No. 17 BYU rides barrage of 18 3-pointers to ninth straight win, Big 12 Tournament semifinal game

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - BYU coach Kevin Young still remembers the day then-Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie pulled the up-and-coming assistant into a conference room and showed him what amounted to a heat map of 3-pointers.

The analytical revolution was in full swing in the NBA, and Hinkie was buying into it. And he wanted Young to buy in, too.

"I was like, 'OK, that's great. How are we going to get these 3s?” Young recalled saying. "He said, 'That's your job.’"

Evidently, Young figured it out.

After moving onto the Phoenix Suns, then landing the head job at BYU last April, the 43-year-old Young found himself on the sideline at his first Big 12 Tournament on Thursday. It was the best spot in the building to watch his No. 17 Cougars go 18 of 36 from beyond the arc, setting a tourney record for made 3s, and rally for a 96-90 victory over No. 12 Iowa State.

"I just told the guys, ‘You don’t show up in the gym and go 18 of 36 from 3,'” Young said. "It’s not even the shot-making; it’s how those 3s are generated. It’s something we pride ourselves on in terms of spacing the floor, turning down a good shot for a great shot. Our guys have been like that all season."

In fact, they’ve never been better. The fourth-seeded Cougars (24-8) have won nine straight games heading into the semifinals on Friday night, including another win - a double-overtime thriller - over Iowa State just last week. Two more and they will be able to cut down the nets at a conference tournament for the first time since 2001, when they were in the Mountain West.

Richie Saunders led the way against the Cyclones, pouring in 23 points, including a crucial 3-pointer with less than a minute to go to give BYU a four-point lead. Eight different players hit from beyond the arc, including Trevin Knell, who hit each of his four attempts and finished with 14 points, and Mihailo Boskovic, who hit a trio of 3s of his own.

"Yes, we shot 50% from 3, and that’s incredible," Saunders said, "but it’s because of the shots we were taking; taking those kinds of open shots versus off the dribble, or early shot-clock shots."

This isn't an offensive gimmick, or a one-time thing. BYU hit 17 3s in a game against Arizona State last month.

The Cougars were fortunate that Iowa State was missing two of its backcourt defenders, Keshon Gilbert and Tamin Lipsey, who were dealing with injuries. Gilbert tried to play in a second-round win over Cincinnati but only managed 11 minutes, while Lipsey hurt his groin late in the game. The two sat next to each other on the bench the entire game.

"Those guys have been phenomenal competitors for us, so now the competition comes in the training room, the rehab, everything that you do and how much you put into, you know, getting your body healthy," Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "Evaluate it day by day, and just see where we're at. I know that, again, they'll both get the treatment that they need, they’ll both put time in that they need, and I'm optimistic about what that means for us moving forward this season."

Curtis Jones picked up the slack for Iowa State, burying seven 3s of his own and scoring 31 points in a virtuoso effort.

"He was cooking," the Cougars’ Trey Stewart said. "He’s a good dude. It was fun to watch. I love that defensive challenge, really just taking pride in it. We come into the game every time trying to play harder than the guy in front of us."

BYU’s total for made 3-pointers on Thursday broke the previous Big 12 Tournament record of 15, set by Kansas against Texas in 2008 and matched by the Jayhawks in a game against West Virginia in 2018. Throw in the 13 3s that Iowa State hit against BYU, and the two teams finished with 31, shattering the tournament record of 27 combined 3s for a game.

"Today really felt like both teams played with that freedom and confidence in the open court and the basketball moved and guys made big plays and big shots," Otzelberger said. "It was really two really good teams with a lot of competitive spirit throwing punches back and forth."