Here is what I wrote that we needed to do against GU:
We were only close in shooting percentage. However, 3 point shooting was only 30%. FT shooting was 50%. Only 10 assists. GU made 14 more FT shooting 17 more FTs. 3 more 3’s and there is your 23 point victory.
We did too much dribbling. Toolsen and Lee have to shoot more.
We stopped playing help defense in the second half.
I agree with you. Too many fouls called on us in the second half. They shot 17 more free throws. We had twice the TOs than we could.
Our defense got tired and we stopped playing good defense in the second half.
Lee and Toolson have to shoot more.
Too much dribbling that led to turn.
Missed too many 3’s and especially at critical times.
I think Coach Pope said it well when he said the players stopped trusting each other and started trying to do it themselves. Same thing he said after the SMC loss…TJ tried to take over instead of going to AT and AB who can certainly handle themselves as well as he can.
Nixon, Lee, and Barcello all shot the 2 better than he did yet he shot much more than they did. The whole team stunk it up from 3…if the three had been going well the game would have been a very different story.
Well that and if the defense had not disintegrated.
The helpside defense fell apart for sure. We will give them a game in Provo. But we first have to win the next 2 games which will be tough on the road.
I believe Coach Pope was correct but the facts are that Gonzaga won every statistical category that they endeavor to keep except blocked shots (4-2) and turnovers (14-14). Even if BYU shoots 50 percent from 3-Gonzaga wins going away. Rebounding is the stat that really sticks out-almost 2-1 and it really isn’t a surprise given BYU was noticeably small. Going into Provo BYU will cause some anxiety to Gonzaga. A healthy Child’s will help on the boards and probably alleviate the second half breakdowns on defense. BYU will most likely shoot better at home-Gonzaga not so well. The only two areas that the cougars will not match up to Gonzaga are size and team quickness, so they will have to excel in other areas. Lastly, Haws had an overall good game. This teams success is centered around Haws and Child’s. They help make players like Nixon and company more effective. Kudos to Lee-another decent game!you may well be correct on the three pointers. When I check it, the three pointers in the first half were miserable but even 50% would have only meant 3 more points.
However, to re-write the history of the game, if the first three pointers had gone in instead of out. The team likely would have shot more and things start to change.
The Zags beat the Cougs as badly as they did any other team in the conference so far except their first game when they just didn’t show up till after halftime. Except for those first 20 minutes, they have looked like unstoppable in conference.
Not sure what you meant by just 3 more points in the first half. That would mean we only too 2 three point shots. For the game, 4 more 3’s made would be 50% for the game and that’s 12 points and momentum.
We got hurt in the free throw disparity homer job. Too many turnovers and poor defense in the second half. And, only 10 assists. Too much hero ball at the end.
The 17 point difference and the 12 points on the three’s That’s 29 points and we are in the game.
Stop with the excuses. When you are physically dominant and take the ball to the hoop you will get more calls. It was not a poorly officiated game. Correct the deficiencies next time and maybe you will get a different result. Nine offensive rebounds to one for the Cougars. The last ten minutes, when the defense was suspect was probably due to fatigue more than anything. BYU shot over 50 percent for the game-in those circumstances you expect to win, but Gonzaga was just too dominant overall as their lead ballooned to almost 30. Nothing to hang your head about-there is a reason the Zags are number one in the country. Give credit where credit is due. After all, Gonzaga beat a fairly decent Santa Clara by 50. BYU gets another shot at Gonzaga, but they need to step up and take care of Pacific and San Francisco on the road next week
The talent is pretty obvious and being number one puts a large bullseye on their back. I guess you just try and catch them on an off night when you are having an on night. Right now assessing Gonzaga, you would have to call them a great offensive team and not a great defensive team. BYU, I would say is a good offensive team and a good defensive team. I am almost certain before the year is out that Gonzaga will lose one or two conference games. They are just not a great defensive team like they have been the last few years
The game was called well, in the first half. Not so in the 2nd half. We were bumped around just as much as we did to them. And, the score reflected this at halftime and the end of the game. 17 more free throws?
Staying with free throws, what is up with the way we miss free throws? Short or long okay. But left and right? That’s bad. Same with the 3’s. Left and right. Not squaring up flinging elbows out.
Defense? Why did we let them in the second half drive the endline instead of making them go into traffic? We simply lost our focus in the second half.
Like I said-Gonzaga made a point of forcing it inside in the second half-given the quickness and height advantage-that equals more fouls. Only being up 7 points-Gonzaga was called with 4 straight charging fouls-BYU did not capitalize on that opportunity. Read what others saw including Coach Pope-this will explain things for you
15 more fouls. 19-5 made difference. Coaches aren’t allowed to make statements against referees. That’s our job 
But that’s why our coach says what he says.
Now, we agree on everything else. We shot poorly from threes. They shot poorly from the foul line. We turned the ball over too much. We stopped concentrating on defense as well.
Amen
The thing I look at is: how did BYU defend their best players…Kespert and Tillie. The answer is, They didn’t. Kespert shoots a team best 47% from 3s and we leave him wide open. He did not miss a 3 in the 2nd half. Half hearted lunges after he has released the ball is the ol BYU form of defense.
The players will get an ear full from Pope, not for losing but for giving a half effort out there.
Yeh there is just no room for mistakes when playing good teams. I look forward to the game in Provo. There is only a couple of WCC teams capable of beating Gonzaga and BYU is one of them