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PROVO — On the court, a 13-point comeback wasn't enough when No. 21 BYU men's basketball fell to No. 4 Houston 75-68 Tuesday night.
It's the second straight comeback in a row for the Cougars, who were on the other side of a double-digit halftime comeback by then-No. 25 Texas Tech three days prior.
It's also the life of a member of the Big 12, arguably — and inarguable, to some — the toughest basketball conference in America, with seven teams in the Associated Press Top 25, 10 in the top 45 of the NET, and the same 10 in the top 40 in KenPom.
Even at 14-5 and 2-4 in conference play, BYU's first-year band of Big 12 expansionists have proven they belong in the league, ranked fifth in the NET and 10th in KenPom with a No. 21 ranking by a nationwide panel of sportswriters that may be in peril as the Cougars prepare to welcome a surging Texas to the Marriott Center on Saturday (12 p.m. MST, ESPN2).
But as Houston coach Kelvin Sampson spoke with the media after those Cougars (17-2, 4-2 Big 12) survived the other Cougars, he couldn't help but note one area in which BYU is already a Big 12 program.
"It's a tough place to play. This is the second time I've been here, and the student section, the administration and everyone has created a home-court advantage," Sampson said. "It's Big 12-ish. We've been on three road trips to three arenas: Hilton Coliseum (at Iowa State) is as tough a place as you want to play, Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth is as tough a place as you want to play, I think Tuesday night in Provo. Every arena, including our Fertitta Center, shows why it's so hard to win on the road in this league. These fans really support their teams."
LJ Cryer exploded for 23 points, and reigning Big 12 Player of the Week Jamal Shead added 16 points and four assists as Houston didn't score a field goal for the final four minutes but ended the game on a 7-0 run from the free-throw line after BYU tied the game on Noah Waterman's 3-pointer with 2:15 remaining.
But with Waterman hitting tough shot after tough shot en route to 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting with four 3s, and Jaxson Robinson draining from 40 feet with 20 seconds left on the shot clock for 10 points with four assists, the Cougars — the hosting ones Tuesday night, the ones wearing blue — refused to let the visiting Cougars take the crowd out of the game.
They certainly gave the announced crowd of 16,553 a reason to cheer, to stand up, to urge the local side to victory.
That was something Sampson, a 68-year-old veteran of two Final Four appearances and four conference titles, hadn't seen before Houston joined the Big 12 from the American Athletic Conference with one of the top men's basketball programs in the country.
"A lot of times, in the past, we'd come to an arena and they'd be there to see us," Sampson said. "These guys didn't come to see us play. They came to support BYU. Iowa State could care less about us; they were there to support the Cyclones. That's the beauty of playing for the fans. And for coaches, it's absolute H-E-L-L, but I'd better not say that here."
Perhaps equally impressive is that no Big 12 crowd has reached capacity through four home games. BYU has yet to reach a sellout in league play — just one on the year, the nonconference finale against Wyoming, reached those proportions.
BYU coach Mark Pope called tonight's Marriott Center crowd of 16,000+ a key to the 13-point comeback before falling to No. 4 Houston.
— Sean Walker (@ActuallyDSW) January 24, 2024
"And we're going to need them." pic.twitter.com/BudlzIpRpD
Saturday may be the first, with tickets only available on the secondary market, even as BYU leads the Big 12 in attendance averaging 16,308 fans per game through three games, just ahead of Kansas' 16,300.
That's a sellout crowd for the Jayhawks, but 1,678 from capacity for the Cougars.
BYU coach Mark Pope knows his team is going to need every one of them on his side to have a chance at stunting the Longhorns, who have won two-in-a-row after Tuesday night's 75-60 shocker over No. 11 Oklahoma.
"The atmosphere was great. The Marriott Center is incredibly special," Pope said. "Cougar Nation played a large part in us trying to scrap back into this game. We need their help. Everybody in the gym was great tonight, and we're super grateful for that. It's pretty special to be able to play in this building."
