In the first half, Haws was Everywhere. 2 Charges, deflected balls and managed the team to 46 points at the half.
Childs was unstoppable. Probably his best game as a coug. and all of the national publicity to go with it. Couldn’t be happier for him and his future.
Lee was his usual consistent self
Baxter made a big leap forward in his game. He is getting his mojo back.
Seljaas got some big rebounds, baskets at a critical time in the game.
Home sweet home advantage in front of 20,000 crazy fans. We got Tillie into foul trouble and that stops a lot of the zags’ offense. Kespert was 1-9 at one time so yeah, When I saw how the game was being called, I thought we had a boxer’s chance.
Now BYU should jump a couple of seeds in the Dance card from a 7-8 to a 5-6 seed and that feels great. We should also jump from #23 down to #19 with this win considering all the top 25 losses today.
Every once in a while, you get a game that defines a team. This was one of those games. From the beginning of the year we knew that this team was special and they showed it again last night. Credit goes to everyone!
I certainly hope so.
Just checked advanced stats. BYU’s offence did better against the Zags than any other offense this year.
BYU’s Defence was not the best but was amongst the handful of the best.
With BYU’s offence clicking and the defensive effort they showed last night, great things are in store.
Anything can happen in basketball and the season isn’t over, but I feel BYU will be in any game until the end, win or lose. A defining game for this team, will be last night, for the 19 thousand in attendance. They will never forget it the rest of their lives and many of us won’t either. It was almost a “perfect storm”
Speaking of defenses, SCU only lets BYU shoot 13 3’s. GU let us shoot 27. Why can we not get more open looks against a lesser defense like SCU?
Key areas: 53% shooting
3’s: 41%
FT: 14-18, Childs misses 3 and Toolson misses 1.
Lots of assists as well.
Defense played tough the whole game…
We played much better defense against the Zags than against SC. Stifling defense creates turnovers and more opportunities in a spread floor situation. Like Pope says-defense is the key to what they do
I thought Colby Lee played his most complete game at BYU. He had 9 points and 5 rebounds and made a great assist on a Child’s basket. He hit a three and hit both free throws. He was perfect from the field and from the foul line. It looks to me like he has a good touch on his outside shot and in the post. He was using his body well on defense to get position and stopped Petrusev several times on plays where Petrusev got the ball inside the key close to the basket. He played about 19 minutes but made a great contribution. He really helped keep Gonzaga from abusing BYU inside and I think that was the big fear.
Baxter, Seljaas & Lee all stepped to more than offset the absence of Nixon. My big fear was that Tillie and Petrusev would really abuse BYU inside without Nixon to help but they didn’t thanks to the role players. BYU’s big three did what they do but the role players were all great. Baxter only played 8 minutes but made a difference when he was in. Hopefully he continues to get better and with it looking like Nixon is about ready to go BYU is in a better position than they have been in all year. If Nixon could sit the next game before the WCC tourney it would be good. Seljaas made the hustle plays Nixon makes and got 12 points and 5 boards and played with great intensity. I love the way he has transformed his game and become a good inside player to fill team needs and he still has the stroke on the 3s.
I am anxious to see what BYU does with a 9 man rotation with everybody healthy.
Wouldn’t you know that Lee would do great just after I complained about his half inch vertical leap and plodding slowness! I think it’s great and he deserves the praise! The important thing about this game is everyone contributed to just about 100 percent of their talent level on offense and defense and I truly believe on that night they would have bested anyone in the country. I believe it was one of the most remarkable games in BYU basketball history and a pleasure to watch. Your comments are accurate and appreciated. In my mind Haws has validated his pedigree coming out of Lone Peak and if he chooses, can play professionally somewhere in the world and Toolson as well. Child’s will get his opportunity in the NBA
BYU’s Childs, Toolson and Haws analytics ranks higher then Gonzaga’s Tillie, Kispert and Petrusev individually. The main reason why Gonzaga is that their bench players are starters for any other team. Gonzaga’s team matrix is more like a Kentucky or Kansas. They are elite talent and will be as long as Few is coaching at Gonzaga.
Don’t think for a moment that BYU could ever pull that off, we have the honor code and the unrealistic requirements just to be considered…put every once in a while we can get some really good seniors and make a run. Enjoy the ride everyone
Who would of thought at the beginning of the year, that we would be talking about how important Nixon and Lee are to this team???
I knew Barcellos would be a game changer. Did not know that Toolson was that tough or had an inside game and I watched him at UVU.
As you point out, Seljaas completely changed his game to accommodate the needs of the team. he may have the “stash” and the porn star hair to go with it but he is a fighter and plays with intensity. I would bet he is a riot to travel with. Seljaas also was wearing the short shorts 2 years before it began to be hip in college.
These guys much be having the time of their lives this senior year and they all deserve it and the memories that will stay with them forever…Childs has been getting emotional about just how much this team plays for each other.