Eight Takeaways from BYU Basketball's Win Over Idaho State

The BYU men's basketball team tipped off its 2022-2023 season against Idaho State on Monday night. With one second remaining in the game, the Cougars had a two-point lead and Spencer Johnson went to the free throw line to ice the game. The first attempt was long, but it clanked off the back of the rim and harmlessly bounced into the basket. That free throw not only sealed the victory, it was symbolic of BYU's performance: ugly but just enough to get the job done.

Johnson hit the second free throw and BYU won 60-56. Here are eight takeaways from BYU's win over Idaho State

1. Spencer Johnson for the win

We'll talk about some areas in need of improvement in a moment, but first, let's talk about veteran Spencer Johnson. Johnson made his first official start in a BYU uniform against Idaho State.

With 10 seconds left, BYU trailed by one point before a Spencer Johnson three put the Cougars up by two. Johnson was the player that BYU relied on in the final seconds of the game when they needed a bucket, and he came through. Johnson finished with 11 points on 4/7 from the field.

in case you missed it…@spoonce32 👀 pic.twitter.com/rVR4w80aRJ
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 8, 2022

In just two games (including last week's exhibition), Johnson has emerged as the leader of this BYU basketball team.

2. Dallin Hall was the spark BYU needed

With 11 minutes remaining, BYU trailed 43-35 and ESPN FPI gave Idaho State a 69% chance to win. True freshman Dallin Hall came into the game and provided a spark for the BYU offense.

Hall finished with just four points, but it was his four assists that stood out. His ability to get into the paint and find open teammates created offense when BYU desperately needed it. Most importantly, Hall didn't have any turnovers in a game where BYU had more turnovers than field goals.

Hall changed the course of the game in the final minutes when he stole the ball at half-court and found Gideon George for a three. George's three made the score 53-51 in favor of Idaho State.

Hall was BYU's best ball-handler on Monday night and showed that he is ready to play meaningful minutes for the Cougars.

3. One, two, ten too many turnovers

Speaking of turnovers, BYU simply had too many turnovers against Idaho State. The Cougars turned the ball over 23 times in 77 possessions, 30% turnover percentage.

BYU needs to clean up the turnovers if it is going to have a chance to beat San Diego State on Friday night.

4. BYU needs more production from the veterans

If BYU is going to reach its potential this season, it needs more production from its veterans like Rudi Williams and Gideon George.

Senior point guard Rudi Williams was replaced by Dallin Hall to finish the game. Williams had 7 points on 2/9 shooting, but it was his 4 turnovers that forced Mark Pope to put him on the bench in the final minutes.

Gideon George was 4/13 against Idaho State for 10 points. Like Williams, George struggled to take care of the basketball with five turnovers.

5. First game jitters

Weird things happen in season openers and that was the case against Idaho State. BYU, especially the young second unit, appeared to be experiencing a severe case of first-game jitters against Idaho State.

6. Three point shooting will improve

BYU's shooting percentage allowed Idaho State to stay in (and at some points control) the game. BYU shot an abysmal 3/16 from the three-point line. Expect the three-point shooting percentage to improve. If it doesn't improve, BYU will struggle to score the basketball.

7. The offense will go as far as Fouss will take it

Fousseyni Traore had some uncharacteristic misses around the rim against Idaho State. Traore found his touch in the second half, however, and finished with a team-high 15 points on 5/9 shooting.

Even with the struggles, it's clear that BYU's offense will go through Traore. BYU's offense was arguably at its best when the ball went through Traore and he found open teammates. He finished with three assists, second only to Dallin Hall.

8. Winning ugly is still winning

It wasn't pretty, far from it. But an ugly win is much better than losing the season opener to Idaho State. Like we said before, weird things happen in season openers. BYU was able to weather the storm and make plays when it mattered.

Surely there needs to be improvement in various areas, but the Cougars are 1-0.

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