BYU’s Spencer Johnson made a few predictions during Big 12 media day — when his Cougars were picked to finish 13th in their new conference.
“We’re going to surprise some people,” he said. “We’re going to be a lot better than people think.”
The Cougars, who moved up one spot to No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday, are off to their best start in more than a decade. They’re 10-1 after beating Denver and Georgia State last week, and are top 10 in the nation in multiple offensive categories, including:
No. 1 assists-to-turnovers (2.17)
No. 1 3-pointers per game (12.5)
No. 3 assists per game (21.5)
No. 7 scoring offense (89.1 ppg)
Utah women just outside Top 10
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes forward Dasia Young (34) stretches out for a shot as Utah hosts BYU in NCAA basketball at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023.
The Utes held onto the No. 11 ranking in the country for a third straight week.
Utah cruised to a road win at Southern Utah over the weekend (96-60) and will finish its non-conference schedule Thursday when Weber State visits the Huntsman Center.
After that, things only get more challenging: The Utes were one of five Pac-12 squads (UCLA, 2; USC, 6; Colorado, 8; Stanford, 9) in the top 11 of Monday’s poll.
Utah State’s Martinez honored
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah State Aggies guard Ian Martinez (4) shoots as Utah State faces San Francisco in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023.
After leading the Aggies to wins over Santa Clara and San Francisco, USU senior guard Ian Martinez was named both the Lute Olson and Mountain West Player of the Week.
Martinez scored a career-high 28 in the win over Santa Clara and added 20 points in the win over the Dons.
