OK may be ranked but they are not elite. They lost two games this past week that they should of never lost. both at home to Tx and TTU.
Keys to the game
! guard #2 Jr. Jayvian McCallum’s knee caps off. In all their losses he has been under 10 pts for those games.
2 BYU has to hit 10 threes to win this game. OK is fully invested in stopping Foos in the middle and without Khalifa, we are just too thin inside to have another balanced game like the WV game. OK’s will defend the middle and dare us to shoot from long range. on the other hand, if we can hit a few outside, OK will have to spread out and defend, opens the inside for Foos as well as back door layups.
3 In the WV game, the announcers were amazed at how hard BYU defends the pics and the perimeter.
4 OK is well aware of BYU’s only weakness; defending near the basket. UCF and Cinn exposed us and all of our losses have been by that same recipe. Drive for a foul or a high % near 2. BYU has yet to win that close one. We have no closer, no NBA talent in a talent rich conference but the score by committee is unparalleled, there simply is no one in D1 with our scoring fire without a true star. Kind of weird but the reason why we lose close games at the end.
we hit at least 10 threes and We hold OK to below 70, we win the game.
What difference does fair and objective officiating make?
Oh yeah, it gives BYU a good chance to win. Without it their odds go way down. Sure, they haven’t played the greatest in some of their losses but with some fair and objective officiating at least they would have had a chance, in spite of not playing well.
They will lose a few more games, just because they have a knack for falling apart at some point and allowing an opponent back into the game and they are head cases. Also, like Fish has mentioned BYU doesn’t have a confident player they can rely on in the clutch.
Oklahoma seems to be slumping. They lost to Texas by 15 at home. They also lost to UCF by double digits on the road. I would be really hopeful for a win if BYU had both Khalifa and Waterman ready to play and no other key rotation players out.
Fouss has been a game changer. Maybe he could be the star they lack.
byu has been in every single game this year. no blow outs. The net is real, BYU is playing at a level I have not seen since the Jimmer days
The reason why I can’t chalk this up as a win. Khalifa is a game changer. Imagine a game in the big dance with Khalifa and Foos in the game at the same time. If I was Pope, I would save it for either the Big 12 championship or the big dance
To answer the question posted in your title…simply and obviously no.
yes if the team would have played better the loss may not have occurred…but the team ran out of gas and engine just rolled to a stop too soon…
Khalifa’s minutes and assists may have made the difference in the game…
Too many sick players too often on this team…I just wonder if the sanitation on the team is being paid attention to…are the balls being cleaned are the hands being cleaned…why does the team seem to constantly seem to have somebody sick or coming down with something or recovering…just seems unusual this year…though maybe it is just this team has the opportunity to have a great season and it is bugging me that too many players are getting time off for illness
Waterman probably was also still sick. He apparently woke up early Saturday before the West Virginia game sick as a dog. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few others were sick as well.
If there is a reason for the loss to OK, look no further than all the missed shots in the lane. I hate floaters. They are pretty when they go in, but I bet we missed 20+ floaters and layups last night. If we hit just 5 more of them, the game doesn’t get away from us and we win. So, why in this game did we miss so many?
Maybe all the players had some illness. In the 2nd half, Fouss and Hall went out before the 15 minute mark for a breather?
Maybe OK’s defense quickness and aggression was causing loss of focus on the shots in the lane?
Maybe poor form on the shots with no follow through flipping the ball up to the basket instead of shooting it confidently?
Maybe all of the above? OK didn’t seem to have a problem missing in the lane.
The refs had nothing to do with this loss. And, would Khalifa had made a difference other than giving Fouss a rest? See the above 4 for the answer in my opinion. Last night towards the end when we were gassed was the perfect time to put Stewart in. Pope, give Stewart another chance.
You think this every game so what is your point in saying it?
The officiating was okay. It wasn’t the best ever but it was good enough. BYU lost because they looked tired and disinterested for the most part. Outside of Foose and Hall, nobody really helped out much. Johnson was okay but his effort on defense wasn’t what it usually is. The team just didn’t look motivated and hungry.
Notice my words carefully. I said for “this” loss. There was only one reason. Tons of missed layups and floaters, 15 foot jump shots we usually make 60% of. Hall hit some big 3s and missed layups. Some uncontested. It was all game long.
In the 1st half, OK was missing shots too. But, they made a 180 and started making them in the last 5 minutes.
You only post in argumentative responses to my comments. Nothing I said in the previous post warranted an argumentative reply yet there you are… arguing and trying to contradict something that didn’t need that.
I was responding to your argumentative post while either lacking comprehension skills or just deliberately trying to ignore the “this” trying to get the upper hand on this
Thank you Chris! for keeping me from losing my mind. It’s like some people on this board have lost the ability to recognize and agree with a simple observation. You already know I agree with 90 percent of what you say. It’s the 10 percent that I like to tug on once in a while that makes things interesting and helps others to learn and see different perspectives.
