Analysis: Slumping BYU fritters away another opportunity for signature win in loss to No. 8 Houston

As presently constituted, BYU has little margin for error as it goes up against the other nationally ranked basketball teams in the Big 12 in search of a signature win.

The No. 16 Cougars don’t have to play perfectly, but they have to do the little things right — like make a decent percentage of their free throws, make all or most of their close-in shots and hold their own on the defensive glass — if they hope to knock off an Arizona, Texas Tech, Kansas or Houston.

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They didn’t do any of those three things better than average on Saturday night, and as a result lost their fourth straight game for the first time in their three seasons in the Big 12, falling 77-66 to No. 8 Houston in front of 18,177 at the Marriott Center.

Despite 28 points on 9 of 14 shooting from AJ Dybantsa, BYU dropped to 0-4 against Houston in Big 12 games. But at least BYU wasn’t blown out by last year’s national runner-up like it was twice last year.

So there was a bit of a silver lining to this one, although it remains to be seen if legendary coach Kelvin Sampson’s group is as good as it was last year, even with the addition of sensational freshman Kingston Flemings, who led the red Cougars with 19 points.

“We are upset that we didn’t win the game. Another great opportunity that we let go, which, unfortunately for us, has been too many against the highest of caliber teams in the country,” coach Kevin Young said.

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“We can’t seem to finish the job, and that is disappointing.”

After never having the lead in those two aforementioned losses last year — one at Houston and one in the Big 12 quarterfinals — the blue Cougars (5-5, 17-6) led 51-48 with 13:31 remaining Saturday and 52-50 with 12:48 left.

Then the wheels started to come off, slowly but surely, and Houston began to assert its will, winning most of the 50-50 balls, to use a soccer phrase, and showing its superiority inside.

Houston turned 13 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points, and was particularly effective in the final 10 minutes. The red Cougars closed the game on a 23-12 run to get their fourth straight win.

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“We didn’t start offensive rebounding tonight. It has been a staple of ours for a long time,” Sampson said.

BYU’s slide began when Dybantsa missed one of two free throws, and then Keba Keita missed a front-end opportunity.

On one particular possession, Dybantsa missed two free throws as BYU was trying to cut into a five-point deficit, and then Keita made one of two after corralling an offensive rebound.

Dybantsa was 7 of 12 from the free-throw line and the blue Cougars finished a frosty 16 of 28, while Houston (9-1, 21-2) made the most of its fewer freebies — 12 of 15 — and pulled away down the stretch to get its fourth straight win.

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“I missed five free throws,” Dybantsa said. “That’s unacceptable on my behalf.”

“No,” said Young, bluntly, when asked if there’s anything he can do to improve BYU’s free throw shooting.

He also bluntly pointed out that BYU’s centers — Keita and Abdullah Ahmed — combined to go 3 of 10 in the paint and 3 of 7 from the free-throw line.

“You are being nice,” he told this reporter, who suggested Houston’s defense and size inside had something to do with it.

“Go make a shot. I don’t know what else to say. … So those are basically seven missed layups and (four) missed free throws between your two centers. Not good enough.”

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Young also made a critical coaching error, taking Dybantsa out of the game with 5:07 remaining after the freshman hit two free throws to cut Houston’s lead to 63-59.

Houston’s Kalifa Sakho scored after an offensive rebound and Flemings made a driving layup to push UH’s lead out to eight before Young could get Dybantsa back on the floor.

“He was about to pass out,” Young said when asked why he took the superstar out of the game.

Later, Young explained that the under four media timeout was coming and he thought he could steal a minute or two to get Dybantsa some rest.

“So that is what went into that decision,” Young said, adding that he is going to challenge the teenager to get more sleep, eat better and take better care of his body so fatigue doesn’t creep in as easily.

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“But he was great tonight. When he is rolling like that, you don’t want to take him off the floor. … We need him out there as much as we can possibly have him out there.”

Dybantsa said he was feeling fine and re-entered the game with 3:06 remaining and BYU down nine. With 1:45 left he hit a 3-pointer to get the Cougars within five, but Houston’s Emanuel Sharp answered with a 3, and BYU did not make another field goal the remainder of the game.

“Nah, I was good,” Dybantsa said. “He probably thought I needed a rest. He usually takes me out right before the media timeout so I could get extra rest, but nah, I was good. I don’t know why he said that.”

So chalk this one up as another lost opportunity for BYU, which is making a habit of it.

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Another factor that led to the loss: Houston held BYU star Richie Saunders to seven points on 1 of 8 shooting.

Saunders still had seven rebounds and four assists, but the Cougars need all three of their so-called “Big 3” to score in double figures, at the minimum, and on this night the senior didn’t deliver.

Rob Wright III added 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting, but had just one assist in 36 minutes.

At least BYU’s defense was much better than it was Wednesday night, when Oklahoma State steamrolled the Cougars 99-92 in Stillwater.

“I was happy with the response. Since I have been at BYU, that is the hardest that I have gone at the team, in terms of the things I was saying to them, the film I was showing them, the practices and so forth,” Young said.

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“So for me, I do think they responded. This was an ‘I am going to learn a lot about our group’ type of game. Again, disappointed that we didn’t pull the win out, but I thought the response out of the guys given the stretch that we are going through was admirable.”

BYU now heads back out on the road and will face Baylor on Tuesday night in Waco, Texas.