BYU coach Kevin Young has all the elements to create a potentially effective trap, but he isn’t looking at it that way.
His Cougars will be facing an Arizona Wildcats team that, having ascended consistently since returning from Christmas with a sub-.500 record, just jumped back into the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since November at No. 20.
A team that also, by the way, just had its first-ever player named Big 12 Player of the Week, after Caleb Love led the Wildcats to an overtime win against Iowa State and also dropped 27 points on ASU.
All that resulting Arizona confidence — even though the Wildcats actually struggled at length against both ISU and ASU — will land Tuesday at the unnerving site of BYU’s Marriott Center, where an average of 16,790 fans have assembled this season to see the Cougars go 11-1 at home.
Also: Make the game really, really late.
ESPN took care of that one, setting the UA-BYU tipoff time at 9 p.m., ensuring the Wildcats will have plenty of time during the day to think about it – and the prospect of a boarding a charter flight home afterward that will go into the wee hours.
But… nah … maybe. Young wasn’t going there.
“I don’t put too much stock into it being a good time to catch any team,” Young said Monday, during a BYU media interview session. “I mean, they’re a really good team. Tommy (Lloyd, UA coach) does a heck of a job. They’re experience and he knows what he’s doing. They’re very organized. They play really hard. They have a clear identity.
“I’m just looking forward to a good basketball game against a good team.”
OK, then. A former Phoenix Suns associate head coach who took over the Cougars this season, Young did say he felt his players have gained more confidence the more they win in the Big 12, which they joined last season after moving over from the WCC.
But UA has won nine of 10 game since moving over to the Big 12 this season from the Pac-12’s remains. Also the Wildcats finally broke through on Monday not only by becoming the conference’s fifth team in the AP Top 25 but also having a player earn a conference weekly honor for the first time yet.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (1) dribbles by Sun Devils guard Adam Miller (44) during the first half of the game at Desert Financial Arena, Feb. 1, 2025.
Love was given the Player of the Week award after hitting a 60-foot buzzer beater at the end of regulation, and two 3-pointers in overtime, to help UA beat then-third-ranked Iowa State 86-75 on Jan. 27. He also added 27 points in UA’s 81-72 win at ASU on Saturday, after UA coach Tommy Lloyd had expressed hope that Love’s ISU heroics would prove a catalyst for a late-season push.
“It’s great,” Lloyd said at ASU. “I know he’s not going to probably play like that every single day, but when he does, it doesn’t surprise me.”
(Since ASU coach Bobby Hurley suggested he might not vote for Love in Big 12 postseason honors, after Love and ASU’s BJ Freeman were ejected late in Saturday’s game at Tempe, it might be worth noting that Big 12 weekly honors are voted on by media members.)
Over the two games last week, Love averaged 24.5 points, 51.6% shooting (including 40.9% from 3-point range), 3.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.0 turnovers.
Naturally, Young took notice.
“He’s an electric player, very experienced,” Young said of Love. “He’s a guy that can erupt for 30 on any given night, an explosive scorer. They give him a lot of freedom, and he’ll put a challenge on on us collectively. We’ve got to do a job on him and try to not limit his shot attempts but try to make everything difficult for him. I think that’s the best way to try to disrupt very good scorers.”
Young said it wasn’t just Love to worry about either. On a conference call with mostly Utah-based reporters, Young was asked about having to deal with UA’s big men, specifically Henri Veesaar and Carter Bryant, then expanded the question.
“It’s not just those two. It’s (Tobe) Awaka as well,” Young said. “It’s trying to keep Veesaar and (Awaka) off the glass as much as possible. They do a tremendous job of rebounding. They’re both really big, and they run a lot of stuff where they’re ducking in at the rim and trying to impose their physicality and their will. We’ve got to meet the challenge first.
“And with Bryant, he’s more of a stretch-four. He’s playing really well as of late, and it’s trying to neutralize him from 3 and make him beat you doing something else.”
Arizona forward Carter Bryant (9) attempts a lay-up during the first half of the game against Arizona State University at Desert Financial Arena, Feb. 1, 2025.
Bryant earned Arizona’s nomination for the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award but was beaten out by Baylor’s Robert Wright, who averaged 23.0 points and 6.0 assists in the Bears’ overtime loss at BYU and their 81-70 home win over Kansas. Wright scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half against Kansas, helping Baylor overcome a 19-point halftime deficit.
Over UA’s two games last week, Bryant averaged 11 points while shooting 46.7% from the field (including 6 of 10 3-pointers) and averaged 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 3.0 steals while committing 1.5 average turnovers.
Because they have developed Bryant and more scoring options other than Love, the Wildcats (15-6 overall, 9-1 in the Big 12) have won 10 of their past 11 games entering Tuesday’s game, finally reaching the Top 25 rankings for the first time since they lost two of three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Auburn (20-1) and Duke (9-2) stayed at 1-2 atop the AP poll, while Iowa State (17-4, 7-3 Big 12) fell from No. 3 to No. 8 after losing to Arizona and Kansas State last week.
Among other UA opponents this season, Houston (17-4, 9-1) rose from No. 6 to No. 5, Texas Tech (17-4, 8-2) rose from 22 to 13, Kansas (15-6, 6-4) dropped from 11 to 16 and Wisconsin (17-5) dropped from 17 to 21.
