Well, the bright spots for last night:
Mo was pretty much right on with his score predictions. I gave CSU and TCU a little too much offensive credit, but besides that, I stand by my performance. OK, seriously now.
BYU played horribly in most aspects of the game for most of the game. And they still had a chance to win it at the end. They had zero post presence, with 11 points from the big guys (this includes Hartsock's 10 points who should be the 4, but had to play the 5 because of Davies' foul troubles and Miles complete ineptitude on the offensive side of the ball). They gave up 16 offensive rebounds. They committed 9 more fouls than New Mexico (which was ridiculous in that type of game that one team was called for that many more fouls...but I digress). They missed 11 threes. Only 3 players scored in double figures. Only 7 players put in 10 or more minutes. Jackson Emory had the shot selection of a young Jonathan Tavernari. They shot 12% below their season average. All of this on the road against a likely single-digit seed in the NCAA tournament. And they still had a chance to win it at the end. Oh, and Jimmer's play was definitely a bright spot (minus that 4-minute stretch in the first half where he threw up two airballs).
The not-so-bright spot:
They always play like that against this kind of competition. Look at the results against the most likely tournament teams on their schedule (in chronological order, not in order of likelihood to make the tournament):
Utah State, 10-point road loss, 39% shooting, 11 points from the big men (Hartsock added 4)
Arizona State, 13-point home win, 44% shooting, 8 points from the big men (Hartsock added 13)
UNLV, 4-point home win, 37% shooting, 8 points from the big men (Hartsock added 17)
SDSU, 2-point road win, 45% shooting, 8 points from the big men (Hartsock added 4)
New Mexico, 4-point road loss, 38% shooting, 1 point from the big men (Hartsock added 10)
Last night was a performance that could have won a first round game against a double-digit seed, but there is little chance that would get the job done against a single-digit seed, and particularly not against a single-digit seed that advanced to the second round.
When it comes down to it: Coach Rose trusts his top 7. He may play 10 or 11 when things are going well and talk about the great depth on this team, but this is two games in a row that the rotation has shrunk to 7 guys. James Anderson should officially be resigned to the bench. By my count, his +/- (to steal a hockey phrase) was -6 (and it may have been worse than that). If he didn't play, BYU would have won by 2...that's solid logic, right? Stop playing Anderson. Tell Jacks to stop shooting unless it is a) in rhythm, b) when he's open,m and c) in the flow of the offense. Defensively, I have officially had it with the zone: it leaves people wide open for 3's in the corner and IF they miss, they get the offensive rebound anyway. If you can't stay in front of the quicker guards in the league, give Loyd and Morgan more minutes instead of going to the zone.
Again on the bright side: they still had a chance to win it at the end. That bodes somewhat well for the trip to Vegas next Saturday. Two warmup games prior to that to get rolling again against Utah and TCU, both at home.
I think it is crazy we even had a chance to win last night with what we were doing. I have never seen a defense stand so flat footed while the Lobos were flying all over to get offensive rebounds. We need more effort on the boards. More effort all around. Jimmer is the man. Oh, and can someone teach Miles to go up strong and dunk when he gets a great pass please? Alright, I am done. Get 'em in Provo...
ReplyDeleteGood prediction and analysis. The bottom line is this: If we had shot in the 40 per cent range we would have won. We are average at the post and that is as good as we will be. We overcome that with shooting.
ReplyDeleteSo why didn't Coach Rose have someone foul Hardeman who was 0-3 for free-throws towards the end of the game when there was still close to a minute left? Is there a BYU policy against purposefully fouling guys who can't make FTs? Instead JT fouled a good FT shooter...after running way too much time off the clock. Poor coaching. Unless someone understands the gesture of not fouling the poor shooter and ends up investigating the Church....
ReplyDeleteRight on Aaron E! They waited 25 seconds to foul and then put their most clutch shooter on the line. Foul sooner, extend the game, and at least try to take the ball out of Gary's hands or foul someone else!
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