The BYU Factor
BYU fans know all about this, though they may not have a fancy name for it. The BYU Factor is when a second-team All-Conference player plays like an All-American againts BYU or when an average (or bench) player performs like an All-Conference player. Against New Mexico, Lobos reserve guard Tony Snell went 4 for 6 on threes, including 3 makes in the final 5 minutes of the game, scoring a total of 16 points. Through 21 games, Snell had hit 14 threes on 36% shooting and was averaging 4 points/game. Add to that, New Mexico made 8 threes, including 5 in the final 5 minutes of play. On the season, they average 6 made threes/game. There is little other explanation than: the BYU Factor.
The Mo Jinx
I will also take some credit for the loss, however: yes, I have that much control of the universe. I finally bought into this team being completely different from past years' teams. I was finally to the point where my expectations were high enough that they could let me down, as I mentioned in my SDSU recap. And they finally did let me down. Plus, I picked them to win in their second toughest road test to date, which has been a recipe for disaster this season in BYU sports.
The Silver Lining
Flavordave asked me today for the silver lining. The best I could come up with: they finished in second place in the game on Saturday and deserve a silver medal. Realistically, though, there is a silver lining. The offensive woes that have plagued BYU in road games appear to be somewhat behind them. In the first 26 minutes of the game, BYU scored 63 points in the most hostile environment in the MWC. In the end, they scored 77 points at New Mexico. The other silver lining is that BYU wins that same game on a neutral court by 12 and at home by 25. They are clearly the better team and will prove it in Provo, and possibly again in the MWC tournament, if the seeding works out.
Cougar fans have to be pleased with a 20-2 record. If you were expecting better than this prior to the season, then you were very unrealistic. Wyoming is up next, which should be a nice, peaceful road win. BYU is still #2 in the RPI. BYU should still be in the top 10 when the polls come out late Monday morning, thanks to pretty much everybody else around them losing too. Only Notre Dame should jump them, and Villanova should drop below them, so they should hold steady at 9. They shouldn't be worse than 10, and I would probably doubt they move up any higher than 8, but you never know. My money is on 9.
Defense and Anti-Clutch
Jimmer missed 3 free throws, including the front end of a one-and-one. He also missed crucial shots at crucial junctures. Somebody has to have an incredible night one of these days. It is clear that Jimmer is trying to get others involved, but at crunch time, if no one has done it, he WILL take the shots, no matter how difficult they are. He still made a remarkable amount of them at New Mexico, but missed quite a few in the last 5 minutes as well. BYU was not clutch, in any way, shape, or form, because everyone had a long, emotional week and was at the end of a long, emotional game. This is still BYU, and most of these guys are still typical BYU players. Let's face it, they are a bunch of nice, unassuming guys from the Burbs.
With that said, BYU scoring 77 points should have been enough to win that game. Part of it was the BYU Factor, with New Mexico scoring 13 points above their season average, but a large part of it was bad defense. Some of the bad defense late in the game can be blamed on Jackson Emery's foul trouble. He couldn't stay in front of Gary because he couldn't risk fouling him. Because Gary could penetrate at will, he was finding open shots for himself and others. Like last season, in the Pit, BYU had no answer for Dairese Gary. He finished with 14 points and 10 assists, and completely controlled the final 8 minutes of the game, despite not sitting at all the entire game. He, on the other hand, is not a nice, unassuming guy from the Burbs.
You didn't mention the SI jinx.
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