Glad to see natural rivals finally in the same conference again.
Most statistical analysis has the game basically a tossup with BYU getting a point or two edge at home:
In conference games:
Cougars: 6-4,
averaging 75.9 points,
29.9 rebounds,
16.4 assists,
7.4 steals
2.7 blocks
shooting 48.3% from the field.
opponents 71.0 points per game.
BYU at home in conference
Cougars: 4-1
averaging 80.2 points though one overtime skews high,
35.4 rebounds,
15.8 assists,
5 steals
2.2 blocks
shooting xxx from the field.
opponents 67.6 points per game.
Wildcats: 9-1,
averaging 79.7 points
34.6 rebounds
16.7 assists
8.1 steals
5.2 blocks per game
shooting 46.4%
opponents have averaged 71.2 points.
Wildcats on the road in conference 4-1 also one overtime which they too won
averaging xxx points,
38.8 rebounds,
12.6 assists,
12.6 steals
shooting 2s 49.0%
3s 32.8%
opponents 69.2 points per game.
BYU looks to be favored by more than the 1 or 2 I see on the stat sites. Assuming they do average at home and the Wildcats do their average on the road…
Evan Miya says BYU does better than stats would indicate against weak teams and conversely worse than expected against good teams…
AZ is the best team by the metrics BYU will have played…though Tech is close…
BYU and Tech were close until BYU wilted at the end. I expect we will see if BYU really has gotten tough enough to win at the end against a good team.
I have dogged Knell for years now but it is time for me to give the guy his due. Yeah, he still makes some dumb plays and misses some key free throws but the guy has hit some big shots when BYU needed them and has recognized his role. So, props to Knell and also to him, please don’t screw anything up in a close game.
If a win tonight tied for fourth in conference with 9 games to go. and easier schedule than any of the top teams other than arguably Kansas,
But most games are statistical tossups, meaning within one basket, more or less.
So lots of work to do…but could be doable.
Went almost exactly as I expected. Close until near the end with one team pulling away.
Just I expected the home advantage, and depth, to go for the cougars not the wildcats.
So far still 6th in conference standings…still easier schedule than most of the teams above the Cougars in the conference standings…so still solid possibilities to win more, and other teams to lose, for BYU to get to 3 games instead of 4 in the conference tournament…though could fall just as easily to 5 instead of 4…steep slope in conference standings nearing the top.
Only consolation is the that, tho he still needs shoot way better on 3s, is that Demin found high success driving to the basket to add to his tool box. He’s developing, hopefully comes full throttle in about a month if not sooner.
Yes he had good success pushing the ball up court and driving to the basket, but he is still very immature in his understanding and feel for what things need to be done in a given situation. Way too many silly turnovers and poor decisions. I am hopeful that it will come with time but BYU is more than 20 games into the season and I still see things that aren’t really getting better (but some others are admittedly) and those things are important. I can’t believe his 3 pt. % is as high as it says at 28% and his assist to turnover ratio is basically 2 to 1 which isn’t horrible but not that great. It’s the turnovers he commits that come at bad times and often lead to easy baskets for the opponent that are tough. If there were decent improvements in those two things, I think BYU would have a much better record and be in the top tier of Big 12 teams instead of the middle…
I mean we are talking about a lottery pick right? In my mind he could and should be a bit better in those two aspects, 3 point shooting and assist to turnover ratio.
I believe right now we are considered in the top tier. A win Saturday will go along way.
We lost because of poor shooting. I really don’t think we could have done better on defense. The top teams we have to shoot way better than we did. We did shoot okay until the last 6 minutes and disappeared.
We also had only 10 turnovers. But we got out rebounded badly. And out shot badly. So, the fact Demin played much better as a scorer, Im glad to see that and against a team like Arizona. Hall also started driving better too. Both felt more confident and comfortable. Now, if Catchings can make more shots we can beat top tier teams.
Did you see the Nose refereed the Utah game tonight. He nose his basketball.
Top 5 are Houston, Arizona, Texas Tech, Iowa St. and Kansas
Bottom 5 are UCF, Cincinatti, Arizona St. Oklahoma St. and Colorado
BYU is the middle with the other 6 teams who are all either 6-5 or 5-6. BYU is 6-5 with all six wins coming against teams with the same record or worse records. All 5 losses are to teams better league records or equal/below BYU’s record.
See how easy that is if you just do a little research?