Three Hot Takes After BYU's Dominant Victory Over Oregon

BYU's victory over #12 Oregon on Tuesday night turned historic

On Tuesday night, the BYU men's basketball team dominated #12 Oregon from start to finish en route to a 81-49 victory. It was so dominant, in fact, that it turned historic.

Via @ESPNStatsInfo: BYU is the first unranked team to beat a top-15 team away from home by 30-plus since Nov. 29, 1993, when UConn beat Virginia.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) November 17, 2021

According to ESPN Stats, "BYU is the first unranked team to beat a top-15 team away from home by 30+ since Nov. 29, 1993, when UConn beat Virginia." 

Here are my three takeaways from the Cougars' victory. Warning: hot takes incoming.

1. This is the most athletic front court in BYU history

1. Gavin Baxter
2. Fousseyni Traore
3. Caleb Lohner
4. Atiki Ally Atiki

Those were the four players that played the most minutes for BYU's front court on Tuesday night.

It is my opinion that the BYU men's basketball program has never fielded a more athletic front court from top to bottom.

Through three games, the front court has swallowed up opposing offenses in the paint. The same was true on Tuesday night - Traore and Baxter had two blocks apiece and their impact extended well beyond the box score. 

2. Alex Barcello has to be the most efficient scoring guard in the country

Before the game against Oregon, Alex Barcello was averaging 20.5 points per game on 68.8% shooting.

On Tuesday, he followed that up by scoring 25 points on 9/11 shooting. In total this season, he is averaging 22 points per game on 74% shooting.

You would be hard pressed to find a more efficient scorer in the country, let alone a scoring guard. In fact, my second hot take of the evening is that Alex Barcello is the most efficient scoring guard in college basketball.

Over Alex Barcello’s last 45 games, he’s 90-175 (51.4%) on 3s.

No other player with that many attempts over that span is within 5 percent of him.

— Jared Berson (@JaredBerson) November 17, 2021

While his numbers will cool down as the season progresses, he will remain one of the most efficient scorers in the game thanks to his disciplined shot selection.

3. BYU has room to get even better

BYU were nearly perfect on the defensive end of the floor against Oregon, but the Cougars can still achieve greater heights on the offensive end. BYU got only four points from Caleb Lohner and Trevin Knell - two players that made key contributions on offense last season.

Seneca Knight is another player that is slowly finding his rhythm on offense. While Knight had his best game as a Cougar scoring nine points on 4/8 from the field, he still has more offensive firepower to contribute. He has multiple games of 30+ points in his collegiate career. 

If players like Lohner, Knell, and Knight start scoring consistently, BYU will be extremely difficult to beat.