BYU’s first Big 12 loss of the season was a doozy.

Kevin Young’s squad stumbled hard in a 86-55 road defeat to Houston Saturday, falling to 10-3 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.

3 takeaways

BYU couldn’t handle an elite Houston defense. BYU appeared overwhelmed from the start, unable to overcome Houston’s relentless effort and physicality.

For most of the game, BYU had more turnovers than made shots, finishing the afternoon with 15 giveaways and 18 makes. The Cougars’ 55 points were a whopping 30 points below their previous season average.

Trevin Knell was the only BYU player to reach double figures in scoring, with Egor Demin and Richie Saunders each largely kept in check and unimpressive.

Additionally, Houston blocked seven BYU shots and scored 24 points off of turnovers in the Big 12′s early candidate for best in-conference defensive performance of the season.

Houston stifled many of BYU’s typical strengths. While the Cougars scored well below their season average, they also dipped significantly in shooting (37.5%) and paint points (18).

BYU was clobbered in the rebounding battle by a 37-24 margin, with Houston’s offensive board total (15) more than doubling Keba Keita and Fousseyni Traore’s combined overall boards (seven).

BYU’s problematic perimeter defense returned. It’s not just the fact that Houston shot a season-high 16 of 34 from 3-point range — it’s that so many of their looks were completely uncontested.

BYU players were often flummoxed and caught out of position from Houston’s masterful ball movement, resulting in a scary number of wide open attempts for the home team.

BYU had improved its recent perimeter defense in allowing just 25.3% from deep shooting over the past three games, but Saturday’s showing against Houston seems to have dragged BYU back down in that department.

BYU will look to bounce back from Saturday’s blowout loss next Tuesday night against Texas Tech at the Marriott Center in Provo.