Glass holes: Rebounding key in 6th-seeded BYU’s NCAA first-round tilt with Texas

PORTLAND, Ore. — Texas’ 68-66 win over North Carolina State in Tuesday evening’s First Four was hardly a masterclass in offensive excellence.

With due respect, the Longhorns (19-14) shot 36.8% from the sector and simply 5-of-17 from 3-point vary earlier than Tramon Mark’s game-winning jumper with 1.1 seconds left lifted Texas to an 11-seed and the Round of 64.

But the Horns pulverized the Pack on the glass, ending plus-12 in rebounding (45-33) together with a 15-7 benefit on the offensive finish. Texas has out-rebounded 27 of its first 33 opponents this 12 months, and reached double-digit offensive rebounds in 23 of their 33 video games.

Which is why Thursday’s NCAA Tournament first-round tilt with sixth-seeded BYU (5:25 p.m. MDT, TBS) might come be determined much less by AJ Dybantsa — the AP All-America first-team selection and main scorer in Division I who averages 25.3 factors per recreation — and extra by high rebounder Keba Keita and key reserve Khadim Mboup.

“We’ve got guys here who can rebound, including myself,” Keita instructed KSL.com. “We are physical dudes, including myself. I think last night’s game came down to who wanted it more and crushing the offensive glass. … But this time of year, it often comes down to rebounding.”

In the Cougars’ self-described third season, the one which adopted the season-ending ACL damage Feb. 14 to Richie Saunders, rebounding has been a key decider.

BYU (23-11) did not rebound nicely throughout a three-game dropping skid towards UCF, West Virginia and Cincinnati 115-97. But in wins over Texas Tech, Kansas State and West Virginia to comply with, the Cougars owned the glass every time.

“The thing that they’ve sunken their teeth into are things that allow you to win in the postseason, which is defense, rebounding, and playing together offensively,” BYU coach Kevin Young mentioned. “That’s what this group’s found some success with. So those are the things that we’re trying to carry over into the tournament.”

Keita is a main instance of how a task participant can excel and result in extra alternatives and assist a group win in primetime. The 6-foot-8 rim-runner from Bamako, Mali, by means of Wasatch Academy and the University of Utah averages simply 6.3 factors per recreation, although he is a 67.7% shooter — all contained in the arc.

But his 7.6 rebounds per recreation in the 2 years he is been at BYU have made him a mainstay starting all 67 games he is been accessible.

“He’s just going to crash and be physical,” Mboup mentioned of his teammate.

In many circumstances, BYU’s bench unit has been decided by the necessity for a sure skillset. Aleksej Kostic noticed his taking part in time rise — together with into the beginning lineup the previous 4 video games — with a necessity for capturing.

Mboup has been a rebounding specialist, a 5.1 boards-per-game reserve who had only one rebound in a loss to Houston in the Big 12 event and 27 in the three video games prior (all wins).

The 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman from Dakar, Senegal even jokes — or is he joking? — that Young will insert him right into a recreation with one directive: get that rebound.

“At the end of the year, rebounding is a big deal,” Mboup mentioned. “Those details win games. From our end, we’ve just got to win on the glass, and get a lot of boards.”

Mboup sees rebounding as a chance for further possessions, a defensive duty for rim safety, and an opportunity to indicate that he is able to incomes extra minutes after his freshman season.

But additionally, rebounding is a matter of pleasure.

“It’s just like a hobby for me to grab rebounds; it’s so fun,” Mboup mentioned. “People see it as a big deal. But I feel like it’s kind of easy to me.

“I do know scoring will come; I’m a freshman, and have time to work on that. But if I can mix rebounding and scoring, it may be big-time.”