that percentage up against the best defense in the country? BYU 18, Houston 18
16:41 remaining – BYU went on a 12-2 run to take a five-point lead, however, Houston responded nicely with back-to-back threes to regain the lead.
Dallin Hall is playing some excellent basketball in the first half. His transition dunk brought fans to their feet. BYU 25, Houston 26
put em on a poster @DallinHHall 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/idrbxdiFyU
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) January 24, 2024
3:01 remaining – Big 12 player of the week Jamal Shead leads all scorers with 10 points. Houston is making 45 percent of their three-point attempts. BYU is still making 40 percent of their three-point attempts. It’s been neck and neck in the first half. BYU 32, Houston 33
Halftime – BYU didn’t score in the final 2:30 seconds of the first half. Spencer Johnson drew a foul with a chance to make two free throws, but he missed the first one, and Jamal Shead scored before the buzzer to open up a seven-point lead. BYU 34, Houston 41
Second Half Notes
16:10 remaining – What was once a 12-point lead for Houston has been trimmed down to three points. Trevin Knell scored six consecutive points before the timeout. His last three-point make brought the house down. All the momentum is in favor of the home team. BYU 43, Houston 46
9:47 remaining – The lead is single digits again after Noah Waterman has started to make shots offensively. He now leads the time in scoring with 14 points. BYU 51, Houston 59
Noah Waterman with three or more 3-pointers for the seventh time this season.#BYUHoops #GoCougs
— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) January 24, 2024
6:26 remaining – The Marriott Center is rockin’ after back-to-back layups from Fousseyni Traore and Jaxson Robinson. Coach Pope wisely inserted Dallin Hall back into the game. The offense is flowing much better than Hall running the show. It’s going to be a wild finish. BYU 60, Houston 64
3:57 remaining – Houston is making enough shots to hold off a BYU rally. J’Wan Roberts made a difficult running hook shot to give Houston a double-digit lead again after BYU got the lead down to three points. The rebounding margin is equal. A big statistical difference has been turnovers. Houston has 12 more points off turnovers. BYU 63, Houston 68
Final Score – BYU Basketball 68, Houston Cougars 75
BYU had a few opportunities late to take the lead, but the ball didn’t go in the hoop. Houston converted free throws when had to have them.
Scoring droughts at the end of each half was the downfall for the Cougars at home.
You can hear Matt Baiamonte every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. or you can find him on Twitter @baiamontematt here.
Take us with you wherever you go.
