Cougars face No. 3 Texas in Big 12 regular season finale

Coming off a bounce-back win over Houston on senior night, BYU faces the highest-ranked opponent of the Whiting era as the Cougars take on the No. 3 Texas Longhorns on Saturday night at the Moody Center.

Cougars face No. 3 Texas in Big 12 regular season finaleCougars face No. 3 Texas in Big 12 regular season finale

PROVO, Utah — Coming off a bounce-back win over Houston on senior night, BYU faces the highest-ranked opponent of the Whiting era as the Cougars take on the No. 3 Texas Longhorns on Saturday night at the Moody Center.

Matchup Breakdown

BYU and Texas have met six times in series history with the Longhorns winning each of the first five meetings. The Cougars earned their first win over Texas in the most recent meeting on Nov. 22, 2002, as BYU knocked off the 12th-ranked Longhorns at the Marriott Center in Provo, 79-63.

All-Time: 1-5

In Provo: 1-2

In Austin: 0-3

At Neutral Site: 0-0

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BYU Cougars (16-14, 6-11 Big 12 Conference)

 

THE STARTING GUARD LINE IS CRUCIAL: BYU’s starting guard line is the silver bullet for the team’s success. As the guard line goes, the Cougars go. In BYU’s 16 wins this season, the starting guard line of Amari Whiting, Kailey Woolston and Kaylee Smiler combine for 34.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, 10.4 assists, 4.1 steals and 1.7 blocks.

In the 12 losses, the Cougar guard line’s stat line decreases in every category as the three combine for just 27.7 points (-6.9), 8.5 rebounds (-4.3), 9.7 assists (-0.9), 3.1 steals (-0.2), 1.5 blocks (-0.3).

MAGIC NUMBER...66 POINTS OR LESS: Coach Whiting prides her team on their ability to defend. Her defense has held opponents to 65.4 points per game this season and 16 of its 30 opponents to 66 or fewer points. When holding teams under the 66-point threshold, BYU is 15-1. When surrendering over 66 points, the Cougars are 1-13 on the year.

THE MORE YOU SCORE, THE MORE YOU WIN: In 2022-23, BYU only scored more than 65 points in 15 of 33 games and garnered a 12-3 record when doing so. The Cougars have exceeded the 65-point threshold in 19 of 30 games this season and hold a 12-7 record when scoring 65 or more.

TURNOVER TROUBLE: Ball security is key to the Cougars’ success, however, BYU averages 16.9 turnovers per game this season. The Cougs have turned the ball over more than their opponent in all but six games this season and hold a 26-25 record when posting a negative turnover margin under Whiting. In Big 12 play, the Cougars turnover the rock 15.4 times per game and have given up 17.6 points off turnovers.

Head Coach – Amber Whiting

  • Alma Mater: BYU, 2001
  • Division I Career Record: 32-31 (2nd Season)
  • Record at BYU:  32-31 (2nd Season)

No. 3 Texas Longhorns (26-4, 13-4 Big 12 Conference)

OLD FRIENDS REUNITE AS OPPONENTS: Shaylee Gonzales played for the Cougars from 2019-2022, earning all-conference honors in back-to-back seasons. She was named the 2021-22 WCC Player of the Year, Second-team All-American by the Athletic and AP All-America Honorable Mention. 

The grad transfer has started all 30 games in her second season as a Longhorn and has contributed 9.7 points per game, 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals. 

MADISON BOOKER: The true freshman has stepped up in a major way for the Longhorns in the absence of their All-Conference guard Rori Harman who has missed the last 18 games after suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Booker has earned six Big 12 weekly awards, twice being named the conference Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week four times. She was named to the Wooden Award Top 20, Naismith Award Top 30 and Cheryl Miller Award Top 10. The highly-touted freshman is Texas’ leading scorer with 16.4 points per game, 5.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.6 steals. Her stats against opponents are even more staggering as she has dropped 21.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists.

OWNING THE GLASS: The Longhorns have dominated the boards this season, out-rebounding their opponents in 26 of 30 games and averaging 40.5 boards with a rebound margin of 10.8 which ranks fifth in the country.

EFFICIENT FROM THE FLOOR: Texas holds the fifth-highest field goal percentage in the NCAA at 50.2 percent from the field. Their 82.4 points per game is the 8th-best mark nationally. At home, the Longhorns score  85.7 points per contest while shooting an astounding 49.9 percent from the floor and 34 percent from behind the arc. 

NO HARMON, NO PROBLEM: Not having the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year would normally be a huge hit to a team, but Texas has gone 14-4 in the absence of Harmon. Booker’s game took a leap forward, increasing her production by 3.7 points per game, 1.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists since Harmon’s injury.

Head Coach – Vic Schaefer

  • Alma Mater: Texas A&M, 1984
  • Division I Career Record: 403-203 (19th Season)
  • Record at Houston: 102-31 (4th Season)

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