Provo, Utah –
The “shot doctor” Trevin Knell wasn’t present for the No. 20 BYU Men’s Basketball game due to a foot injury.
Despite, the “shot doctors” absence his trustworthy assistant Spencer Johnson would lead No. 20 BYU to its second Big 12 win, and first at home, on my Tuesday night at the Marriott Center knocking off the No. 24 Iowa State Cyclones (13-4, 2-2 Big 12) 87-72.
“Well it’s sure nice to be at home, our crowd gave us a ton of energy. That’s special, these moments are really special” BYU head coach Mark Pope said in regards to No. 20 BYU’s win without their best 3-point shooter and best rebounder.
Johnson scored a new career-high 28 points shooting 10-of-16 from the field and 4-for-9 from 3-point range on 62% shooting, grabbing nine rebounds and notching five assists.
https://twitter.com/BYUMBB/status/1747463744806953103
Four other BYU (14-3, 2-2 Big 12) players would also finish in double figures, Noah Waterman (18), Jaxson Robinson (15), Richie Saunders (12), and Dallin Hall (11).
https://twitter.com/BYUSportsNation/status/1747481491532116243
Casual win for BYU beating the #9 team in the net by 15 points without their best 3-point shooter and best rebounder. The Cougars would score 87 points, the most in conference play this season, and the most the Cyclones allowed all season.
Iowa State guard Keshon Gilbert tried his best to keep the Cyclones in the game scoring 16 points and recording four rebounds, which wouldn’t be enough after the momentum shifted at 10:34 in the second half.
Cyclones forward Hason Ward would be assessed a flagrant 2 foul for elbowing BYU guard Richie Saunders in the mouth. It was a dead-ball play while Noah Waterman was shooting one-and-one free throws.
Hason Ward was assessed a flagrant two and ejected from the game for this hit on Richie Saunders pic.twitter.com/jhsRWwSwWp
— Daily Universe Sports (@DailyUnivSports) January 17, 2024
No question that it was anything less than a flagrant 2 as officials took less than 30 seconds to replay the video.
The game was super physical the entire night but the Senior forward got too aggressive and would be ejected from the remainder of the game.
“They were the more physical team. Everything they did was more physical.” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. The Cyclones struggled to match the physicality of BYU and played for almost the entire game having only led for 4:29.
BYU moves up to number nine in Ken Pom, while Iowa State drops to 15th.
BYU will now hit the road to face No. 25 Texas Tech on Saturday, January 20th at United Sportsmarks Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 pm MST and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
