PROVO, Utah — The BYU basketball team defeated San Francisco in the last home game of the season with an 87-61 victory.
As a member of the West Coast Conference, let’s answer some questions from the last home game.
Who was the MVP for BYU basketball?
I don’t think this year was exactly what Rudi Williams had in mind when he signed to BYU last offseason, but his last regular season game with the Cougars was great.
He’s my pick for tonight’s MVP.
Williams started the game in place of Dallin Hall as one of the two senior players recognized on senior night.
The other senior was Gideon George.
1️⃣,0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ D1 CAREER POINTS! pic.twitter.com/M7J9mVM9F0
— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) February 26, 2023
Williams was instrumental in setting the tone for BYU early on.
He finished with 21 points and a team-high seven assists.
Most of his points came from the free throw line, where he made 15 of 16 attempts.
The Cougars led 18 minutes and two seconds in the first half and were never behind in the second half.
What did I notice during the game?
Jaxson Robinson played one of his best games of the season defensively.
I thought it was a brilliant move by head coach Mark Pope to use his length to frustrate San Francisco guard Khalil Shabazz.
Early in the second half, Robinson sneaked up on Shabazz and robbed his bag.
The result was a two-handed slam dunk on the other end.
Robinson had all three cougar steals.
#BYU 🏀 opens a game-high lead of 19 points early in the second half after a two-hand slam from Jaxson Robinson after a steal.
Cougar’s defense is seething tonight.
— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) February 26, 2023
He helped BYU keep Shabazz at 26 percent shooting off the field.
What was the most interesting statistic of the game?
BYU dominated the glass against San Francisco and won the clash of the boards 42-22.
When BYU was on a seven-game winning streak in December, they did so by passing their opponents.
Fousseyni Traore was a monster against the Dons, hitting a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
When this team rebounds and defends like they did against San Francisco, they’re capable of beating anyone in the WCC.
When was the game won for BYU basketball?
BYU held a 23-point lead at one point in the second half before San Francisco cut the lead to 13 points with plenty of time remaining.
After that, things got a little weird as both teams started firing off three-point shots.
Noah Waterman grabbed one from the corner, followed by a right three from Richie Saunders that slammed out of the glass.
That shot pushed the Cougar’s lead back to 16 points.
They never felt threatened again.
#BYU 🏀 blows out San Francisco 87-61.
Rudi Williams led the Cougars with 21 points.
Towards the end of the second half he received a standing ovation from the fans in attendance. pic.twitter.com/0JwsDQ2TO8
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 26, 2023
Momentum remained at BYU and the Cougars secured fifth place in the WCC tournament thanks to a NET ranked tiebreaker over San Francisco and Pacific.
You can hear Matt Baiamonte on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday every Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. or find him on Twitter here.
