The first half of No. 7 BYU's home game against Delaware featured 20 minutes of some of the most cover-your-eyes bad basketball we've seen under second-year coach Kevin Young.
Less than two minutes into the game, BYU trailed 10-0. With 13:14 left in the first half, the Cougars trailed 17-4. With 4:36 left in the first half, Delaware still led by 10. While Kevin Young's squad narrowed the deficit to three points at halftime and went on to win 85-68, the box score revealed a distressing stat that could hamper the Cougars for the rest of the season:
BYU's bench scored four points on 1-of-11 shooting in 51 minutes of floor time. All four of those bench points were scored by Mihailo Boskovic.
BYU's "Big Three" of AJ Dybantsa (18 points), Richie Saunders (26), and Robert Wright III (26) scored 70 of the Cougars 85 points. While the recent history of winning basketball teams often features some sort of a Big Three -- which the Cougars clearly have -- they also need depth behind them. After watching the Delaware first half debacle, the question has to be raised if the 2025-26 Cougars have the depth behind their superstars to make a deep tournament run this year.
The incredible depth of last year's Sweet 16 team
Last year, Kevin Young piloted the BYU Cougars to the Sweet 16 in his first season of college coaching. One of the calling cards of last year's outstanding squad was its depth.
The starting five last year largely consisted of Egor Demin, Richie Saunders, Trevin Knell, Mawot Mag, and Keba Keita. BYU's second unit was as good as some lesser team's starting five with Dallin Hall, Dawson Baker, Kanon Catchings, Fousseyni Traore, and Mihailo Boskovic. On the nights the starting five struggled, the bench could pick them up. The second unit could go on runs when given the chance. No single player averaged 30 minutes per game last year as Coach Young tried to find minutes for his deep, talented roster.
This year's team is different. It seems to lack the quality scoring depth of last season's Sweet 16 squad.
Through three games Khadim Mboup has scored two points on four field goal attempts in 44 minutes. Tyler Mrus has yet to score in 34 minutes on 0-of-7 shooting. Freshman Xavion Staton is scoreless in his first 15 minutes of college basketball action.
Dominique Diomande has had a decent scoring start to the season with nine points in 19 minutes through two games (he didn't play against Villanova) and could provide some scoring punch off the bench, but there needs to be others around him to help relieve the pressure.
Mihailo Boskovic had his moments last year, but BYU fans might overrate him as a scorer. Last season he averaged just 3.6 points in 11.1 minutes per game off the bench. This year he has eight points in 42 minutes on the floor, so he's not the guy who's going to score in bunches for the second unit.
Dawson Baker can get hot off the bench, but he's also streaky. Last year he averaged a solid 7.5 points in 16.7 minutes per game and will likely be the lead scorer for this year's second team. Baker was inserted into the starting lineup against Delaware and really struggled to find his footing, scoring just three points in 25 minutes.
Last year BYU had three bench players in Fousseyni Traore, Dallin Hall, and even Kanon Catchings who could put up double-digit scoring nights when needed. This year's squad is still looking for those types of contributions off the bench.
The good news is BYU is 3-0 to begin the 2025-26 season and ranked No. 7 in the land. But once Big 12 conference play begins later this season, the Cougs are going to need to get more scoring off the bench if they're going to surpass last year's Sweet 16 team.