BYU Cougars
West Coast (23-10, 13-5)
BYU has been involved in some exciting shootouts this year. Back in November they beat Stanford 112-103. They lost 90-88 to Iowa State and dropped 86 points on Texas in a win. In December the Cougars lost an epic overtime thriller 100-96 at Oregon and scored 96 points in a loss to Umass. The fun continued in conference play, most notably a triple overtime 114-110 loss at Portland.
Big Wins: 11/25 vs Texas (86-82), 2/15 at Saint Mary’s (60-57), 2/20 Gonzaga (73-65)
Bad Losses: 12/28 at Loyola Marymount (76-87), 1/23 at Portland (110-114), 2/13 at Pacific (82-89)
Coach: Dave Rose (9 seasons at BYU)
Why They Can Surprise:
Obviously this team can score. They average about 85 points per game, which ranks third in the nation. Tyler Haws is usually the man who scores a big chunk of those points. The 6-5 junior averages 23.4 points per contest and has scored in double figures in every game this year. But just reaching double figures is no major feat for Haws. Eclipsing 30 is not all that uncommon and he scored 48 points in the triple overtime loss to Portland. Haws can shoot from anywhere on the floor, but he takes advantage of easy points too. About a quarter of all of his scoring comes from the charity stripe and only a handful of players have made more free-throws this year than Haws. But to average 85 points per game, Coach Dave Rose must have some other scorers too. Matt Carlino and forward Eric Mika all average at least ten points per game.
Why They Can Disappoint:
BYU is going to allow quite a few points, but that is what happens with an offense that is allowed to get up and down the court in a hurry. The field-goal percentage defense is solid, but the lack of a shot blocking threat does make it far too easy at times for opponents to get to the basket. Nate Austin and Luke Worthington have nice size and will swat away a shot or two every once in a while, but neither is particularly intimidating on the defensive end. An injury to Kyle Collinsworth, who averaged 14.0 points, 4.7 assists and 8.2 rebounds, during the WCC Tournament hurts the Cougars heading into the postseason.
Probable Starters:
Matt Carlino, Junior, Guard, 13.9 ppg, 4.4 apg
Anson Winder, Junior, Guard, 6.7 ppg, 1.3 apg
Tyler Haws, Junior, Guard, 23.4 ppg, 1.5 apg
Luke Worthington, Freshman, Forward, 1.1 ppg
Nate Austin, Junior, Forward, 3.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Frank Barley, Freshman, Guard, 3.5 ppg
Skyler Halford, Junior, Guard, 7.5 ppg, 1.0 apg
Eric Mika, Freshman, Forward, 11.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg
Josh Sharp, Junior, Forward, 1.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 85.0 (3rd in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 77.1 (318, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.2 (39, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.6 (123, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.2 (278, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.4 (88, 7)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.4 (220, 9)
Rebound Margin: 5.1 (31, 1)
Assists Per Game: 16.1 (15, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.2 (70, 2)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2013 NIT First Round win over Washington
2013 NIT Second Round win over Mercer
2013 NIT Quarterfinal win over Southern Mississippi
2013 NIT Semifinal loss to Baylor
2012 NCAA First Round win over Iona
2012 NCAA Second Round loss to Marquette
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Wofford
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Gonzaga
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Florida
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over Florida
2010 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Kansas State
2009 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Texas A&M
2008 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Texas A&M
2007 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Xavier
*all team stats through 3/9
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
