BYU Basketball Questions Answered In Loss Against Santa Clara

PROVO, Utah – The BYU basketball team lost their second meeting to Santa Clara this season losing 81-74.

Let’s answer some questions from tough defeat that has BYU in another losing streak.

Who was the MVP for BYU basketball?

He didn’t lead the team in scoring, but I thought Trey Stewart was the most impactful player of the game for the Cougars.

Stewart saw all nine of his minutes played in the second half where he scored nine points.

Trey Stewart with a career-high six points.

He had scored a total of six points in his first 12 WCC games.#BYUHoops #GoCougs

— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) February 17, 2023

However, I thought his value really shined on the defensive end where he forced two steals.

He made several other plays that didn’t register on the stat sheet.

Head coach Mark Pope was highly complimentary of Stewart for battling through inconsistent minutes this year during his post game comments.

There’s no doubt in my mind that he made a strong case for more minutes in the final few games of this season.

What was something that caught my attention during the game?

Noah Waterman has been struggling shooting the ball in conference play.

Before the game against Santa Clara, Waterman was 5 for 31 from deep. That’s 16 percent over his last 12 games.

It’s safe to say he’s in a shooting slump and it continued against Santa Clara.

He missed all three of his field goal attempts.

Santa Clara wins at the Marriott Center for the first time since December 2, 1972. #BYU #BYUHoops

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) February 17, 2023

There was a moment late in the first half when Dallin Hall was able to pull Waterman’s defender into the lane.

Hall kicked it out to Waterman in the corner and he immediately put the ball on the floor, rather than taking the open shot.

Waterman has made five three-point shots in a single game this season, but that seems like a distant memory.

It’s hard to justify the minutes if Waterman can’t shoot his way out if this slump.

What was the most interesting stat from the game?

It was a poor shooting night for BYU from the three-point line.

The Cougars didn’t make a three-point shot until 16:49 remaining in the game on a corner three from Dallin Hall.

#BYU 🏀 just made their first three point field goal attempt with 16 minutes left in the second half courtesy of Dallin Hall.

They started 0-7 before that make.

— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) February 17, 2023

They finished the game shooting 22 percent from deep going 5 for 23.

A few more made long ball shots at the right time and perhaps this could have been a win.

It’s been a roller coaster ride for this team all season long from deep, and unfortunately the ride was too turbulent in the loss to Santa Clara.

When was the game lost for BYU basketball?

It appeared that BYU would make things interesting with about four minutes left in the game trailing by 10 points.

Dallin Hall had a block that started a fast break opportunity for the Cougars.

The ball found its way back to Hall, who missed a left wing three-point shot that would have brought the top off the Marriott Center.

Noah Waterman came up with the offensive rebound but took an ill-advised step-back jumper that missed, and Santa Clara scored on the other end.

They lead was pushed back to double digits and the Broncos never looked back.

You can hear Matt Baiamonte every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. or you can find him on Twitter here.