BYU can't stay in the Top 25, despite last week's win against Baylor
In the Book of Revelations, the apostle John wrote the following verse that seems prophetic with regards to BYU's recent stretch of the basketball season.
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
- Revelation 3:15-16
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
BYU basketball has been neither cold nor hot in their past 3 weeks of their Big XII schedule. Winning one game and losing one game each of those weeks is very middling, and the AP top 25 voters told us that they aren't as enamored by the statistical darling BYU on Monday. BYU fell to 25 last week following an ugly loss to Oklahoma State. The Cougars bounced back in a big way by getting their revenge against a great Baylor team, and promptly fell back to earth after another double-digit road loss.
Numerous pleas by Cougar fans to "unrank" BYU have finally been granted, and for the first time since week 3 this season. Since entering the top 25 in week 4 at 6-0, BYU had held their place in the top 25 and for the first time in a long time, the Cougars didn't feel like pretenders ready to lose their position with the smallest slip-up.
But BYU's hot start cooled off eventually, and the Big XII has given BYU all they can handle. A pattern has been emerging as of late for this team: dominance in home games juxtaposed by ineptitude on the road. I believe that BYU can still finish the season in the top 25 if they can figure out what's holding them back on the road.
In away contests, more defensive effort could be in order, as most teams are dropping 80+ points on a BYU team that used to wow stats nerds with their defensive efficiency. BYU also tends to go ice cold from long-range on the road, so more paint touches could be in order for the dominant Fousseyni Traore. Aly Khalifa could also take a step on the road to more closely mirror his production in the Marriott Center, which would strengthen the Cougars' offense when they find themselves in one of their lulls.
Hope isn't lost yet, so you can stop crying on your keyboard. While a difficult schedule awaits BYU's final weeks of the regular season, Mark Pope's team has shown enough to all but guarantee a postseason berth, and you never know if they could get hot in the Big XII tournament. The Cougars are still the top team in the "others receiving votes" section of the rankings, so a solid showing in Lawrence this week and a win over TCU in Provo would likely be enough to breach the polls once again. As always, though, there are no guarantees in the Big XII.
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