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PROVO — Some have called him the "Egyptian Magician," but the most important role for Aly Khalifa (at least, right now) is that he's the starting five man on the No. 17 BYU men's basketball team.
Even with a loss in their only true road game last week, the Cougars aren't slowing down at 10-1. And the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Charlotte transfer from Alexandria, Egypt, is a key reason why.
Purdue (10-1) moved up two spots to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 for the second time this season, followed by Kansas (10-1), Houston (11-0), Arizona (8-1) and UConn (10-1) in the top five.
BYU's lone loss, Utah, is four spots outside the top 25, with 37 points. Six Big 12 teams are currently ranked — all inside the top 20.
Filling in for the past five games with Fousseyni Traore mending an injured hamstring, Khalifa has dazzled with his array of passing with the Cougars, a big man playing a point guard's game. Head coach Mark Pope has called him the "best passing big man" in college basketball, and at 30 assists to just two turnovers, it's hard to argue against it.
POLL ALERT: Purdue returns to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men's basketball poll; Oklahoma into the top 10; Memphis and Ole Miss join poll.
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) December 18, 2023
Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWrsapic.twitter.com/dRn7OfLvim
Khalifa had back-to-back zero-turnover nights in wins over Denver and Georgia State — the Cougars had just four giveaways against the Panthers, just the fifth time since 2010 they've had four turnovers or fewer in a game. Khalifa's 15.0 assists-to-turnover ratio would blow away the best mark in the nation — a 5.35 ratio of 91 assists with 17 turnovers in 12 games by Utah State's Darius Brown II — but he hasn't played in enough games to qualify for the ranking.
"I feel more joy passing the ball and getting my teammates to score than myself," said Khalifa, whose team leads the country in with 237 assists to 109 turnovers (2.17). "Obviously, everyone likes to score, but I like it the same way when I pass the ball or get my teammates open by screening hard or running and transitioning to get them open."
The Cougars also rank tops in the nation in scoring margin (61.2 points) and 3-pointers per game (12.5). Three of the top-four scoring margins, and four of the top six, are from the Big 12.
Spencer Johnson leads the team with 4.9 assists per game, with Dallin Hall (4.1), Khalifa (3.8), Traore (2.0) and Trevin Knell (1.9) also averaging multiple assists per contest. Johnson, one of just three scholarship seniors with Noah Waterman and leading Jaxson Robinson, has seven games with five or more assists after dishing out seven against Georgia State.
"This is not a coaching thing. This is a player thing," Pope said of the Cougars' turnover limitations. "We've talked about it before, but it was a real Achilles' heel for us last year, understandably with the youth we had on the floor. These guys were self monitoring it all summer long. It matters to them."
That unselfish nature has helped add to BYU's depth. When Robinson, who averages a team-high 18.0 points per game off the bench, was sidelined with what Pope called a mild ankle sprain, Richie Saunders took his place by exploding for a career-high 20 points. The Wasatch Academy product is one of six players scoring in double figures, with another (Hall) at 9.6 points per game, and former UC Irvine scoring bucket Dawson Baker making his season debut with 6 points on 3-of-5 shooting in eight minutes against the Panthers.
Marcus Adams Jr., the four-star freshman who is playing without administrative restrictions after the NCAA and a coalition of six states agreed to drop the association's enforcement of two-time transfers for the remainder of the season, is also expected to make his debut Friday against Bellarmine.
The 6-foot-7, 195-pound wing who previously signed with Kansas and Gonzaga went through shootaround and warmups Saturday, but he's barely practiced while recovering from a foot/ankle injury while awaiting the NCAA's decision on his eligibility.
"We're one of (three) teams in the country with nine players that have career highs of 20 or more. Think about that on your roster," Pope said. "You have nine guys that have proven they're capable of putting two dimes down. It's pretty great, right? Depth is required if you're going to be a high-level basketball team."
