A Brave New World

How to begin? I suppose the only fitting way is with this:

If you are one of the (very few) people who has loyally followed this blog and read my exceptionally long recaps of pointless mid-December games against D-II schools from Nowhere, Tenn., then I owe you a firm handshake.

If you are one of the 694 Twitter followers (minus approximately 682 spambots) who have endured my often obnoxious, regularly all-caps live-tweeting of said games, then I probably owe you a warm embrace or ten.

And if you are one of the many who has crossed me in my one-man crusade to avenge the name of Matthew F. Carlino — not his real middle initial — then I most likely owe you an apology because I probably said something rude to you.

In all seriousness though, if you've spent any time reading Post-Jimmer, commenting on the posts, or interacting with me on Twitter over the past couple years, thank you. You have made this enterprise not only worthwhile, but downright enjoyable.

Recap: Gonzaga 83, BYU 63

Photo Credit: AP

*** First and foremost, my apologies for the brief service interruption. I was out of the country for a family funeral and was unable to recap either the Saint Mary's or San Diego games — although considering the outcome of the latter, that may have been for the best. ***

To be honest, that was pretty much what I expected to happen. Not what I hoped for, but pretty much what I expected.

BYU rode a dismal first-half effort to a 19-point halftime deficit from which they never recovered, falling to No. 10 Gonzaga before a raucous crowd at The Kennel, 83-63. Kelly Olynyk didn't miss a single shot all night, pacing the Bulldogs with 26 points on 9-for-9 shooting and 8-for-8 from the stripe.

But while the final result wasn't too far outside my expectations, the way we got there was a bit of a surprise. Gonzaga dominated the game from the opening tip, particularly on the defensive end. BYU simply couldn't figure out how to solve the Zags' tough, physical defense and looked completely out of sorts in the opening frame.

Recap: BYU 82, Santa Clara 64

Photo Credit: Getty

It's only natural for a BYU fan like myself to be cautious in my expectations of BYU Basketball. I had high hopes for this team, but after some ugly losses to the better programs on our non-conference slate, I returned to my status quo pessimism.

So it was no surprise that I was worried about this road contest against the Broncos of Santa Clara. After all, they had played Duke down to the wire in Durham and given Gonzaga all they could handle. Also, BYU has been troubled by teams that shoot well from outside and Santa Clara's Kevin Foster is the WCC's all-time leader in three-pointers made. So factor that with BYU's slow starts in the last two conference games and you have the reasoning behind my worries.

These concerns were replaced with a new-found sense of optimism as the Cougars were able to pull away in the second half and score an 82-64 victory. I came into the game a Debbie Downer and left seeing the glass half-full. What was the reasoning behind my change of heart? It was the reminder that Dave Rose is a very good basketball coach.

Recap: BYU 76, Pepperdine 51

Photo Credit: BYU Photo

On a snowy night in Provo, BYU trailed an inferior Pepperdine team by 5 points at halftime. The Cougars won the game by 25. And that pretty much tells the whole story of Thursday's West Coast Conference matchup at the Marriott Center.

The home team came out flatter than flat in the first half, struggling to solve the Waves' zone defense on one end and failing to play much defense of their own on the other. BYU finished the first half shooting 28 percent from the field overall, including a ghastly 2-for-11 from deep, while Pepperdine shot 50 percent from the floor and a red-hot 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. There was no fire. There was no focus. BYU was just going through the motions. That's not usually a recipe for a great deal of success, and it wasn't on this night either — the Cougars trailed the usually hapless Waves 35-30 at the break.

I don't know what Dave Rose said in the locker room during halftime, but it certainly worked — the team that emerged for the second half was completely different than the one that had entered. This team had energy and it played with a purpose, especially on the defensive end. BYU employed an aggressive half-court trap that Pepperdine was never really able to solve, allowing the Cougars to score 15 points off turnovers alone while holding the Waves to just 16 total in the closing period.

Recap: BYU 80, San Francisco 76

Photo Credit: Daily Herald

During the course of a basketball season, some nights will be good and some nights will be bad. Some nights your shots will fall and some nights you'll draw nothing but iron. Some nights the calls go your way and some nights your best players get mired in foul trouble. The difference between the good teams and the mediocre teams is that the good teams find a way to win when they have bad nights. They figure out how to get it done.

After tonight, it appears that BYU just might have what it takes to be a good team.

The Cougars rebounded from a horrific first half performance to snatch a thrilling 80-76 road victory over San Francisco from the jaws of defeat — but not before giving me about 17 heart attacks. The boys in blue did most of their damage with their best player, Brandon Davis, stuck on the bench with persistent foul trouble, which makes the feat even more impressive in hindsight.

Three-Man Weave: At The Halfway Point

Photo Credit: BYU Photo

BYU opened their West Coast Conference slate with a dominating win over Loyola Marymount last night, getting the final and most crucial portion of their schedule underway with a bang.  The Cougars have just 16 regular season games left and a hefty amount of work left to do to earn themselves an NCAA tournament bid.

As such, we decided this would be as a good a time as any to bring back one of my favorite Post-Jimmer features — the Three-Man Weave, in which three commentators from throughout Cougar Nation will offer their opinions and analysis on three BYU basketball-related issues for your reading pleasure. For today's installment, I am fortunate to be joined by Ben Wagner, sports director for BYU Radio and a Post-Jimmer contributor, and Scott Gower, whom you Twitter-inclined folks may know as @cougaracity.

Now, without further ado...

Recap: BYU 92, Loyola Marymount 51

Photo Credit: BYU Photo

Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast.

Behind their most impressive all-around performance of the season, BYU repeatedly bludgeoned Loyola Marymount right up until the final buzzer sounded on Thursday night, walking away with a dominating 41-point win in their first game of West Coast Conference play, 92-51.

It all just worked for the Cougars in this one — the offense finally started clicking on all cylinders, shots started falling for once, and the boys in home whites cranked up the defensive heat, holding the Lions to a paltry 30.8 percent from the floor. It was as in-sync and functional as I've seen the team this year, and the performance was made even more special because of the opponent.

Loyola Marymount isn't the Little Sisters of the Poor. This a good program — one that beat BYU by 14 points at the Marriott Center in their last meeting. (Think the Cougars remembered that one?) They were essentially the same team this year, with nearly all of their key personnel returning. So this wasn't the Cougars beating up on yet another cream puff D-II team.

Recap: BYU 97, Virginia Tech 71

Photo Credit: BYU Photo

Somewhere in Salt Lake City, Tyler Haws is probably still hitting jump shots.

The BYU sophomore exploded for a career-high 42 points on Saturday, leading his team to a big 97-71 win over hapless Virginia Tech at EnergySolutions Arena. Haws started fast, dropping 29 points in the first half on 9-for-13 shooting, including six three-pointers. And while he cooled off considerably after halftime, he still found a way to break his father Marty Haws' previous family record of 40 points in a Cougar uniform.

It was a breathtaking offensive display. Haws made virtually everything in that first half — open shots, contested shots, impossible shots. Everything was going in. It was almost enough to make a fan harken back to the days of Jimmer. Almost. But lest we forget, Haws is only a sophomore. He has plenty of time to turn in a few more of these performances and etch his own name in BYU lore.

Pre-Game Primer: BYU vs. Virginia Tech

EnergySolutions Arena

Salt Lake City, Utah

Time: Saturday, 12:00 p.m. MST

TV: ESPNU

What To Watch For:

Wherefore Art Thou, Raul? Junior college transfer Raul Delgado arrived in Provo with a lot of fanfare, highly touted as a shooter and perimeter defender. However, in the early portion of the season, it appeared that many of those skills had been lost in his transition to the faster, more physical Division I game. As a result, Delgado rarely got off the bench. But then a few games ago, searching for any answer to shake up his team's relatively poor string of performances, coach Dave Rose decided to give him a chance — and Raul has made that decision look pretty smart. After a slow start, the newcomer has posted impressive performances in his last two games, scoring 7 and 11 points, respectively. He has done it by shooting efficiently, including a blistering 57 percent from beyond the arc — something this offensively challenged BYU team desperately needs — while also showing flashes of that much-ballyhooed defensive prowess. Will Delgado's hot streak continue? We will find out on Saturday, when his recent spate of performances will almost certainly earn him a good chunk of minutes off the bench. It's up to him to continue proving Rose right.

Recap: BYU 64, Baylor 79

Photo Credit: ESPN

Over the Christmas holiday, the BYU Cougars came out with passion and energy against the Baylor Bears, building a sizable first half cushion. For most of the first half the Cougars looked the stronger side and appeared to be on their way to a quality win for their NCAA tournament resume. But with just a few minutes remaining in the first half, the Bears closed the gap, seizing the momentum which they would never relinquish. Baylor would win the game, a loss which BYU would never totally recover from, making the game a huge turning point in BYU's season.

Also. . . Mommy, please make Brady Heslip stop. *SOBS*

The BYU beatwriters can just copy-and-paste to make their deadlines, as they probably have something similar to this in their columns from the 2011 BYU-Baylor basketball game. The 2012 game wasn't much different.

OK, it was a little different — but the similarities are there.

Pre-Game Primer: BYU at Weber State

Dee Events Center

Ogden, Utah

Time: Saturday, 7:00 p.m. MST

TV: BYUtv

What To Watch For:

Can Carlino Stay Hot? If BYU wants to be a elite team that can seriously challenge for a conference championship, they have to find a consistent third scoring option behind Tyler Haws and Brandon Davies — and it appears that Matt Carlino is the once and future heir to that throne. With no one else proving worthy, the job has seemingly fallen back to Carlino, despite Dave Rose's original plan to make him a more "traditional" point guard. However, one big question remains: Can he be that guy? Carlino has seen his shooting percentages increase dramatically in the past few games, and he finally broke through in a big way against Utah last week. If he can keep that streak going and score the ball with reasonable efficiency, it will be a very good sign for the Cougars moving forward.

Recap: BYU 61, Utah 58

Photo Credit: BYU Photo

The rivalry is alive again. Don't say I didn't try to warn you.

BYU edged out a tight 61-58 win over Utah on Saturday night, rallying from a sizable first half deficit to take the lead in the closing minutes. Tyler Haws and Brandon Davies both struggled to find a rhythm against the Utes' physical defense, which left the much maligned Matt Carlino to pick up the slack — and he rose to the occasion in a big way.

Carlino came to play in one of the Cougars' most intense games of the year, finally breaking out of a season-long slump (or, more accurately, a miniature ice age) to rack up 19 points and 5 assists. With Haws and Davies effectively taken out of the play for long stretches at a time, he was the only Cougar player to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor, going 5-for-10 from deep and 7-for-13 overall.

This was the game that the Carlino believers (including yours truly, the president of the Matt Carlino Fan Club) knew the sophomore guard had inside of him. To be sure, he has been terrible at times this season — the weekend in Brooklyn comes readily to mind. But he has also made huge improvements to his all-around game, adjustments that were obscured in the minds of many casual fans by his poor shooting.

Pre-Game Primer: BYU vs. Utah

Marriott Center

Provo, Utah

Time: Saturday, 7:00 p.m. MST

TV: BYUtv

What To Watch For:

Don't Underestimate The Utes. This is not last year's Utah team — and if any Cougar players think of them as such, they do so at their own peril. Last season, the Utes were an embarrassment. They won six games. They got blown out by some horrendous teams. They failed to draw more than a few thousand people for home games. It was terrible. But this is a different year and a different team. They have already matched their win total from 2011-2012, with their only two losses coming to up-and-coming Sacramento State and a Larry Brown-coached Southern Methodist team that looks entirely legit. No, they're not Duke or Indiana, not by a long shot. But they're also not terrible. They may not even be bad. They might actually have climbed all the way to average. These Utes cannot be taken lightly.

Utah State Game Postponed After On-Court Scare

Photo Credit: AggieBluePrint.com

The Herald-Journal is reporting that Wednesday’s scheduled game between BYU and Utah State has been postponed, following the sudden collapse of the Aggies’ Danny Berger during practice on Tuesday.

The HJ has been told the game scheduled for tomorrow night in Provo will be postponed.
— The Herald Journal (@HJNews) December 5, 2012

Berger, a junior forward, stopped breathing on the court during a practice session in Logan. He was subsequently revived and taken to the hospital. He has since been transferred via helicopter to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray. It remains unclear what exactly caused the collapse, but Berger is currently in “stable but critical” condition, according to a Utah State press release.

Pre-Game Primer: BYU at Iowa State

Hilton Coliseum

Ames, Iowa

Time: Saturday, 12:00 p.m. MST

TV: Cyclones.tv

What To Watch For:

Handling The Pressure. Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg has staged a swift revolution in Ames, turning the once-moribund Cyclones into a tournament team in just two years. One of the keys? Hoiberg's squad loves to pressure their opponents in an effort to create turnovers and score in transition. BYU obviously loves to play at fast pace as well, so they should be well-equipped for an free-flowing offensive contest. However, the Cougar guards have shown a weakness handling ball pressure while initiating the offense, which is a cause for concern. Iowa State will attempt to live inside Craig Cusick and Matt Carlino's jerseys all night long, and the pair will have to respond better than they did against Florida State. But it doesn't end there. Once the point guards break the press, BYU's other perimeter players will also need to be strong with the basketball. Tyler Haws has particularly struggled with this as of late, so his improvement will be important against an aggressive Cyclone defense.

Recap: BYU 85, Montana 60

Photo Credit: BYU Photo

It's amazing what happens when you play a little defense. BYU found that out first-hand Wednesday night, using their first really solid defensive outing of the season to create offensive opportunities on their way to an 85-60 victory over Montana in Salt Lake City.

If the Cougars' main problem so far has been defending the perimeter, they showed great improvement against the Grizzlies. Their closeouts were more under control, leaving them in better position to move laterally to cut off dribble penetration. With a few exceptions, BYU was able to keep Montana's guards almost entirely out of the lane, and the visitors from the north notched just 16 points in the paint on the evening as a result.

Furthermore, because the guards could not penetrate deep into the heart of the defense, the Cougars' back line did not have to rotate over to help protect the basket, allowing them to stay home and successfully challenge perimeter shooters when the ball was inevitably kicked it. Montana still got some looks from three — and even made a few of them — but they simply weren't as high quality as the Grizzlies would have preferred. As such, they shot only 37.5 percent from deep, rather than the 46.5 percent they had been averaging for the year. This was an excellent all-around effort from BYU on the defensive side of the ball.

Pre-Game Primer: BYU vs. Montana

EnergySolutions Arena

Salt Lake City, Utah

Time: Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. MST

TV: BYUtv

What To Watch For:

Guarding The Three-Point Line. Let's get this out of the way up front: Montana can flat-out shoot the basketball. End of story. The Grizzlies are currently third in the nation in three-point percentage, converting 46.5 percent of their attempts as a team. That is staggeringly good — all of which poses a problem to be solved by BYU. The Cougars have obviously struggled to guard the three-point line this season, an issue that — as I pointed out here — largely stems from an inability to stop dribble penetration, causing defenders to have to rotate and shooters to be left open. If ever there were a game where strong closeouts and solid perimeter defense were especially important, it is this one. If BYU lets Montana's guards into the paint on a regular basis, the rest of the squad will likely be knocking down open looks from deep all night long. These are good shooters, and they will make shots, which means the Cougar guards absolutely have to move their feet and stay in front of their respective men on defense. Perhaps this is the time to finally bump up Anson Winder's playing time.

Recap: BYU 87, Cal State Northridge 75

Photo Credit: KSL

If you weren't aware, Tyler Haws is really good at basketball. The sophomore guard dropped 32 points and grabbed 6 rebounds on Saturday in an 87-75 win over Cal State Northridge.

Haws was doing it from all over the court against the Matadors, shooting 52 percent from the floor and going a perfect 12-for-12 at the charity stripe. He also took over the game when it mattered. When Northridge took the lead with just over three minutes left, the Cougars essentially turned the offense over to Haws, who responded by scoring 10 points in the closing minutes to secure the victory.

But as good as Haws was individually, the win was not without its dark clouds on the periphery. I won't caterwaul about BYU needing a herculean effort at the end of the game to finally put away a team from the Big West. Northridge is a greatly improved squad, and they should have a solid season. There is talent there. Nevertheless, the Cougars again showed a complete inability to consistently get stops on the defensive end, particularly because they cannot stop dribble penetration (as I lamented earlier this week.)

How To Fix BYU's Biggest Problem

Photo Credit: AP

That was rough. 

Some of our loyal readers (all of eight of you) may have noticed that I didn't post a customary post-game analysis following BYU's loss to Notre Dame, the second in as many days. There is a reason: I wasn't quite ready to weigh in on what I had just watched transpire in Brooklyn. I needed some time to ponder what I had seen, to dwell on the numbers and see what they might illuminate. And now we are here.

The Cougars' weekend trip to the Big Apple was often ugly and consistently disappointing. After being outclassed in every way by Florida State in the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on Friday, BYU followed it up with a halfway decent effort against the No. 20 Fighting Irish the next night — and still managed to lose by 10. Frustration, thy name is the 2012-2013 basketball team.

Contrary to the moanings of many on Twitter and CougarBoard during and immediately following the weekend games, this team is not fatally flawed. Is it flawed? Certainly. Can it be fixed? Yes. In fact, doing so shouldn't require rocket science. There is one very real area of concern that must be addressed moving forward, but there is no reason to believe coach Dave Rose is incapable of finding a solution.

Pre-Game Primer: BYU vs. Notre Dame

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.