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

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

With due respect, the Longhorns (19-14) shot 36.8% from the field and just 5-of-17 from 3-point range before 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, finishing plus-12 in rebounding (45-33) including a 15-7 advantage on the offensive end. Texas has out-rebounded 27 of its first 33 opponents this year, and reached double-digit offensive rebounds in 23 of their 33 games.

Which is why Thursday’s NCAA Tournament first-round tilt with sixth-seeded BYU (5:25 p.m. MDT, TBS) may come be decided less by AJ Dybantsa — the AP All-America first-team selection and leading scorer in Division I who averages 25.3 points per game — and more by top rebounder Keba Keita and key reserve Khadim Mboup.

“We’ve got guys here who can rebound, including myself,” Keita told 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 that followed the season-ending ACL injury Feb. 14 to Richie Saunders, rebounding has been a key decider.

BYU (23-11) didn’t rebound well during a three-game losing skid against UCF, West Virginia and Cincinnati 115-97. But in wins over Texas Tech, Kansas State and West Virginia to follow, the Cougars owned the glass each 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 said. “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 prime example of how a role player can excel and lead to more opportunities and help a team win in primetime. The 6-foot-8 rim-runner from Bamako, Mali, by way of Wasatch Academy and the University of Utah averages just 6.3 points per game, though he’s a 67.7% shooter — all inside the arc.

But his 7.6 rebounds per game in the two years he’s been at BYU have made him a mainstay starting all 67 games he’s been available.

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

In many cases, BYU’s bench unit has been determined by the need for a certain skillset. Aleksej Kostic saw his playing time rise — including into the starting lineup the past four games — with a need for shooting.

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

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

“At the end of the year, rebounding is a big deal,” Mboup said. “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 an opportunity for extra possessions, a defensive responsibility for rim protection, and a chance to show that he’s capable of earning more minutes after his freshman season.

But also, rebounding is a matter of pride.

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

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