Six Cougars Hit Double Figures as No. 25 BYU Routs Omaha 108-67 in Home Opener

The Marriott Center got its first look at this BYU team on Friday night, and the Cougars spent the evening running Omaha out of the building. No. 25 BYU never trailed, led by 26 at halftime and by as many as 44 in the second half, and buried Omaha 108-67 behind 19 points from Robert Wright III and a sharpshooting night from just about everyone else in a blue jersey.

Six Cougars scored in double figures. Collin Chandler and Tyler Betsey added 18 apiece, Bruce Branch III had 17, Jaxon Kohler had 11 and Jake Wahlin chipped in 10 off the bench. BYU shot 56 percent from the field, made 16 of 35 threes and outscored Omaha 31-0 in fast-break points in front of 16,190 fans. The Cougars are 2-0. Omaha falls to 1-1.

The home opener came four nights after BYU rallied past Ohio State at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, a game that needed a big second half and 33 points from Wright to swing. There was no swinging required on Friday. This one was decided before most of the crowd had settled into its seats.

No Mud This Time

Against Ohio State, BYU spent the first half stuck. Against Omaha, the Cougars came out flying. Betsey opened the scoring with a three off a Chandler assist, Kohler jumped a passing lane for a steal on Omaha's first trip, and BYU was up 8-2 before the Mavericks found any rhythm at all.

From there the gap only grew. Dean Rueckert, coming off the bench, finished through contact for an and-one that made it 35-15, and Wright converted a three-point play of his own a few possessions later to push the lead to 42-18. By halftime it was 56-30. BYU had scored 56 points in 20 minutes against a team that had come in looking for an early-season road statement, and the Cougars had done it without Wright needing to take over.

That is the most encouraging part of Friday for BYU. On Monday, Wright carried the offense. On Friday, the ball moved. BYU finished with 22 assists on 39 made baskets and turned it over only eight times. Brooks Bahr did not score in 15 minutes but handed out five assists, and Chandler matched that number while shooting 6-of-7 from the floor and committing zero turnovers.

Betsey Lets It Fly

If there was a breakout performance, it belonged to Betsey. The wing played only 16 minutes and took eight shots, every one of them from behind the arc. Six went in. That is 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three with zero wasted possessions, and it is exactly the kind of floor spacing that makes life easier for Wright and Kohler when the defenses get better than this one.

Chandler was just as efficient in a different way. The guard, named to the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year watch list before the season, scored 18 on 6-of-7 shooting, went 3-of-4 from three and 3-of-4 at the line, and added four rebounds to the five assists. Twenty-seven minutes, zero turnovers, 18 points. A coach can live with that line every night.

Wright did his damage quietly. The preseason All-Big 12 point guard went 8-of-11 from the floor, 2-of-2 at the line and finished with 19 points and two steals in 24 minutes. That first-half and-one was the loudest moment, and Wright did not need to play big minutes after halftime with the margin where it was. For a player who shoulders so much of the load in close games, a quiet 19 on 11 shots is a welcome kind of night.

Branch and the Bigs

Branch had the most complete night of anyone. The five-star freshman scored 17 on 5-of-9 shooting, hit two threes, went 5-of-6 at the line, grabbed six rebounds and added two steals and two blocks. Branch also buried the second-half three that made it 91-55, a shot that pushed the lead to 36 with the outcome long since settled.

Kohler, the Michigan State transfer, was steady with 11 points and seven rebounds. Behind him, Khadim Mboup cleaned the glass with a game-high eight rebounds in just 16 minutes of work, and Wahlin went 4-of-5 from the floor with two blocks in 17 minutes for his 10 points. BYU won the rebounding battle 46-27 and grabbed 15 offensive boards, which turned a lot of empty Omaha defensive possessions into second chances.

The bench as a whole gave BYU 25 points. Nate Pickens hit a three, Petar Ostojic hit one in two minutes of work, and Rueckert had that early and-one. Kevin Young got 12 players into the game, and a night like that is a luxury the Cougars will not have often once Big 12 play arrives.

Omaha Ran Into a Buzzsaw

For Omaha, Deke Thompson was the bright spot. Thompson scored 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting and made four of 10 threes, keeping the Mavericks from getting completely buried in the first half. Cahmai Crosby added 11 on 5-of-9 shooting, and Jonny Jordan Jr. had 10 points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench. Grant Stubblefield finished with nine points, five rebounds and three assists.

The Mavericks actually shot a respectable 43 percent from the field and 35 percent from three. The problem was everything around the shooting. Omaha turned it over 12 times, and BYU converted those mistakes into 19 points. Omaha never scored a single fast-break point, BYU scored 31 of them, and the Cougars won the paint 46-24. BYU also blocked six shots and came up with six steals.

Omaha never led. BYU was in front for 99 percent of the game, according to ESPN's tracking, and the only real suspense in the second half was whether the Cougars would hit triple digits. They got there with plenty of room to spare.

By the Numbers

BYU went 39-of-70 from the field, 16-of-35 from three and 14-of-18 at the free throw line. The Cougars outscored Omaha 52-37 after halftime, with 12 different players getting into the game. Omaha finished 26-of-61 overall, 8-of-23 from deep and 7-of-13 at the line.

There was some history in the building, too. This was only the second meeting between the programs. The first came on Dec. 22, 1943, a 45-40 BYU win, according to the school's game preview (opens in a new tab). BYU also came into the night having won 20 straight home openers, per the same preview, so make it 21.

What It Means

A 41-point win over a Summit League team will not move the needle much in the polls, and BYU knows that. The more meaningful signs are in how the Cougars won. They shared the ball, they did not turn it over and they had six different players reach double figures without Wright needing more than 11 shots. After a season opener that leaned heavily on one star, Friday showed the supporting cast can carry a night too.

Betsey's shooting, Chandler's efficiency and Branch's all-around game give this roster real versatility. The questions that remain are the ones Omaha could not answer: how this defense holds up against a team that can make BYU pay inside, and whether the Cougars can play this cleanly against Big 12 pressure.

BYU stays home and hosts Queens on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Box score: ESPN box score (opens in a new tab).

Sources: ESPN box score, play-by-play and team stats, BYU Athletics. More men's college basketball coverage on Undrafted.

On Monday, BYU proved it could win a grind. On Friday, the Cougars proved they can win pretty, and a 108-point home opener is about as pretty as November basketball gets.

Photo: BYU Athletics (file photo).