Provo • The BYU men’s basketball team has its first winning streak of the 2022-23 season.
The Cougars (3-1) beat Nicholls State, 87-73, on Saturday at the Marriott Center. It was the second consecutive win for a BYU team that has played somewhat inconsistent — and, at times, ineffective — basketball.
Here are three takeaways from BYU’s win over Nicholls State.
1. Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers
The Cougars had only 13 turnovers in their nail-biting win over Missouri State on Wednesday. But on Saturday, it was back to the same ol’, same ‘ol.
BYU committed 21 turnovers, one more than in its road loss to San Diego State. In four games, BYU is averaging 19.3 giveaways per game.
Coming into the game, the Cougars were tied for 340th in the country in turnovers. That could get worse once the stats are updated.
Williams said he feels there’s been growth in that department despite the team committing eight more than Wednesday.
“Some of the turnovers are chippy, but we’re getting better at that as well,” Williams said.
Williams has been one of the main culprits of BYU’s turnovers. He had five more Saturday after having three against Missouri State.
To date, Williams has tallied 20 turnovers. That’s just too many for a point guard.
Williams took full responsibility for his turnovers while also providing some insight into why they’re happening so much.
“I would say just being in a new system, in a new environment has contributed to that,” Williams said. “I’m not pointing any fingers. The turnovers are, obviously they’re mine and I take full responsibility for those.
“I feel like I’m just going to study the game more, watch more film, pay more attention to the scout so I can limit my turnovers, understand the defense I’m going against and just make sure they are limited.”
2. BYU shows some nasty
There’s a famous clip of San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich giving his team a pep talk during a timeout where he says he sees hesitation and a lack of confidence. He ends the speech with, “I want some nasty!”
The Cougars channeled some of that against Nicholls State. They forced several held balls, one of which resulted in a scuffle between Noah Waterman and Tyrease Terrell. A few minutes later, Waterman blocked a dunk attempt against the backboard with both hands.
During one sequence, a Nicholls State player called for an isolation against Fousseyni Traore. He tried getting past Traore, but the BYU center blocked his shot attempt with ease.
Williams said coach Mark Pope warned the team about the physicality of Nicholls State.
“They were an aggressive team,” Williams said. “They kind of hack at the ball and rake at arms and stuff like that. ... He told us, ‘Don’t look at the ref. If you get smacked across the face, smacked across the body, just keep playing and protect the ball and be strong.’”
The Cougars met that aggressiveness with some of their own, which contributed to them getting to the free throw line more (19-of-27) and winning the rebounding battle (54-31).
And it was the offensive rebounds that Pope said helped win them the game, especially in the first half. BYU finished with 19 offensive rebounds for 25 second chance points. Eleven of those offensive rebounds came in the first half.
“We had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half and it probably saved us,” Pope said. “We weren’t playing great. I think we were 5 for 22 from the three in the first half. We weren’t shooting great. We had nine turnovers in the first half. ... And we let them shoot over 50% from the 3-point line. So you think you put all those stats together and we’re still right in the game because we had 11 offensive rebounds.”
3. Good minutes from Richie Saunders
Saunders, one of the returned missionaries on the team, played 18 minutes and had nine points and nine rebounds. He also had a steal.
Saunders, who played some of his high school basketball with Traore at Wasatch Academy, is one of the young freshman who has been thrust into a huge role on this year’s Cougars. He’s one of five bench players who, as a group, is starting to show signs of cohesion.
BYU was plus-14 with Saunders on the court. He was tied with Trey Stewart in plus-minus, and the two led the team in that stat.
If Saunders can continue to contribute in his reserve minutes like he did Saturday, the Cougars will be in very good shape this season and in the future.
