BYU opened strong and closed strong in a 71-66 win over Villanova Monday night in Las Vegas.
BYU went into halftime up 42-32 and looked like they were on their way to a comfortable win, but Villanova clawed back and took a 59-57 win with under 7 minutes to go. BYU responded with a 10-0 run — including holding Villanova scoreless for nearly 5 minutes — to ice the game between some late buckets from AJ Dybantsa and key defensive stops from Keba Keita.
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AJ Dybantsa led BYU with 21 points and was joined in double digits by Richie Saunders with 15 and Rob Wright with 14. AJ will get the national headlines, but Keba Keita was instrumental in BYU’s win. The senior center finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 1 steal; many of his key plays came late when BYU needed a stop or screens that cleared the way for BYU to get lightly contested buckets at the rim.
BYU missed a lot of shots at the basket, and that ultimately allowed Villanova to get back in the game. One stat that popped out to me, however, was only 4 turnovers for BYU. If BYU can keep turnovers that low, this offense will get so much better and will finish many more of the kinds of looks that they got tonight.
Villanova guard Bryce Lindsay was the lone Wildcat in double figures with 22 points, including five three pointers. Lindsay hit some big shots, but BYU held Villanova to 36% shooting from the field.
Villanova may not be a tournament team, but this should be a Quad 1 or Quad 2 win for BYU and be a nice data point on the resume come March. BYU next hosts Holy Cross Saturday night in Provo for the highly anticipated home opener.
