The second half of the Big 12 season is upon us, with Arizona sitting in a tie for first place with a 9-1 record. Not too shabby for a team picked to finish fifth in its debut foray into one of the toughest league’s in college basketball.

But the road is about to get much tougher, starting with a particularly tough road game. BYU is 11-1 at home this season, the only loss by five to Texas Tech nearly a month ago, and the Cougars (15-6, 6-4) have played their way into contention for the regular season title by winning their last four.

This will be Arizona’s first trip to Provo since 1998 and its first matchup with BYU in 15 years, though the schools have met 39 times with the UA holding a slim 20-19 edge.

To better understand what the Wildcats will be facing on Tuesday night, we reached out to Robby McCombs of SB Nation sister site Vanquish the Foe. Below are his insightful answers to our obtuse questions:

AZ Desert Swarm: 1. BYU has won four in a row after starting 2-4 in Big 12 play. What have been the main factors to this turnaround?

Robby McCombs: “Several BYU players have been playing better the last two weeks, but the main reason that jumps out is Egor Demin. Egor is a 6-foot-9 point guard that is likely a lottery pick, but through the first six games, his production didn’t match his upside.The six games after Egor made a huge jump and BYU’s offense looked like one of the best in the Big 12. Egor has been averaging 6.5 assists the last four games and has 15 points in two of his last four games. Egor’s passing ability has been evident the whole year, but he’s actually a threat from the 3-point line now and has been more aggressive in attacking the basket. BYU’s offense is humming, and Egor as the director of the offense is a big reason why.”

Few teams take as many 3s and the Cougars (nearly 30 per game) and no one is shooting better from outside (38.2 percent) in conference play. What makes this such a potent gameplan, and who are the most reliable shooters?

“Kevin Young was the highest-paid assistant in the NBA largely because of his understanding of offense. BYU’s offense was gummed up to start Big 12 play, but they’ve been fantastic the last two weeks. BYU relentlessly runs PNRs with Egor Demin and surrounds him with multiple shooters. Richie Saunders is the most improved player in the Big 12 and leads the league in 3-point makes and percentage, and Trevin Knell is another 40 percent+ shooter in the starting lineup who averages more than two makes per game. BYU’s tempo statistics suggest they don’t play up-tempo, but this is a team that moves the ball quickly up the floor and in the halfcourt and makes the defense react quickly until they find an open shot.”

BYU had 22 assists but also 17 turnovers in the last game at UCF, the 11th time season it’s turned the ball over on more than 20 percent of possessions. Is this just a side effect of the offensive scheme or are there concerns with ball security?

“BYU is susceptible to halfcourt pressure where guards pick up Dallin Hall and Egor Demin 25+ feet from the basket and blitz PNRs. Demin is an exceptional passer, but he isn’t very strong at this point in his career and can be bullied by physical players, even if they are small. UCF pressured Demin with 6-foot-1 guard Darrius Johnson and doubled him off ball screens with their bigs, and Demin turned the ball over five times. Cincinnati, Colorado and Baylor didn’t do that much and Demin carved them up. Demin has shown the ability to pass over double teams, and BYU has potent shooters that will hit open shots and force defenses to adjust. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arizona pressure Demin in the halfcourt and trap him on PNRs to see how he responds.”

What are the biggest issues on the defensive side for BYU?

“BYU’s defensive philosophy is to guard the paint and let subpar shooters shoot lightly contested threes. BYU’s defense gives up the highest rate of 3-point attempts in the league and it tries to funnel outside shots to guys they want to shoot. That approach has had mixed results. BYU has four wins in Big 12 play by 15+ points, but teams like Houston, TCU and Texas Tech found small stretches in the game where they hit open shots and ultimately won the game. BYU has increasingly played more zone and has a lot of length in it, but Arizona should find open shots: the question is if they trust guys that BYU wants to shoot make shots.”

The Marriott Center is one of the biggest college arenas in the country, holding almost 18,000. What kind of environment is Arizona walking into?

“BYU has a fantastic home court advantage. BYU’s student section is nicknamed the ROC—the Roar of the Cougars—and was among the best nationally when BYU was in the the West Coast Conference. Now that BYU is in the Big 12, the environment has consistently gone up a notch on a nightly basis. BYU has 5,000 students that sit right behind the opposing basket in the second half and can rattle opposing teams. In no particular order, I would rate Kansas, BYU, Arizona, Iowa State and Texas Tech as the five best home courts in the Big 12.”

Former coach Mark Pope is having instant success at his alma mater, Kentucky, something that probably doesn’t sit well with BYU fans, but Kevin Young seems to be doing well in his first season. What are the biggest differences between the two, for better or worse?

“Kevin Young has rallied the boosters. Boosters were lukewarm on Mark Pope until his final year, but Kevin Young got the blessing of Ryan Smith and Danny Ainge, and other boosters with deep pocketbooks have given BYU one of the most lucrative NIL resources in the country. Stylistically, both Pope and Young want to shoot a lot threes, they just do it in different ways. BYU runs tons of PNR with Egor Demin with several actions off of it.”

Prediction time. Does Arizona stay at the top of the Big 12 standings or do the Cougars remain a tough out at home? Give us a score pick.

“I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Richie Saunders. I mentioned him briefly before, but he is one of the best players in the Big 12. His first two years he was a glue guy with a relentless motor. He’s kept both of those traits, now he’s top three in the Big 12 in scoring and the best 3-point shooter in the league. He is one of the best players in the league and BYU’s best player, even though he isn’t the best NBA prospect.

“This environment in this game will be bananas. It’s a 9 pm local tip, but BYU fans will bring it. I’ll side with Arizona to win this 79-77. This should be a close game with offenses that are humming. BYU plays nine guys consistently and has used superior depth to win the last few games. BYU won’t out-depth Arizona; both teams have good benches. I think Arizona has enough physical guards/wings that it can pressure BYU’s backcourt with to make life just enough difficult for BYU’s offense to come out with the close win.”