BYU is better on offense 80-74 Colo
BYU is better on defense 67-71 Colo
BYU is better at rebounding, BYU 40-34
BYU is better at 3 point %, 35-34
BYU is better at FG% 49-44
Colo is far better at FT% 77-68
Colo is at home…6 pt advantage…so that cancels out our spread on Offense. BYU is still better.
BYU gets to 75-71 Colo
Well I hope you are right, but it’s really hard to get behind this team right now.
Against all “real” opponents Demin is shooting 12% (5/41). That’s a problem.
Demin has 26TOs in those 9 games. That’s a problem.
Demin is 9/16 56% from the stripe in B12 play. That’s a problem.
He should NEVER shoot a 3 UNLESS he is absolutely wide open and unguarded. His entire mindset should be to push the ball into the paint to kick out. But he keeps launching (and bricking) 3s. His FT shooting will lose games unless he gets it together, unless KY takes the ball out of his hands late in games (like Coach Rose did with KC, having Tyler Haws handle the ball more late in games).
The potential is OBVIOUSLY there, and he can become an all time great. But he has to be more careful with the ball, stop shooting contested 3s, and stop missing FTs, or we will continue to lose games.
Egor knows all of this and doesn’t need me to tell him. I was just shocked at HOW BAD it’s been when I saw the actual numbers.
Knell is 11/30 (.366) from deep in B12 play. HOWEVER, he is 3/13 (.230) in the 3 close losses (Utah, TCU, TTU). I’ve always criticized Knell for his poor defense and failure to produce when it matters. Knell shot 11/25 (.444) in the 5 warm up games. lower case hooray…Knell is playing starter minutes (he’s 4th on the team in total minutes played) but just disappearing in the close games. That’s a MAJOR problem.
Catchings: I think his upside is immense. I saw him at practice and he was having fun, playing hard, hitting shots and really competing for minutes. But B12 play has been a giant wake up call for him. He’s simply not strong enough to dominate real men like he did in HS. I know he can be a VERY GOOD player THIS YEAR, but he looks like he’s in a bad place emotionally right now and needs a couple good moments to realize he CAN compete if he plays within his abilities. His length and shot-blocking are truly elite, and I think if he channels Saunders and Mag on D he could seriously earn minutes on the floor.
I think Catchings could be a shot maker if he would think more about taking a dribble and shooting over his guy in the mid range, or turnarounds on the baseline instead of ONLY thinking “3 or dunk,” which is what I think is in his head now. The B12 defenders have been too strong for him to get off clean shots with these guys all over him if he’s just gonna stand on the 3 point line.
Demin is still said to be the 9th pick in the draft. How? Chastings is down to #39. Both need another year.
What is obvious to us grown-ups may not be to an 18 year-old. But I think the advice is good that he needs to not shoot threes and focus on getting the ball into scorers hands.
As far as catching’s goes, I agree with everything you said. Sometimes the demons between your ears are controlling the entire show.
Come talk to me when Knell has a big game when it counts meaning top 25 talent.
It’s not hard to get behind them, just put a bag over your head with eye cutouts (in case you are compelled to scratch them out) and go for it. They look worse than last season with less talent supposedly. I don’t get it.
The Hopper is last in reading comprehension, but he is a 5th year senior. There is no potential to play at the next level, let alone coach. A benchwarmer observer is about as good as it will get.
What in the world is K Young doing???This is unwatchable.
Everyone knows that the 1st thing you do when playing BYU is go down, get Catchings to throw a cheap foul, T him up. then go after Knell (a 10 year Sr.) and get him to react, another T.
Then you take out your studs…Saunders and Mag…insert Catchings again, add Knell, add Crawford…Leave Hall and Demin out and make a run. Then you insert Boskovic and let the Sh t show roll. Unbearable, unwatchable.
wake me up when BYU learns how to run an offense…as in next year.
BTW, anyone want to wager me that AJ decommits, goes where they win and air on regular TV?
This ESPN+ and ESPN U, is a scam. dropped video, sound and you can’t change a channel, takes 10 min. to re set if you ever want to surf.
meanwhile, Demin is shooting under 10% from 3. continues to brick it up, As a coach, I would tell him, “You are benched if you shoot one more 3”. You are here to drive to the hoop, kick out for open shots.
Agree, that was a head scratcher. Maybe he was trying to light a fire under people.
I worry about that as well. I wonder if his ego might be too big. He might think Demin and Catchings arent that good and he would be different.
Thankfully 2nd half started better, maybe BYU will pull away. Knell having a good road game, other than free throws.
Looks like they righted the ship got the veterans in 18 to 2 run
It also helps that Colorado is a complete mess From about five minutes before the half until six minutes into the second, they have two points total
Mags has been the catalyst! His defensive aggression is catching and the whole team is working hard. We will go into our usual shooting slump. Have to keep the defensive pressure
Second half, Demin 7 assists and no 3 shot attempts. We go on a massive run. That’s our formula.
Nice game for Knell and Baker.
Where is Hall? I wonder what is going on in his head.
Catchings made a three, but had some bone headed plays. I keep on hoping to see some momentum from him. I hope he can get out of his own way.
I hope we can get some momentum from this and turn the season around.
Why we won vs. Colo.
1 Forty-five% from 3
only 25 rebs for the game, and 85pts, wierd but freakin good, means we shot close to 60% for the game. another weird stat…both Egor and Hall had 4 fouls, did not seem to affect the game, or protect them but Colo had given up by then.
MAGs was the catalyst. His defensive pressure pushing players way out. It got others to play harder. Saunders already plays hard. And, he seemed to flow aggressively in the offense too.
You nailed it.
Saunders HAHAHAHA is he our whole offense?
Mag and Saunders really pushed the tempo in The second half, and Egor did a great job taking advantage and getting the ball to the shooters.
Of course it helped that CU is a GARBAGE team. It looked like they had about 1000 fans at the game. What an embarrassment.
That was a lot of raw emotion there fish. I get it. It can be super frustrating to watch. Fortunately I stopped watching so I could prepare the eulogy for my dad in a couple of days. It made me feel good that I had better, more important things to do and didn’t have to watch the nonsense until they got back on track in the second half.
Maybe Young needs to sit the stars (minus Richie) and let them think about it. If they want to improve and be winners then they need to give 100% effort the entire game. There is a lot of boneheaded play going on out there, just simple basketball stuff, that makes the team look terrible and as you say, unwatchable.
Demin needs to stop worrying about doing everything and just do what he does best… driving and kicking out. Keep the ball moving, Hall looks lost again. When they drive to the basket they need to do it with strength, not finesse. The officials the last couple of games have been mediocre to bad. Not sure what they are being told but some of the technical fouls and calls are head scratchers and it takes away from the game.
Colorado is bad. Didn’t they beat UConn at the beginning of the year?
They’ve played some close games at home. They can get hot like any other team in the Big 12. Putting the pressure on them made the difference with Mags out front. He didn’t lose control on offense too. And, they got the ball up quickly in the 2nd half and moving the ball to get Knell and Saunders open. Hope they remember how to do this on Saturday against Cincinnati.