BYU basketball: Y. shrugs off slow start to leap Frogs

FORT WORTH, Texas — The start BYU had early Saturday evening against the TCU Horned Frogs was exactly what Cougars coach Dave Rose feared.

But the ending, fortunately for the Cougars, was exactly what Rose had hoped for all along.

The No. 15 Cougars went into the game at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, their last of the regular season, knowing exactly where they'd finish in the Mountain West Conference regular standings regardless of Saturday's outcome — second behind New Mexico.

They also knew exactly who they were going to meet Thursday night (thanks to Colorado State beating Utah earlier in the day) in the first round of the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas, regardless of Saturday's outcome — the Horned Frogs for a third time this season.

Perhaps having so much already decided explains the Cougars' slow start, falling behind 18-4 less than four minutes into the game. Perhaps finally recognizing that there's still so much remaining on the line, like keeping a high national ranking and earning a high seed into the NCAA tournament, and momentum heading into next week's MWC tournament at the Thomas & Mack, explains the sudden turnaround in the Cougars' come-from-behind 107-77 blowout victory.

"These guys are really competitive guys, and they were getting beat," is how BYU coach Dave Rose explained the turnaround.

After falling behind by double digits early, something turned a switch as the Cougars went from down 14 to up by 14 points 10 minutes later. And before the Frogs knew what bit them, they were down by 24 early in the second half and sinking fast.

The Cougars, over the final 36 minutes, outscored TCU by 44 points — which surely sent a message to the Horned Frogs on what to expect next week when BYU goes for the trifecta in Las Vegas.

"If you don't take them out of transition at all you have no chance," TCU coach Jim Christian said. "We didn't take them out of transition at all."

The reasons BYU fell behind so far so early are simple. The Frogs had little resistance early in getting to the rim, and they were on fire from outside — hitting their first five shots from 3-point range. In fact, TCU hit its first seven shots overall and was 10-for-12 from the field at one point.

"Their seniors came out and they really wanted it . . . but after a couple of minutes we settled down and started playing our style of basketball," Cougar guard Jackson Emery said.