BYU was stout on both ends of the floor as they won their first round of 64 game in 14 years in a 80-71 win over VCU Thursday in Denver.

Both teams played an even first 10 minutes, but BYU’s defense clamped down and the Cougars went into halftime up 39-28 and were never seriously threatened in the second half.

VCU came into the game with one of the stingiest defenses, but BYU had just 4 first half turnovers and 12 for the game. Egor Demin had one of his best shooting performances of the season, making three threes and finishing with 15 points. Egor made two early threes to get BYU’s offense going and the offense was effective the rest of the game. Richie Saunders led BYU with 16 points. and Fouss was BYU’s other double-digit scorer with 13 points off the bench. Keba Keita limited BYU’s offensive rebounding and protected the rim, finishing with 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

VCU went 15-38 from three and held BYU to 7 makes from distance, but the Rams made just 11 two-point field goals and went to the line 6 times versus 28 for VCU. VCU prioritizes protecting the paint, but they were so focused on stopping BYU from three, and the Cougars pounded them inside.

BYU next plays 3 seed Wisconsin Saturday in Denver. Times will be announced later. Wisconsin beat 14 seed Wisconsin 85-66. BYU and Wisconsin are both top 15 in KenPom offensive efficiency and are among the leaders in three-point attempts. I will have a full preview of the game later.