Barclays Center
Brooklyn, New York
Time: Saturday, 5:00 p.m. MST
TV: TruTV
What To Watch For:
Mind Games. More than anything else, BYU has to be mentally ready to play. They weren’t prepared to go toe-to-toe with a team like Florida State last night, and the game was over before it even began. The guards looked almost universally terrified of handling the ball for more than a few seconds against the Seminoles’ pressure defense, resulting in several ill-advised quick passes and rushed shots. Similarly, the Cougar bigs were clearly wary of the length of Florida State’s three 7-footers. None of them made confident moves in the post and all shied away from contact, choosing instead to fling wild fadeaway heaves toward the rim’s general direction. They can’t play with that same tentativeness tonight. Let’s be clear — Notre Dame is a very good team, with some very good players. But they are beatable. They have flaws. They were exposed last night by Saint Joseph’s. BYU needs to come in believing that they can do the same — not feeling fortunate just to be in New York, sharing the court with a Top 25 team. Luckily, the Fighting Irish don’t quite play the same high-pressure style that the Seminoles do, which should help the Cougars feel more comfortable and get into an offensive flow more quickly. But before they can do that, they have to feel ready to play. They didn’t last night and it showed. They were scared, so they lost. We should be able to tell if tonight will be any different in the first few minutes.
Crashing The Boards. Notre Dame has good post players, but they showed vulnerability on the defensive boards last night against Saint Joseph’s. The Hawks’ big men repeatedly attacked the glass late in the game, grabbing offensive rebounds and earning extra possessions. As a result, Saint Joseph’s closed regulation on an 8-0 run and eventually won in overtime by 9 points. If BYU’s bigs can be more aggressive than usual tonight, they should be able to duplicate that effort, giving the Cougars’ a few extra cracks at putting the ball in the basket. That could be huge for a team that hasn’t been shooting the ball particularly well of late and needs all the help they can get. However, Notre Dame’s forwards are big, skilled, and easily capable of returning the favor at the other end. BYU will have to remain disciplined with their block-outs, grabbing every possible defensive rebound. If the battle for the boards goes the wrong way, things could get out of hand. Josh Sharp and Nate Austin are the key players in this regard. Both have shown a knack for snatching offensive boards before, and they will need to play aggressively around the rim again tonight.
Keeping Davies On The Floor. Jack Cooley has often been described as a doppelganger for recently departed Irish star Luke Harangody. If you don’t remember Harangody, let me refresh your memory — he was good. Really good. And Cooley is also really good. A brawny 6-foot-9 with sweet shooting touch, he actually reminds me quite a bit of the Cougars’ own Brandon Davies, which should make this a fascinating matchup. It is possible that coach Dave Rose could try to stick Sharp or Austin on Cooley to limit his star’s exposure to foul trouble, but neither are quite as good defensively as Davies. Either way, whether he gets a crack at Cooley or get shifted onto Irish center Garrick Sherman, Davies must stay out of foul trouble. As Ben Wagner so eloquently pointed out in his recap of last night’s loss, the Cougars fall apart when their best player leaves the floor. Nothing works, inside or outside. If they want to have any chance to beat Notre Dame in a road environment, Brandon Davies is going to have to play big minutes, matching Jack Cooley shot for shot. That can’t happen if he is on the bench.
Bottom line? BYU has to play better. It's that simple. Because if they play like they did last night, they are going to get blown out again. Fingers crossed.
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