Mr. Clutch!!! I’ve been redeemed! 
He redeemed himself.
You on the other hand have a long ways to go… 
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It’s nice to win a game when we are not at our best. What most surprised me was how absolutely TERRIBLE our D was, from start to finish. This is after the Gonzaga game, in which we played, without a close second, our best D of the season. The ESPN announcer was wondering why Chase was out…perhaps getting burned several times in a row on D had something to do with it (notice he got pulled right after his failure to rotate resulted in a 3 and then he rushed a brick 3, then he just didn’t go back on D and Clark got a layup +1). I’m also wondering why Winder got so caught up in playing Hero Ball tonight. Other than those two I thought everyone looked pretty good on offense. But our D? Wow, that was hard to watch…UP will be a fun game–they ALWAYS play us tough, and we have major problems with VanDerMar.
Those weren’t the only bone headed plays by Fischer. I thought BYU had some real momentum and an opportunity to pull away a little at one point. SC was not hitting shots, looking tentative, etc. and then Nielsen got a rebound and outletted to Fischer and headed up the court. Fischer got the ball on the wing and just before Nielsen was about to cross mid court Fischer whips a pass right back at him and it hits Nielsen in the side of the head. What was he thinking? The only good thing about it is that it procluded Fischer from dribbling up to the 3 point line and launching a pull up 3 point jumper, something he missed badly on just before or just after that dumb pass.
I guess I’m just happy for Haws tonight. He played a great game and most of all he was CLUTCH when it mattered! This is what I have been hoping for him to do for awhile now…
Perhaps having a week off didn’t help. We should be sharp on Monday.
I think you mean Bartley, not Winder. FB4 needs to concentrate better on his drives and layups.
Fischer’s game was pretty bad although he was 2 for 5 on 3’s.
Rose waited too long at the end to replace Neilsen and he bricked the free throws. We really have to do better than 76% free throws to beat UP.
All in all SC guards shot lights out-and that will keep any team in the game. Defense wasn’t good and no I don’t thing Tom meant FB4-he meant Winder. Could be because he was playing back in his home town and wanted to show up big. He should be fine for Portland. Happy for Tyler that he made a clutch shot when it was needed. That bodes well for BYU. I’ll take the win and be happy and hope the defensive intensity comes back against Portland. Bartley missed shots at the basket, but they were high percentage shots that didn’t fall-I’ll take that anytime over wild in-your- face three pointers. One more win and BYU is in the NCAA tourney. Maybe a play-in if they lose to Portland-it’s a sure bet SM isn’t going:)
I admit that I was truly pleased to see him come through on this one. He had a good game and I hope it continues.
As others mentioned, the D took a step back in this game. We again got into bad rotations and left corner 3’s open all night - unlike the Gonzaga game. No question that their quick guards killed us via penetration and kickouts. Both Fisher and uncharacteristically Winder allowed penetration consistently and it really messed up our D. Rose noted it and had Bartley and Halford in more to compensate. I believe Winder was just off his game and not feeling right and will be fine, but Fisher has got to get his feet moving and stay in front of people better. Halford was a great spark and made some great plays down the stretch and he deserves his time on the court the way he’s playing right now.
I also hope that guys like Kafusi can stay on the court without major foul issues tonight. Watching Neilsen in the last game really makes me wonder if he will ever pan out. Right now, he is virtually unusable as poorly as he plays.
Agree totally with you. Fisher has got to get his head in the game and he has to play better defense. We all know he can shoot when he sets up well, but bone headed plays and bad D will keep him off the court.
Indeed I meant Winder. He was worse than terrible at Portland, finishing 1-8, then went 1-3 at Zags and 1-4 vs SC. 3-15 in the last 3 games, with more than half very ill advised shots, and his D has been a step slow lately. Maybe his knee is still bothering him. FB4 has also been shooting terribly, but has made up for it with great defense and super physical play all over the court. Bad luck for him that he converted not one, not two, but 3 shots while or shortly after being fouled and all were waived off.
I think Winder is going to have to play better for us to go very far from here on out. He is such a key component of this team when he is playing well both offensively and defensively. It’s a shame he has been injury plagued so much in his career. Right now he is just a half a step slow defensively and a lot of the time been off on his shot even his ft.
It’s hard to get the timing back after an injury. He’s hesitant with everything he does. FB4 simply needs to go hard but concentrate on his layups. He has no clue where the basket is often times. And, he doesn’t have to drive 1 on 3. Pass the ball until something opens up, then drive.
Tyler no doubt felt he had a score to settle after his performance v. Gonzaga.
I do think that Haws, Winder and Sharp want to end their time in Provo with a tourney crown. I hope Anson’s knee cooperates.
I call it Cougs 79, Ptlnd 68