Post-Game Thoughts, LMU at BYU 1/3/2012

I had a chance to see BYU hoops live and in person for the first and only time this season.  I'm a little more impressed than I had been previously.  Granted, I picked a great game to go to, with BYU raining threes from many different positions on the court.  They had transition baskets, they rebounded, they played within themselves offensively, and had an easier opponent than the 4 teams that beat them up in the non-conference.

But one thing I hadn't given BYU credit for was it's defense.  They played stellar defense tonight.  LMU didn't miss many, if any, open looks, so the fact that they shot 20-something % is a testament to how few of their shots were uncontesed.  The second half showed an absolutely dominant Brandon Davies on the defensive end of the floor.  He contested everything that entered the lane and must have had 7 or 8 defensive rebounds in the second half, adding a blocked shot as well.  All while committing only 1 foul.  Offensively, he played within himself, only taking 6 shots and adding 3 assists (including a nice behind-the-defender pass to Josh Sharp for a nice dunk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvJfLq1kwLY), with only 1 turnover, despite seeing constant double teams.  He did seem to play with a little less energy on offense, which will trouble BYU in closer games against better teams and in road venues.  He is coming off the sprained ankle, so hopefully that is the reason for not bringing intensity on both sides of the court.

I still worry about the offense.  If Carlino didn't hit 3 threes in a row in the first half, this game could have turned out quite differently.  That was a crucial part of a 23-4 BYU stretch, which ultimately got BYU rolling and sent LMU packing mentally.

We'll have to see what plays out going forward, but BYU showed tonight that it has what it takes, at least defensively, to compete with Saint Mary's in the battle for the #2 seed in the conference tourney.  Though if the offense doesn't come around (i.e. if a few others guys don't start to show they can produce on at least a semi-regular basis), it may not matter how they perform defensively.