Some of the WAC teams did the same thing during the Ainge years. One Hawaii game sticks out in my mind where they just stood and held the ball even though they were behind.
In losses
Pacific held BYU to 72
SMC held BYU to 74
Pepperdine held BYU to 65
but I would say all of these low totals were not because they held BYU so well but held byu so well given the tempo of the game.
Portland is the anomaly they āheldā BYU to 81 while scoring 84ā¦they got lucky.
BYU wins clearly do not show that the BYU offensive puzzle have been solved. or its the funniest type of solving Iāve ever seen. Essentially saying that they solved BYUās offensive puzzle but failed to solve the defensive puzzle? possible but ā¦
Complete conference w/l results
Pacific W, 81-67
Santa Clara W, 97-61
San Francisco W, 102-92
Gonzaga W, 69-68
Portland L 84-81
Loyola Marymount W, 91-80
Pepperdine L, 71-65
Loyola Marymount W, 87-62
Pepperdine W, 88-77
Saint Maryās W, 70-59
Pacific L, 77-72
San Francisco W, 114-89
Santa Clara W, 96-62
San Diego W, 69-67
San Diego W, 91-33
Saint Maryās L 85-74
Is anyone else concerned?
Portlandās defensive game plan is giving the Cougars fitsā¦ they held BYU to 53 points.
But wait, itās only halftime. Well, letās hope BYU can solve the defensive scheme the Pilots are using to hold them down.
Solid defense against usā¦
a lot riding on today. BYU wins and SMC loses, BYU wins the crown and the 1 seed.
assuming BYU wins the next four games. It would be better if SMC didnāt lose.
BYU would then need to beat SMC and Gonz to take the title.
beating Pepperdine and smc or Gonz isnāt as good for the RPI or reputation.
either way though BYU needs to win todayā¦just to prove to themselves that they can win with offense against the good teams. Both wins against Gonzaga and SMC were based on quality defenseā¦now they need to beat Gonzaga with a full game, offense and defence.
How do you figure? BYU has to play either of them as a 3 seed and I would much rather play SMC in Vegas. SMC is not the same team away from home. Gonzaga will be tough no matter where they play.
if smc doesnāt lose
then byu is either the 2 or 3 seed
if byu is a 3 seed then Gonzaga is the two.
if byu is the 2 then Gonzaga is the three
if smc loses
then byu is either the 1 or the 3
if byu is the 1 then Pepperdine is the 4
if byu is the 3 then SMC is the 2
Iām assuming that SMC, Gonzaga, Pepperdine and BYU each win their first games in the tournament requiring BYU to beat 2 of the top 4 teams either way. Reputation-wise and RPI-wise better for BYU, and for that matter the WCC chances of getting two tickets, if Pepperdine loses before the finals.
It is better for BYU to play SMC and Gonzaga 3 times than Pepperdine 3 times and SMC or Gonzaga only twice.
nice write up but BYU will not beat Gonzaga 3 times. no how, no way.
unless smc loses today
BYU will have to beat Gonzaga in the tournament to dance.
I donāt see Gonzaga winning in Provo this year.
So if your prediction combines with mine.
BYU loses in the semis and is NIT boundā¦
yes, you are right, BYU is NIT bound. That is what we wanted, right?
Wellā¦ Gonzaga beat BYU in Provo as BYU choked away yet another opportunity to move closer to a ncaa tournament invite. I donāt see it happening this season.
SMC has shown that a complete team effort is the key to winning basketball. They have no star players, no record setting players, no flashy playersā¦ just players that do the basics very well and understand the concept of team basketball. They have a great coach, who has helped the players buy into his system, gain confidence and be effective as a team.
The only thing we can hope for is that the Cougars get hot and make a run at the wcc tourney title.
That will take a team effort. 
You forgot to mentioned Jim. Zags are the āDarling Leagueā and are not allow to lose when they are on the line to win WCC Champ or Co-Champ and for how many years - 17?
And how many times BYU won a champ in Vegas Tournaments including during those WAC, MWC and now WCC? Zero? More Choke Mode. 
With the loss, Iām actually encouraged with the chance of winning the tourney.
BYU doesnāt have to beat them three times. Just once now. Given a neutral floor I like the Cougs chances of getting revengeā¦SMC may be another matterā¦
The bench should get a good number of minutes in the first game.
BYU should beat Gonzaga on a neutral floor, with revenge and a future on the line.
SMC making the final should already have their ticket punched and when BYU is sharing the ball as well as they do, which is happening something close to regularly in February, BYU can and has beat SMC.
Big Dance???matchups will determineā¦
NIT??Final four probable, final depending on matchupsā¦
Nothing is a given this year. We will just have to be fans and watch.