Inserting Mawot Mag Into the Starting Lineup Might Have Saved BYU Basketball's Season

Casey Lundquist | Feb 19, 2025

BYU wing Mawot Mag drives to the basketball against Kansas / BYU Photo

On January 11, BYU suffered a narrow 71-67 road loss to TCU. It was BYU's third consecutive loss in conference play and the third loss in four total conference games. At that point in the season, BYU was 10-5 overall, 1-3 in conference play, and, most notably, didn't have a signature win on its NCAA Tournament resume.

At 10-5 with no quality wins, BYU was projected to miss the NCAA Tournament in the first year under head coach Kevin Young.

Young chose to make a change to the starting lineup against Oklahoma State. He inserted Rutgers transfer Mawot Mag and replaced true freshman Kanon Catchings. The change allowed BYU to play more minutes with more veterans on the floor.

BYU beat Oklahoma State 85-69 that night to improve to 2-3 in conference play. The Cougars went on to win five of the first six games after Mag was inserted into the starting lineup, including a four-game winning streak. BYU's longest winning streak in conference play last year was two games.

After blowing out Kansas on Tuesday night, BYU is 8-3 in conference play since Mag entered the starting lineup. The Cougars are also back into the projected NCAA Tournament field.

The new starting five has given BYU a spark not only to start games, but to start second halves as well. All five players on BYU's starting five were +23 or better against Kansas. Here were the +/- of the starting five against Kansas:

• Richie Saunders +33
• Trevin Knell +32
• Mawot Mag +30
• Egor Demin +25
• Keba Keita +23

Mag has been tasked with defending the opponent's best scorers on a nightly basis. Mag was known for his defensive prowess when he committed to BYU, but it's been his scoring that has been the biggest surprise. Mag is shooting a career high 37.5% from three.

When Mag has been in the starting lineup and scored in double figures, BYU hasn't lost this season.

There are many reasons for BYU's improvement over the last six weeks, but Mawot Mag has been a major factor. First-year head coach Kevin Young has learned the value of veterans in college basketball and it might have saved BYU's season.