The Cougars haven’t won a game at Firestone Fieldhouse since Matt Carlino drilled a game-winning 3-pointer with 12.1 seconds left during a 63-61 victory in 2013.
The Waves opened the season with a 4-1 record before losing senior guard Amadi Udenyi to a season-ending injury. Pepperdine (7-17, 3-9) has posted a 3-16 record since.
Pepperdine gets 60% of their points from 3 guys, Swingman Lamond Murray 6’5 Sr is the reigning WCC Player of the Week after he averaged 24 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists last week.Chris Reyes (13.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Jeremy Major (12.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg) , all Seniors. stop them and Pepperdine is toast.
For BYU to win on the road, they have to play defense…For BYU to play defense, they have to defend the pic and roll (which they have been getting better at) and they have to play Guinn if they attempt the 1-3-1. The lose of Rose at Point will give Beo and Guinn for time on the floor. I would hope that Guinn gets plenty of time guarding Lamont Murray but then I said that a month ago and that didn’t happen.
Pepperdine is small, they do not have a lot of big inside players and they do not fit the WCC mold of a bunch of guards shooting a bunch of 3s so just play sound defense, control the boards and beat them…the team that gets the most rebounds wins this game.
I’ll pick BYU too. I agree that Guinn will get more PT tonight. I love his motor. He was a middle-distance runner in track during HS. He’s the best conditioned player on the floor whenever he gets in. His play last week earned him more PT and I think Rose will be happy with what he gets from Guinn tonight. Rose will probably switch up Emery and Guinn defending Lamond Murray. If we make Murray work hard to catch the ball and we get a hand in his face on every shot, he may get frustrated or wear down by the second half. Every away game for BYU seems to be a grind so I expect this will be no different. I’ll take BYU by 7pts.
I’ll go with a BYU win tonight as well. I mean what have I got to lose? Of course they should win so they will do it. I have one question though, why did it take the team (coaches, players, etc.) 25 games to realize that playing defense with major effort can help a lot when it comes to winning games or at least being competitive every night?
How many years of coaching does someone need before they understand that and hold the players accountable for doing it?
I don’t see our players properly positioned to see man and ball. Our players get easily turned around. Pepperdine and other teams do a good job allowing them to quickly help and recover. So, we just keep passing. Also, we have few cutters.
Our guards get caught way too far into the paint to be able to get back to their shooters outside. Many times lost.
I believe that at this level, even with excellent talent, young players make lots of mistakes. I expect next year much of this will be worked out.
The excuses just aren’t working anymore. They never worked but at least I was thinking about it a couple months ago. At this point in time it just doesn’t cut it. Sorry, but it isn’t valid anymore.
