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Is it possible Kevin Young has somehow elevated BYU’s defense in the twilight of this season? Young says so. The Cougars’ performances in Kansas City this past week indicate there has been an uptick in defensive acumen by his team.
Houston Cougars guard Milos Uzan (7) dribbles against BYU forward Khadim Mboup (7) during the second half of the quarterfinal of the 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday, March 12, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News Is it possible Kevin Young has somehow elevated BYU’s defense in the twilight of this season? It seems so.
Young says so. The Cougars’ performances in Kansas City this past week indicate there has been an uptick in defensive acumen by his team. The 82-76 win over Texas Tech (albeit sans JT Toppin) was an impressive defensive effort.
The 105-91 win over Kansas State last Tuesday in the Big 12 Tournament was not — at least for the first half. But the 68-48 win over West Virginia certainly was, and when No. 5 Houston and the Cougars were knotted at 51 with 12 minutes to go on Thursday, there was a tremendous defensive effort by BYU.
Consider: The Cougars quadrupled their forced-turnover total against Houston in Kansas City (16) compared with the previous meeting in Provo (4). On the other hand, West Virginia and Kansas are lower-tier Big 12 offenses. It would be accurate for any critic to say Young has stirred something in his team since that embarrassing, almost putrid effort his team showed on Valentine’s Day, the honor Jimmer Day, in the Marriott Center against West Virginia.
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