Seen and heard at the Big 12 tourney: On BYU's foul magnet, Sampson's bottom line

Two Iowa State players put their hands on their heads in disbelief, while ESPN announcers Jon Sciambi and Fran Fraschilla differed on who they thought the call was against (officials said it was on yet another player).

Sound familiar?

Nearly three weeks ago at McKale Center, Saunders dealt Arizona one of its toughest moments this season, drawing a controversial foul from Wildcat forward Trey Townsend with three seconds left as he drove to the right of the basket, then hitting both ensuing free throws to give the Cougars a 96-95 win.

On Thursday, Saunders hit both free throws to give BYU a five-point cushion, just enough for the Cougars to stay ahead by at least one the rest of the way, while nailing a 3-pointer and two more free throws in the final 49 seconds.

The Cougars won 96-92. The booing had proved no issue.

“I mean, people care about it, of course,” Saunders said when asked about both fouls and their reactions. “People are gonna want their team to win. You’ve just gotta keep moving and keep playing the game. And part of the game is figuring out how to make something happen. At the end of the day, you’re trying to win.

“Hopefully it doesn’t end up being in the ref’s hands. You don’t want that, but you gotta figure out how to win. Sometimes I show one speed where they’re not gonna call any fouls, so I’m learning how to have some cadence with it.”

Just like many fans undoubtedly did, Saunders admitted that he watched video of the foul at McKale, where Townsend appeared to be defending cleanly but pivoted out his left knee slightly as Saunders drove by. The whistle came not from the official on the baseline but one standing near center court, behind the play.

“All I know is I got up with a sore leg,” Saunders said. The official “had the angle. It’s just part of the game. There’s good and bad. The refs got to do their thing and there’s both sides to every single thing. So we just keep going.”

All-Coug semifinal

This time, Saunders wound up with 23 points while hitting all eight free throws he took to lead the Cougars to what was their ninth straight win, putting BYU in an all-Coug semifinal against Houston on Friday.

In an almost opposite version of how Arizona dominated the Big 12 early and then struggled against a backloaded schedule, the Cougars began Big 12 play at 2-4 but since have lost only to Arizona at home on Feb. 4 and at Cincinnati four days later.

BYU coach Kevin Young and guard Trevin Knell both said a key turning point was at halftime of the Cougars’ Feb. 1 game at UCF, when they trailed 40-38 at halftime but went on to an 81-75 win.

For Saunders, the low point came three weeks beforehand after a 71-67 loss at TCU on Jan. 11.

“We got home from TCU and I was at church. Good thing I was there,” Saunders said. “I was just like ‘This sucks. I’m so down.’ I remember that moment. That was a steep moment for me. We had to be really focused on being resilient and just keep getting back up.

“But that’s just what this group has been, and it’s been super fun to be a part of.”

Muehlebach City

It’s no coincidence that the last name of former UA standout and current college basketball analyst Matt Muehlebach still lights up a historic building in downtown Kansas City that is just four blocks from the T-Mobile Center.

A Swiss immigrant named George Muehlebach Sr. opened a brewery in Kansas City with his brother in 1868 to start what became a family empire. He and his sons also ventured into baseball, at one point forming a baseball team called the “Muehlebach Pilseners,” and the family also built a Hotel Muehlebach in 1915 that once housed U.S. presidents.

Matt Muehlebach said via text message Thursday that George Sr. was related to his great, great grandfather but he noted on the “Spears and Ali” radio show on Wednesday that the family’s businesses ultimately suffered (the Kansas City Star reported that Schlitz bought the brewery in 1956 and closed it in 1973).

“I wish I could say I was some sort of heir to the Muehlebach fortune, but they sold it,” Matt Muehlebach said on “Spears and Ali.” “And what happened was that prohibition really hurt my family’s beer company, and the depression, I think, really hurt the hotel and everything else.

“So we’ve got a great name on a lot of good things, but I’m still working like everyone else.”

The landmark red-lettered “Muehlebach” sign can be seen attached vertically to a brick building along Baltimore Avenue that was built in the 1950s. Known still as the “Muehlebach Hotel,” it is a now a wing of the Kansas City Marriott Downtown that contains ballrooms and meeting rooms.

Hilton (gone) south

Iowa State had roughly 10 times as many fans as BYU did during Thursday’s first game, as expected, and a small percentage of them wore cardinal or black-colored “Hilton South” gear, signaling their ability to take over the T-Mobile Center in the same manner as Arizona fans made something of a “McKale North” at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas during recent Pac-12 Tournaments.

Last year, Iowa State beat Kansas State, Baylor and Houston to win the Big 12 Tournament, but the Cyclones’ loss in the quarterfinal put an early end to the party this season.

That’ll do

Facing last-place Colorado in Thursday’s second quarterfinal game, regular-season champ Houston didn’t take a lead greater than 14 points, outrebounded the Buffs by only five and had two guys foul out.

They advanced to the semifinal against BYU anyway with a 77-68 win.

“When we get to this time of year it is really important not to overanalyze,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We can certainly play better, and I’m sure we will.”

For Colorado, it was the end of a brief, near-Cinderella-type run that featured wins over TCU and West Virginia, plus a somewhat competitive game against the best team in the conference.

“I’ll live with what we gave the last three days, win or lose,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said.

Sponsored snacker

Arizona guard Caleb Love has been “drafted” by Ritz crackers, according to a news release representing Mondelez International and its snack brands, meaning he will be paid to share “snacking content” on his social media channel.

Love’s former North Carolina teammate, RJ Davis, will represent Wheat Thins and Triscuit, while former Pac-12 rival Jackson Shelstad will be pushing Chips Ahoy, among other college athletes.

The big number

18: 3-pointers made by BYU (on 36 attempts) against Iowa State, setting a new Big 12 Tournament single-game record.

Quotable

“It’s really important to win the game. That’s what I liked.” — Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, when asked what he liked about the Cougars’ 77-68 win over Colorado.