With football taking up so much of the spotlight these days, it feels like BYU basketball has sort of flown under the radar during the non-conference slate. Which is insane, considering BYU's hoops and football teams have seemingly never been so in sync as far as competing on the national stage.
Ranked 11th on the gridiron, Kalani Sitake's football team is fighting for a spot in the College Football Playoff. But ranked 9th on the hardwood, Kevin Young's NBA bus has been torching the nation and bidding for its own stake in national championship contention.
We've said it once, and we'll say it again: there has never been a better time to be a Cougar fan.
Basketball deserves my full attention at the moment, however, so please excuse me as I sweep my football notes off the desk, shattering my Bear Bachmeier bobblehead and damaging my Cosmo foam claw from 2012, to make room for my life-size shrine of Richie Saunders loading a three-pointer with his elbow at a flawless 90 degrees. Let it fly, King Tot.
...What was I talking about? Oh, right, BYU basketball. The Cougars are as star-studded as any team in the nation, and that means plenty for a Miami team looking to plant their flag in a loaded Atlantic Coast Conference. Duke with Cam Boozer. UNC with Caleb Wilson. Virginia Tech's Neoklis Avdalas -- oh yeah.
That'll be an especially tall task, considering last season's Hurricanes suffered the drawn-out humiliation of a 7-24 regular season (the humanity) just a year ago. Now reloaded, retooled, and rejuvenated, Miami hopes to put that year in the rear view mirror.
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The Hurricanes enter Feast Week at 5-1, with its lone loss arriving at the hands of in-state rival and top-10 ranked Florida. Against a comparably-equipped team in BYU, Miami is crouching and anxious to prove they're better than they showed in a double-digit drubbing at the hands of last year's champs.
Could they be facing this year's champs on Thanksgiving afternoon (he said, eyes star-spotted and mouth agape)?
BYU, a team proven and anxious to dominate as they prepare for the hellscape that is the Big 12 in-conference schedule. The team's lone blemish has arrived in a 2-point loss against UConn, and most recently braved a vibrant purple court in a brutalizing drubbing of then-23rd-ranked Wisconsin -- not the grudge match the Badgers expected after last year's NCAA Tournament.
Much of that can be attributed to the resurgence of Richie Saunders from beyond the arc. Last season, as a 42% distance shooter, Saunders stamped himself as an All-Conference First-Teamer and a preseason All-American watchlister. But he was ice cold for the first few outings of the year, hitting just 9-26 from range including an 0-7 nightmare against Dan Hurley's Huskies. 5-for-9 against the Badgers was a much-needed return to form for the sniper, and alongside the inside-the-arc scoring craftsmanship of preseason All-American AJ Dybantsa and defense-dicing dribbler Rob Wright, BYU basketball may have the toughest offensive "Big 3" in the entire nation when the team is clicking.
Now against another Power 5 team (fourth of the season), BYU stands on solid ground, ready to advance to the winner's circle of the ESPN Events Invitational and a championship matchup against the Winner of Georgetown-Dayton on the other end of the bracket.
Miami (5-1) and 9 BYU (4-1) approach the instigating tip of this Feast Week Invitational, so as you tug on the wishbone at the dinner table, how about sending some good faith over in BYU's direction? Perhaps as you say grace, slip a little "Go Cougs" between the cracks. But most important of all: don't miss out on a valuable chapter of the most anticipated BYU basketball season of all time?
Happy Thanksgiving, and go Cougars.