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PROVO — If BYU basketball was looking ahead of Tuesday night's nonconference game against Evansville to Saturday's rivalry tilt versus Utah, the Cougars' first five minutes may have proven it.
But the other 35 minutes? Not even close.
Jaxson Robinson poured in 19 points with four 3-pointers, and Trevin Knell added 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the 14th-ranked Cougars cruised past the Purple Aces 96-55 in front of an announced crowd of 13,291 fans at the Marriott Center.
Noah Waterman added 12 points and eight rebounds for BYU (8-0), Atiki Ally Atiki supplied 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and Dallin Hall had 10 points, six rebounds and a season-high seven assists.
The Cougars are off to their best start since Jimmer Fredette led BYU to a 10-0 start in 2010-11, a fact not lost on this year's team — but not much of a focus, either, head coach Mark Pope noted.
"I just think that what's special about this group and the reason they are putting a good product on the floor every day is because they aren't spending a lot of time evaluating that, but rather getting over 83% of our guys wedging every time," Pope said. "Our guys are kind of lost in the details right now, and that's what makes this super fun.
"I've never coached a team, actually, that has gone on a run like this where they are just totally focused on the objective on the court. They haven't been distracted by the game, by the opponent, or by rankings or media or wins; sometimes wins can be distracting. I think this is super fun, and let's take it for a ride and see where we get. ... It's awesome, and these guys have earned it. But they aren't spending a lot of time thinking about it right now."
Knell nodded approvingly next to Pope and added: "We're definitely lost in the details."
. @Robinsonjaxx goin' OFF 😮💨
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) December 6, 2023
📺: https://t.co/n1bb0GPQ4Upic.twitter.com/DZqnbNfOG8
Boasting similar records, the No. 8-ranked team in KenPom had little trouble after the opening minutes with No. 200, as Yacine Toumi had 13 points and seven rebounds in the second loss of the year for Evansville (7-2, 1-1 Missouri Valley).
The Cougars held an Evansville team that averaged 85.6 points per game during a 7-1 start 30 points below its average, and kept Tanner Cuff — the former American Fork standout who ranked second in the NCAA in assist to turnover ratio at 5.80 to just 2 points, four rebounds, two assists and two turnovers.
"You give a good team an inch, they'll take a mile," said Evansville coach David Ragland, a former Utah State assistant from 2018-21. "And that's exactly what they did."
On the other end, BYU shot 14-of-32 from 3-point range while outrebounding Evansville 47-34, including 13 offensive rebounds. But the Cougars' defense continues to impress, ranking No. 12 in adjusted defensive efficiency by KenPom to go along with a top-10 offense.
"One big thing is our high-low communication; we are so mature this year that we can do three things at once and trust our guy on the back end," Knell said. "The maturity is there on the floor, and we still have that blue-collar attitude. We have a thing called the 'combat zone,' and every time we go out there, we try to win the combat zone. Everyone is bought in."
After opening the game with back-and-forth volleys, BYU capped a 19-2 run with Robinson's fast break layup to go up 26-10 midway through the first half.
Antonio Thomas had 8 points in the first half, and the Purple Aces shot 45% from the field early. But Aly Khalifa had a career-high 7 points before the break, and BYU out-rebounded Evansville 26-18 with 20 points off the bench.
Khalifa finished with 7 points, three rebounds and three assists in his second-straight start for the Cougars in relief of an injured Fousseyni Traore (hamstring). Traore is "doing great right now," but remains week-to-week with injury, Pope said after the game; UC Irvine transfer Dawson Baker is improving, but "hopefully" 2-3 weeks away from making his BYU debut, while the Cougars are also waiting on a waiver from the NCAA to clear four-star freshman and two-time transfer Marcus Adams Jr. for immediate eligibility.
Three-straight 3-pointers, including a 4-point play by Robinson, lifted the Cougars to a game-high 47-25 lead at halftime.
But BYU wasn't done.
Hall dropped a 3-pointer six minutes into the second half to cap a 12-2 run that stretched the Cougars' lead to 66-31, as the hosts connected on their first six of nine shots from the field after halftime including three triples.
BYU had three runs of 12-0 or better, including a 16-0 stretch capped by Knell's jumper with 7:31 to go to put the game away for good, up 85-38.
