Question about BYU

[Cowtown Cat]

Why do so many think BYU is doing so well?! Just curious, they’ve beat ONE ranked team all season, which was Wisconsin. They’ve also beaten Miami and Clemson, so I guess that’s a positive. Anyway, LMAO at BYU being some modern day powerhouse all the sudden. Just wanted to point that out.

They absolutely should not get a top 4 seed with that BS resume. They could win some big games from now until end of the season, however. That could boost their resume, but right now? Meh.

 

[peterpiper09]

Because people are blinded by the whole Dybansta ordeal. They would be a lot better team if he didn’t shoot so much. Saunders is the best player on that team.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

Let me also add, they’ve now lost three straight. Will probably be four straight after they play Houston.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

Because people are blinded by the whole the Dybansta ordeal. They would be a lot better team if he didn’t shoot so much. Saunders is the best player on that team.

BINGO! Thank you!

 

[UKSanders]

Why do so many think BYU is doing so well?! Just curious, they’ve beat ONE ranked team all season, which was Wisconsin. They’ve also beaten Miami and Clemson, so I guess that’s a positive. Anyway, LMAO at BYU being some modern day powerhouse all the sudden. Just wanted to point that out.

They absolutely should not get a top 4 seed with that BS resume. They could win some big games from now until end of the season, however. That could boost their resume, but right now? Meh.

It's a valid question... It's likely the combination of expectations coming into this season and the fact they've played well early, so that boosted them...
- Wins against solid teams: Wisconsin, Clemson, Miami
- 2pt loss to UCONN

Also, they recently had a 3pt loss to AZ, which is better than pretty much anyone else has done.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

It's a valid question... It's likely the combination of expectations coming into this season and the fact they've played well early, so that boosted them...
- Wins against solid teams: Wisconsin, Clemson, Miami
- 2pt loss to UCONN

Also, they recently had a 3pt loss to AZ, which is better than pretty much anyone else has done.

Yeah, I can see that. Fact remains, they’ve beaten one ranked team all damn year. I just noticed that every big game they find a way to lose. That Arizona game was a BLOWOUT until they made a miracle comeback.

 

[akaukswoosh]

Anyway, LMAO at BYU being some modern day powerhouse all the sudden. Just wanted to point that out.

 

[Rainmaker]

Why do so many think BYU is doing so well?! Just curious, they’ve beat ONE ranked team all season, which was Wisconsin. They’ve also beaten Miami and Clemson, so I guess that’s a positive. Anyway, LMAO at BYU being some modern day powerhouse all the sudden. Just wanted to point that out.

They absolutely should not get a top 4 seed with that BS resume. They could win some big games from now until end of the season, however. That could boost their resume, but right now? Meh.

With their remaining schedule we will likely have as good or better of a final record than then. Granted UK should be better than BYU, im only stating it to put into perspective, it’s a narrative that’s spun. Certain teams are inflated by the polls etc every year and we haven’t been a part of that group of teams for half a decade or so now.

 

[KyKevin]

Because people are blinded by the whole the Dybansta ordeal. They would be a lot better team if he didn’t shoot so much. Saunders is the best player on that team.

Saunders is NBA good also

 

[I’m The Village Idiot]

OP — we treat everyone else better than our own. When other coaches struggle, we explain why with context. If we do that for our coach, we are sunshine pumping and lifting coach above program. I’m not 100% certain Pope is the guy, but I think waving away any chance that he could be is problematic.

 

[Drogon]

Also beat Villanova. 28 on kenpom

 

[Cowtown Cat]

With their remaining schedule we will likely have as good or better of a final record than then. Granted UK should be better than BYU, im only stating it to put into perspective, it’s a narrative that’s spun. Certain teams are inflated by the polls etc every year and we haven’t been a part of that group of teams for half a decade or so now.

Exactly! How in the world are they still ranked?! Take Dybansta away and I bet they aren’t. Media is absolutely enamored with the guy. Great player, but damn!

 

[Cowtown Cat]

I’ve watched them a lot this year. I just don’t see the hype.

 

[KyKevin]

BYU has players like Kieta who is like Garrison, when he comes to play, they are tough. I think when you have a guy like Dybantsa, teams tend to not get involved much in the offense, and don't play as hard. BYU are a team that can beat a lot of good teams, but can get beat by a lot of good teams. There are just a lot of unranked teams, that can beat really good teams.

 

[kyjeff1]

Why do so many think BYU is doing so well?! Just curious, they’ve beat ONE ranked team all season, which was Wisconsin. They’ve also beaten Miami and Clemson, so I guess that’s a positive. Anyway, LMAO at BYU being some modern day powerhouse all the sudden. Just wanted to point that out.

They absolutely should not get a top 4 seed with that BS resume. They could win some big games from now until end of the season, however. That could boost their resume, but right now? Meh.

Their resume took a huge hit last night. Yikes.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

Their resume took a huge hit last night. Yikes.

GOOD!

 

[yoshukai]

Why do so many think BYU is doing so well?! Just curious, they’ve beat ONE ranked team all season, which was Wisconsin. They’ve also beaten Miami and Clemson, so I guess that’s a positive. Anyway, LMAO at BYU being some modern day powerhouse all the sudden. Just wanted to point that out.

They absolutely should not get a top 4 seed with that BS resume. They could win some big games from now until end of the season, however. That could boost their resume, but right now? Meh.

Read elsewhere that they don’t have a single win over a Kenpom top 25 team .

 

[fisherscatfan]

BYU has played 4 opponents that were ranked at the time they played them. They are 1-3 against them. BYU is a good team but they are getting hyped. UK has played 9 that were ranked and is 3-6. Just some horrific performances within those losses that hurt.

People can say I’m crazy but it is another way to jab UK fans. “Look how good BYU is after Pope”. (I even bought in to that one a little bit).

We hear about running Cal off and how great Cal is and Arkansas will be ready come March. Yet his record is a wash with Pope.

The media love poking UK cause it moves the needle and some like Greenberg just absolutely hate UK.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

Read elsewhere that they don’t have a single win over a Kenpom top 25 team .

I believe it! Could you imagine if that were UK?! LMFAO wouldn’t be ranked ALL season!

 

[BlueBomb]

Come tournament time, one fantastic player on a hot streak can carry a team a long way. Mash, Danny Manning, Dwayne Wade, etc.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them make an Elite 8. Or flame out...

 

[yoshukai]

Come tournament time, one fantastic player on a hot streak can carry a team a long way. Mash, Danny Manning, Dwayne Wade, etc.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them make an Elite 8. Or flame out...

Saunders is a really good number 2 guy for a team also.

Ive seen a few BYU games and I just question if they play enough defense for a tournament run .

Kevin Young was hailed as a a great hire coming in with an nba background. But they play defense like an nba team when I’ve watched.

 

[BlueSince92]

OP — we treat everyone else better than our own. When other coaches struggle, we explain why with context. If we do that for our coach, we are sunshine pumping and lifting coach above program. I’m not 100% certain Pope is the guy, but I think waving away any chance that he could be is problematic.

Absolutely we do. It’s internal vs external attribution bias and you nailed it perfectly.

 

[Woodrow24]

OP — we treat everyone else better than our own. When other coaches struggle, we explain why with context. If we do that for our coach, we are sunshine pumping and lifting coach above program. I’m not 100% certain Pope is the guy, but I think waving away any chance that he could be is problematic.

You make a good point. For anyone to be fair with judging Pope, he’s had really, really bad luck with injuries and that’s been a big factor this season. The thing that worries me with Pope is recruiting. I hope me makes it here and is successful. The 96 team was my favorite team and I think it would be awesome if he could get us back to being an elite program

 

[Phil_The_Music2]

At least for some that post on here, BYU being good fits their narrative. It's important for them that they can say BYU is better without Pope and that they are elite because they have a star freshman and we don't.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

But, but....they improved big-time when Pope left. Said no true UK fan ever.

THIS! They haven’t improved any. They got ONE elite recruit. That’s IT!

 

[Goingfor9]

With their remaining schedule we will likely have as good or better of a final record than then. Granted UK should be better than BYU, im only stating it to put into perspective, it’s a narrative that’s spun. Certain teams are inflated by the polls etc every year and we haven’t been a part of that group of teams for half a decade or so now.

Let’s see before you proclaim anything about a narrative. So far it’s been straight facts. BYU is better since pope left there is no doubt

 

[CrimsonCats_rivals]

The perception that they’ve drastically improved since Young replaced Pope is pretty simple to explain. They made the Sweet 16 last year after never winning a tournament game under Pope. They followed that up by signing Dybansta, who’s been the real deal and then some, and have spent most of this year ranked in the top 10.

Is the gap as big as all that makes it seem? That remains to be seen. They don’t have that many marquee wins, but a 2 point neutral court loss to UConn, 3 point home loss to Arizona, and road losses to Kansas and Texas Tech are hardly embarrassing. Even Oklahoma St last night was a Quad 1 game since it was on the road, and they’re still 18th on KenPom (we’re 31st right now for comparison). They’re probably a pretty good team, but coincidentally, so was Pope’s last squad there who also finished the year 18th on KenPom, it’s just that the 11 losses and first round tournament loss hurt the eye test pretty badly for that team. So overall, I do think there’s a case to be made that the Dybansta hype is doing a lot of work to make things seem a little more different than the underlying play of the entire team supports to this point, but this year’s team could still come out better if they win a few of the big games they have remaining.

 

[Rainmaker]

THIS! They haven’t improved any. They got ONE elite recruit. That’s IT!

Playing devils advocate here but we haven’t improved any either. BYU remains about the same after Popes departure but so does a Kentucky upon his arrival and Cals departure. It was a linear move for both programs at best. We don’t need a linear move we need to regain our spot among the elite. Popes had injuries so that’s a built in excuse but it can’t happen again next year. He needs a home run portal and off season and we need to show improvement not stagnation.

 

[Rainmaker]

Let’s see before you proclaim anything about a narrative. So far it’s been straight facts. BYU is better since pope left there is no doubt

Pope went 23-11 and after him they went 26-10. This season they are 17-5 with games at Baylor, against Houston, Iowa State, Texas Tech, UCF and Arizona left. Most likely 4-5 losses there and a loss in conference tournament and ncaa. Likely an 11-13 loss year. Where is the improvement since Pope left? One extra win one year and more losses the second more likely than not? They were ranked high in popes last year so being ranked isn’t an improvement. It’s media spun narrative and that’s it. If it isn’t then show these facts you have? At best it’s a very tiny improvement but I wouldn’t even consider it that. They made it to the sweet 16 sure and they did sign one superstar which isn’t surprising because BYU has one of the deepest pockets when it comes to NIL. That’s why their football team is relevant now as well, $$$$$.

If you count a sweet 16 with basically the same record and an incoming 12 loss season likely a major improvement then Pope has majorly improved Kentucky over Cal as well. Cals last two years went 22-12 second round and 23-10 first round loss. Pope went 24-12 sweet 16 and this season looks to be rinse and repeat much like BYU.

It’s simple both schools are in the same boat they were when they hired their new coaches, little to no improvement for either.

 

[peterpiper09]

But, but....they improved big-time when Pope left. Said no true UK fan ever.

Yeah, they really ran with this one for a while.

 

[davtay]

I agree with all three of these statements.

 

[Cats192]

Jimmy Dykes Tweeted this when Kentucky was struggling.

Meanwhile, BYU is struggling. BYU paid an ungodly amount for just 1 player. No Tweet about money here. Hmmm.

 

[jwhkchawk]

BYU was down 20+ to all of UCONN, Villanova, KU, Zona. They have talent and made all of those games interesting because they have AJ, Richie and Rob who all can go off. But outside of that, their role players are awful.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

OP — we treat everyone else better than our own. When other coaches struggle, we explain why with context. If we do that for our coach, we are sunshine pumping and lifting coach above program. I’m not 100% certain Pope is the guy, but I think waving away any chance that he could be is problematic.

That’s fair. But I think it’s problematic to ignore the verdict.

The evidence has been gathered and the jury is back.

And that’s just on the effort part.

All the evidence is in on the coaching acumen too.

But there’s a couple of holdouts on the jury.

They need to see the losing season next year before they vote.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

Because people are blinded by the whole Dybansta ordeal. They would be a lot better team if he didn’t shoot so much. Saunders is the best player on that team.

He’s not better than Dybantsa. He’s a great college player for sure, but come on now.

 

[Anon1759768907]

Because people are blinded by the whole Dybansta ordeal. They would be a lot better team if he didn’t shoot so much. Saunders is the best player on that team.

 

[preacherfan]

The perception that they’ve drastically improved since Young replaced Pope is pretty simple to explain. They made the Sweet 16 last year after never winning a tournament game under Pope. They followed that up by signing Dybansta, who’s been the real deal and then some, and have spent most of this year ranked in the top 10.

In all fairness, it is hard to compare the Pope era to the Young era due to BYU leaving the West Coast Conference for the B12. We have to wonder how much joining a major power conference boosted their ability to bring in better players? Pope only coached in the B12 one year before coming to UK. Is Young reaping the benefits or is he just that good of a coach? It will be fun to see what BYU does going forward.

As for Dybansta, I've watched him a few times and he seems lost on defense. It will be interesting to see how that translates into the NBA.

 

[JDHoss]

You make a good point. For anyone to be fair with judging Pope, he’s had really, really bad luck with injuries and that’s been a big factor this season. The thing that worries me with Pope is recruiting. I hope me makes it here and is successful. The 96 team was my favorite team and I think it would be awesome if he could get us back to being an elite program

Bad luck with injuries is an understatement. If healthy, last year's team at minimum would have been knocking on the door or a final Four, if healthy. This year, we've lost our top two portal pickups, and three of our five portal guys (not counting Potter), including two guys we were counting on to be starters.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

No one thinks byu is that good.

 

[Monday Nitro]

Because people are blinded by the whole Dybansta ordeal. They would be a lot better team if he didn’t shoot so much. Saunders is the best player on that team.

Saunders is unreal. First time I really watched him when they played Kansas. He's an NBA'er all day.