BYU's Mark Pope Breaks Water Bottle in Frustration Near End of Loss to Baylor
After leading by as many as nine points towards the start of the second half, no. 18 BYU stumbled to a 81-72 loss to no. 14 Baylor. It was the second time in as many conference games that BYU has given up a second-half lead. BYU head coach Mark Pope was frustrated. His team was forcing possessions down the stretch, leading to turnovers. The referees weren't doing the Cougars any favors either. In fact, the top-20 showdown that was otherwise very competitive was partially overshadowed by the referees.
In 40 minutes of game play, the referees called 39 minutes. There were bad calls on both teams and the flow of the game was constantly disrupted by whistles. 24 of the 39 fouls were called on BYU, leading to a 28-14 free throw discrepancy in favor of the Bears. BYU was called for 14 fouls in the second half. The last foul, which was one of the multiple questionable calls of the night, was too much for Mark Pope to handle. After the foul, Pope picked up a water bottle and smashed it on the score's table, sending water everywhere. Pope was called for a technical foul. His expression of frustration was captured by the ESPN+ broadcast.
After the game, Pope was asked why BYU struggled to keep Baylor off the free throw line. "I'd love to give you the answer I really think," Pope replied. "But I won't."
BYU radio analyst Mark Durrant, who was in the make-shift splash zone, posted a picture of the smashed water bottle after the game.
The referees did BYU no favors, sure. The free throw discrepancy was too much to overcome in the second half. There are, however, a few recurring problems that BYU is going to have to fix to start winning games in conference play.
Turnovers, which plagued BYU last season, have become a problem in conference play. When BYU has played long, athletic teams this season, turnovers have been a consistent issue. Baylor had 18 points off 14 BYU turnovers, and BYU only had 4 points off 5 Baylor turnovers.
Three-point shooting from everyone not named Trevin Knell is a concern. BYU's calling-card has been shooting a lot of threes and making a lot of threes. Excluding Trevin Knell, BYU is shooting 19.6% from deep. BYU won't beat many Big 12 teams with athleticism - they have to beat teams by taking care of the basketball and hitting shots.
Saturday's game at UCF is suddenly very important. BYU will look to bounce back against the Knights for its first Big 12 victory.
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