00:00To some degree, late night, I would imagine Iowa State and BYU,
00:04hey, what about us?
00:06Top 25 matchup here.
00:08But these are two teams, Coach, right now going in different directions,
00:11and it's a number that is clearly, clearly being moved due to the Richie Saunders injury.
00:20Talk to me, JY.
00:22What do you think about the Cyclones on the road against the Cougars?
00:28You know, when you look at this game and you look at losing Richie Saunders,
00:34Kevin, I think it's got as much of an impact on the offensive side of the ball
00:38as the defensive side of the ball.
00:40When you look at a team like a BYU, you know, they are predicated on trying to get the ball
00:50in transition.
00:51And if you look at steal percentage, right, they are near the bottom of the Big 12.
00:56And they just lost the best guy that got in the passing lane and create steals.
01:02So then one of the guys that can generate offense for them is a problem.
01:07It's gone.
01:08And he's also a sneaky good defender.
01:10Now, BYU defensively in the metrics, according to Ken Palm, is 12th in the Big 12.
01:16That's not good.
01:17And you have an Iowa State team that can really hit you in many different ways,
01:25which I think makes them difficult to scout.
01:29BYU has got to be exceptional at the three-point line.
01:36But then there's the problem.
01:39They're shooting, I think, 35% from three.
01:42And they're leading three-point shooter at 38% is out.
01:47Yeah.
01:47So that leads a lot, Kev, on Robert Wright, the third, the transfer from Baylor,
01:53who had a huge game earlier this week.
01:55Kevin, I just don't see that being duplicated here.
02:00I love Iowa State.
02:01If you don't want to lay the points, I wouldn't mind that it's the team total over
02:06because I think BYU may have to try and play faster to try and get the ball for space for
02:11a Dibanza.
02:12And I think they could play in Iowa State's hands.
02:14And I love them to score and score a ton tonight.
02:19So I also like Iowa State, but I think it could be a wheel play, to be very clear.
02:26Iowa State is much better than BYU.
02:32And yet, in order to play Iowa State at this number, which I am doing,
02:37you have to believe that the Richie Saunders absence is sizable.
02:42Houston came to BYU, beat them by 11.
02:45But that was a one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half-point number.
02:48We know that Houston is power-rated above Iowa State.
02:52We know that.
02:53So you guys know how we break these games down.
02:56And it is to say, hey, if we move this too much, ultimately, I landed on no.
03:03Because I think Saunders matters.
03:06But the other element I landed on is BYU keeps getting too much respect on these numbers.
03:13What's the best BYU win this year?
03:16Probably Wisconsin.
03:18Fair enough.
03:19They did smash that team a long time ago.
03:22What's their best win in 2026?
03:26At Baylor by five?
03:28In a game that was like four-and-a-half, three-and-a-half?
03:31I mean, okay.
03:32Okay.
03:34Iowa State has two consecutive wins that would be crowning achievements for this BYU team.
03:43They lose this game every time.
03:45And maybe I am talking my position as somebody who bet Iowa State last week
03:51to win the national championship.
03:54But I watched the games against Kansas and Houston, and I feel good about it.
04:01I don't think they're the best team in college basketball.
04:04But I think they're capable of going on that type of run.
04:08If I'm right about that, despite what should be a very impactful home court advantage for BYU tonight,
04:16Iowa State offensively, as Coach pointed out, should have their way.
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