Just where does BYU sit. Pomeroy has finally put them in the top 20, lagging behind ESPN and the matrix all the way.
ESPN BPI 27th
Pomeroy 20
Massey 26
Sagarin 28
T rank 23
If you believe those numbers, BYU should be a lock for a 6 seed.
BYU is grown at a team and many say that BYU is close to last year’s caliber. In some areas, WE are way ahead of last year’s team but personally Childs, Toolson and TJ trump Barcellos, Haarms, Lohner and Averette. We are certainly deeper in the middle but that team last year had 7 guys that could hit a three while this year, we have 2.
Pope has changed the lineup throughout the season and that spells death for most teams, but not Pope, he has that much talent. If Averette gets over matched, he can use feisty Johnson or Kneel or even go to George. Lohner is now a star, whereas; early he could not defend or make a 3. After going 1-15 from long range, Lohner is now 3rd on the team’s 3 point %. Gotta work on those dunks hahahaha.
Watched the end of the Utah-Oregon game, BYU would walk all over either team, they just don’t defend. To finish out the season, BYU should play SF and SMC at home. he need tough games, it makes sense. but to play in a tourney in Vegas does not make sense for Gonzaga or BYU (unless we drop a game this next week) because of covid. That is a real discussion.
Go Cougs
Lohner has improved lot and is now a force which is opening up shots for others. Knell is coming along nicely hitting 3’s. Now if we could do something about the referees…
NET is the most important simply because it is used by the selection committee for its own decision making information organization.
21 puts them at a 5 or 6 seed default with some committee argument one way or the other to move them around…the no Sunday play rule always must be taken into account for example as one of the reasons BYU is likely to move off the 5/6 seed…weak conference, strong OoC schedule/record etc come into play as well.
of the teams ranked higher than BYU only West Virginia and Alabama have a stronger OoC strength of schedule…so while conference schedule strength is not great…though the powers that be helped that along with the new schedule for this week, Pope’s schedule pre conference was solid…maybe with the compressed nature even has an argument for the hardest one in the nation outside of a school named Gonzaga…whose OoC SoS is weak because Few loads up big name teams with some practice games on the record against patsies like Dixie…
Defense-plays a lot like Gonzaga, minus the guard size and athleticism. Probably one of the best defensive teams at BYU in a while
Depth-George has been a non-factor the last two games because of foul trouble. No problem-others stepped in.
Lohner’s development hitting the outside shot and inside aggression. His defense much improved
Confidence of Johnson and Knell and their ability to nail critical 3’s and play good defense
Teams can no longer focus totally on Barcello as being the offensive force. This gives him more open looks and more stamina if he’s not dogged everywhere he goes
BA-the kid will drive you nuts with some of his TO’s, but he is a clutch performer, who disrupts defenses
Haarms and Harward-the double H’s-so different, but game changers on any given night
Gideon George-raw athleticism, unpredictable, but the X-factor that can dominate or become invisible
Prediction for the weekend-potentially tough games with BYU favored, but having seen both teams, SMC makes me the most nervous even though their record sucks
I agree but nagging the back of my mind is the fact that getting more time than either of them is Connor Harding…who even after Knell replaced him as starter continued to play more minutes
Harding has been a disappointment. His knee is fine. He doesn’t wear a brace. He doesn’t square to the basket. Plays good defense. But so does Knell and Johnson.
Yeh Harding is a mystery, defensively he is probably better than Knell with more experience. Pope is probably hoping he gets his confidence back, but to me, he has always been inconsistent. He is a key in the rotation, though, and especially when George gets foul prone. Sometimes home court, brings out the shooting confidence, so hopefully he will break out of it the next two games
Chris you will recall we both thought at the start of the season that Lohner would become a starter sometime during the season and develop into a true star. Two big games does not a star make, but as he rounds out his game he could become one of the true great forwards in BYU history. That’s a big prediction but the last guy I can remember with Lohner’s combination of strength, leaping ability, and ball skills was Mike Hall. And Lohner is 5” taller.
I’m watching the Smc game tonight… randy Brennett has no nba talent as in pst seaso seasons but he is a no waste possession kind of guy. BYU is rollin. They should win by 12 or more.
Harding yes-but wouldn’t you love to have any team with a 3 year starter on it as a sub?
Excuse me…I was dreaming. I mean, sit back and enjoy the ride. We really need Haarms to step up in a big game, then I will say BYU is ready for a big run.