Keba Keita blocked a shot in the final seconds and BYU beat North Carolina 78-76 Friday night in Salt Lake City. Both teams weren’t totally dialed in on offense — which isn’t unexpected for October — but both teams brought the intensity and treated this like a real game, which will pay dividends for when the season begins in less than two weeks.
Four BYU players scored between 12 and 18 points, led by 18 from AJ Dybantsa. AJ scored 18 points and added 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. His block of UNC star freshman Caleb Wilson in the first half was one of the highlights early on. Keba Keita had a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Richie Saunders scored 14 points, and Rob Wright rounded out BYU double figure scorers with 12.
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A major storyline going into the game was the battle of star freshmen and future lottery picks AJ Dybantsa and Caleb Wilson. Wilson stepped up in a big way, leading all scorers with 22 points and adding 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Neither team shot the ball well from distance — UNC was 4-19 from three while BYU was just 5-25. Richie Saunders was 2-9 from three while Rob Wright was 0-4. Kennard Davis was just 1-4 from distance, but his corner three with two minutes left put BYU up 74-71, a lead which BYU would not relinquish. Davis also got an and-1 shortly before, scoring 6 of his 8 points in crunch time for BYU.
Below are some of my thoughts from watching the game. BYU opens the season November 3 versus Villanova.
Takeaways and Observations
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BYU’s defensive effort was much better. After allowing Nebraska to shoot 16-34 from three, BYU looked much more locked in on defense and held the Tar Heels to 4-19 three-point shooting. UNC runs one of the fastest tempos in the country and BYU got beat at times down the floor, but the defensive focus was much better this game versus what we saw in Lincoln. Some of that no doubt had to do with BYU playing more regulars in this game, but it was good to see the defensive focus improved.
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BYU took care of the ball. This was a high paced game, and I was encouraged to see only 12 turnovers for BYU. BYU has a ton of guys that can score, and if they limit turnovers and maximize shot attempts then this offense will be elite. Shots will fall more as the season goes along, so my bigger takeaway over the missed shots was that BYU’s offense valued the basketball.
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Khadim Mboup is him. Mboup had 12 points and 11 rebounds versus Nebraska, and followed that up with another impressive versus UNC. Khadim had 7 points and 4 boards in 13 minutes, but his effort jumped off the screen. Mboup made a corner three on his lone attempt of the game and had an offensive putback off a missed free throw that was pure hustle. Mboup played more of the 3 and 4 spot this game versus the Nebraska game when he played a lot of minutes at the 5. Khadim is only a redshirt freshman, and I am thrilled at what we’re already seeing from him at this stage of the season. He is going to be a valuable piece for BYU this year and maybe the best player off the bench.
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Shooting will struggle most nights if Richie isn’t on. One of my questions going into this season is BYU’s outside shooting. AJ Dybantsa is a unicorn and maybe the best player in college basketball, but his three-point shot can be inconsistent. Rob Wright is incredible at getting to the rim, but he shot less than 30% from three in Big 12 play. Those guys have the ability to be good three-point shooters, but Richie is the guy BYU needs to hit shots and stretch defenses. He’ll have nights like he did tonight where he struggles to find his shot — and hopefully there aren’t many of them — but BYU needs other guys to knock down shots. Getting Dawson Baker back in the regular season will be big, and BYU needs Idaho transfer Tyler Mrus to fill some of the void left by Trevin Knell.
