BYU basketball took down Iowa State for the second time in a row on Thursday. No, it wasn't a dream, and no, you weren't just watching a YouTube highlight film of the previous meeting in Hilton Coliseum. Kevin Young and his Cougars won in the Big 12 Conference Quarterfinals against a top-15 opponent.
Not only that, but BYU's offense delivered the 10th-highest offensive efficiency rating since 1998 (since Kenpom data was first tracked) against Iowa State -- the 11th ranked defense in the country.
Iowa St. has the 11th ranked defense in the nation.
— CougarStats (@CougarStats) March 13, 2025
BYU just put up its 10th highest offensive efficiency in the Kenpom Era (1998-2025) against the Cyclones. No one else on this list remotely compares to Iowa St. pic.twitter.com/DcSpaBmtm6
All that despite the horrific floor patterning. Thanks for that, Brett Yormark.
And what a wonderful reward the Cougars will receive for their triumph as their semifinal meeting will be against the top-seeded Houston Cougars who only lost one matchup through the entire conference schedule. To two-seeded Texas Tech. How generous.
But the collision course set with Houston is exactly the matchup that BYU basketball should want at this point. Not because they're going to win -- though I wish they would -- but because of the context surrounding the BYU basketball team.
After a slow start in conference play, Coach Young's roster has bought in and righted the ship to the tune of nine straight wins. That includes four ranked victories over Iowa State (twice), Kansas, and Arizona. They broke a Big 12 Tournament record with 18 made three-pointers in the Quarterfinal and have solidified themselves as one of the best offenses in all of college basketball.
Up against Houston, however, the magic may run out. This meeting is a chance to discover how the Cougars really stack up against the best teams in the nation.
After all, as they gain momentum as a potential Final Four runner, beating the best teams in basketball would be a necessary step to reaching that promised land.
Houston owns the top defense in basketball, and curb-stomped a visiting BYU squad earlier this year. But if recent indications are to be believed, this is a vastly different BYU team than the one who took an 86-55 beating in January. Here's to hoping Houston doesn't shoot 47% from three again, right?
In the last matchup, BYU couldn't get their offense operating with any consistency. Poor shooting, turnovers, and an overarching sense that these Cougs were out of their depth permiated the atmosphere of that basketball game.
But the Cougars have turned a corner now. The offense is clicking. Wins are stacking. Confidence is rising. But against a top-three basketball team, 17th-ranked BYU may run into some hiccups.
Thus, the measuring stick. How does BYU basketball stack up against the best teams in the nation? Has there recent run been a hot streak and nothing more, or is this version of BYU basketball a vision of Kevin Young's game-planning mastery? Regardless, this is a team peaking at the right moment and may shock the nation once again opposite an elite Houston squad.