Aly Khalifa Leads BYU Basketball In Losing Effort Against Texas Tech
Jan 20, 2024, 8:58 PM | Updated: Jan 22, 2024, 10:44 am
Provo, Utah – The No. 20 BYU basketball team lost against No. 25 Texas Tech despite a great effort from Aly Khalifa.
He scored a team-high 21 points in the loss.
BYU’s offense went cold in the second half and the scoring provided by Khalifa wasn’t enough to push BYU to a win.
Aly Khalifa MVP for BYU Basketball
After BYU dominated the first 20 minutes of the game, Texas Tech flipped the script. The Red Raiders reminded the Cougars why the Big 12 is the nation’s toughest league.
Without two of BYU’s three tallest players available, Aly Khalifa came up big for the Cougars. The 6’11 big man, known for his passing, scored half of the team’s second-half points.
threes on threes on threes👌 pic.twitter.com/XeI7O7SHz2
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) January 21, 2024
Cold Shooting hurts BYU Basketball in second half
Khalifa finished with just three assists, but that stat may be a bit deceiving.
He only logged one assist in the final 20 minutes. However, besides Khalifa, BYU shot a combined 6-24 from the field. He was also tied for second on the team in rebounds, with six of the seven coming on the defensive end.
Earlier this season, Dallin Hall and Mark Pope said that Aly Khalifa’s passing ability has inspired Fouss and other frontcourt players to improve their passing.
You just saw an example of that from Traore. Excellent assist.#BYU #BYUHoops #Big12
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 20, 2024
As a team, BYU was outscored in points off turnovers (4 to 22), fast break points (2 to 12), and from the free throw line (3 to 17).
For the Cougars to win league games, especially on the road, they can’t afford those numbers to be in favor of the opponent with such wide margins.
Khalifa and the Cougars will look to get back on track Tuesday night against No. 5 Houston.
The schedule doesn’t let up in the Big 12.
Nate Slack is a radio producer on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. as well as Cougar Nation every Monday night from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. You can find him on Twitter @NateSlack5.
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