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.

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.

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 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.)

Recap: Florida State 88, BYU 70

Photo Credit: BYU Photo

After a three-year experiment dividing the game into four 10-minute quarters, in the 1954-1955 season the powers that were in college basketball reverted the structure of the game back to its previous form of two 20-minute halves, a rule that has remained unchanged since that time. Unfortunately this meant that on November 16, 2012, BYU Basketball fans had to endure 38 minutes of meaningless basketball in a game that was over two minutes in.

Once Brandon Davies picked up his second foul just two minutes in to BYU's semifinal matchup of the Coach's vs. Cancer Classic, the game was all but decided. The numbers weren't pretty — without Brandon Davies on the floor, BYU is a borderline incompetent basketball team.

Not that they were world-beaters with him on the floor. BYU's road three-point shooting woes from last season seemed to have carried over, affecting this year's squad. The Cougars were just 6-for-27 from the land of plenty, an icy 22 percent. Meanwhile BYU's opponents, the Florida State Seminoles, were an NBA Jam-esque 11-for-20 (55 percent) from behind the arc. The Seminoles' Devon Bookert continued the time-honored tradition of an unknown guard coming off the bench and setting the nets on fire against BYU. (The freshman scored 15 points, including going 3-for-4 from behind the three-point line). Ian Miller and NBA prospect Michael Snaer were also on fire, each going 3-for-5 from downtown.

Recap: BYU 103, Southeastern Oklahoma State 57

Photo Credit: BYU Photo

Well, that got out of hand quickly — not that we expected anything different. When a Division II team comes to your house for what is essentially a pre-arranged slaughter, good teams take care of business and use the opportunity to get better. BYU did that tonight and, despite the massive scoreboard disparity, there were a number of interesting developments worth noting.

In lieu of a full recap (this is still the preseason after all), I will include some quick thoughts and instant reaction to BYU's 103-57 blowout of Southeastern Oklahoma State after the jump.

Recap: Cougar Tip-Off

Photo Credit: BYU Photo

Man, it's good to be back. Even though it was sloppy at times and defense was clearly a mere afterthought for many players, the Cougar Tip-Off gave me everything I wanted — namely, BYU basketball.

There is nothing quite like a fresh new season — full of limitless possibilities and unsullied by disappointment — to make you feel even better than usual about the greatest game ever invented. Nights like tonight encapsulate that feeling. It may not represent the sport at its highest level, but there's just something fun about rolling the balls out for the first time and letting the fans finally get a glimpse of what lies in store in the months ahead. In the words of the great (fictional) coach Norman Dale, spoken at a similar event, "This is your team."

Since this was just an intra-squad scrimmage, I'll forgo a more comprehensive recap and just share some quick thoughts that popped into my head as I soaked in the action.

Report Card: Gonzaga 74, BYU 63

Brigham Young Cougars

63

Final

74

Gonzaga Bulldogs

STARTERS

	Matt Carlino, PG 7-23 FG | 3-9 3PT | 1-3 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 18 PTS Carlino is definitely a freshman — and that comes with its ebbs and flows. Matt carried BYU through a dismal first half offensively. However, he also forced bad shots down the stretch when he should have been feeding the red-hot Davies. Those costly mistakes may have snuffed out any possibility of a comeback, but BYU likely wouldn't have been in the game in the first place without Carlino's efforts.
	Anson Winder, SG 2-5 FG | 1-3 3PT | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 5 PTS Anson didn't light the world on fire tonight, but he was solid. He played great defense and didn't turn the ball over, which is more than we can say for some people. (coughZylstracough) Winder was inexplicably nonexistent for much of the second half before Rose reinserted him in the closing minutes — where he promptly scored five points. There is a lesson in here somewhere...
	Charles Abouo, SF 4-13 FG | 1-4 3PT | 1-3 FT | 10 REB | 0 AST | 10 PTS Abouo is often simultaneously maddening and essential. He is capable of doing some of the dumbest things imaginable — and he does them frequently — but then turning around to get a key steal or grab a big rebound the next time down the floor. He made a few too many dumb mistakes tonight, but at least he rebounded and defended well. Say what you will about him, but Charles always plays hard.
	Noah Hartsock, PF 0-0 FG | 0-0 3PT | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS A sad night. No other way to put it. Courageously, Noah tried to gut it out despite playing with what looked like an artificial leg. He only lasted 7 minutes. It was abundantly clear that he just couldn't move well and was in a state of perpetual discomfort. He couldn't be effective, and the team suffered mightily as a result. Cougar fans need to hope against hope that Hartsock's sprain heals, like, now.
	Brandon Davies, C 8-18 FG | 0-0 3PT | 7-10 FT | 10 REB | 1 AST | 23 PTS After a spotty first half, Davies really turned on the jets in the second and dominated Gonzaga in the paint. As BYU made their final run down the stretch, Brandon stepped up to the plate and took over the game. It was a true "leadership moment." Of course, the guards stopped passing him the ball shortly thereafter, but we won't dwell on that. Davies was huge. (Also, he had 6 steals. Six!)

Report Card: BYU 85, San Francisco 84

Brigham Young Cougars

85

Final

84

San Francisco Dons

STARTERS

	Matt Carlino, PG 13-19 FG | 4-7 3PT | 0-1 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 30 PTS Obviously the star of the evening. Carlino started off hot (and I mean Jimmer hot), matching his career high with 22 — in the first half! Matt struggled reading the defense a bit in the second half, but he played solid defense (4 steals) and showed up when it counted most. While it might get overshadowed by fan anger about clock management, Carlino's game-winner was monumentally clutch.
	Anson Winder, SG 3-5 FG | 0-0 3PT | 2-2 FT | 6 REB | 2 AST | 8 PTS Winder doesn't have to score much to be extremely valuable to the Cougars. He adds plenty of value as a excellent defender who understands the game and picks his spots wisely on offense. His coast-to-coast drive (finished with a deft Eurostep move) was a thing of beauty. The decision to swap Anson into the starting five for Zylstra may be Rose's smartest of the season.
	Charles Abouo, SF 6-11 FG | 3-6 3PT | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 4 AST | 15 PTS Oh, Charles. You got a little excited, didn't you? With time running out quickly and BYU nursing a small lead, Abouo hoisted up a few ill-advised deep balls very early in the shot clock, giving USF the extra possessions it needed to crawl back into the game. Not so good. However, Charles actually played extremely well up to that point, so I can only justify knocking him down half a grade. But if BYU had lost...
	Noah Hartsock, PF 7-13 FG | 0-0 3PT | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 16 PTS This was a tough one for Hartsock. BYU shot only 9 free throws as a team the entire night, so obviously the whistles weren't going his way down low. He also had a surprising amount of trouble anticipating double-teams in the post, which I wouldn't have expected. But at the end of the day, Noah is still Noah and he made some tough shots down the stretch, providing a huge boost to the sputtering Cougs.
	Brandon Davies, C 3-7 FG | 0-0 3PT | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 6 PTS Davies very well may be the most dominating post player in the WCC, but that doesn't matter much if he can't stay on the floor. He struggled with fouls early again Thursday, and played only 21 minutes as a result. (When he was in the game, Brandon tried his best Magic Johnson impression with mixed results. It was weird.) All in all, not his best game, but not a complete disaster either. Simply below par.

Report Card: BYU 79, Portland 60

Brigham Young Cougars

79

Final

60

Portland Pilots

STARTERS

	Matt Carlino, PG 3-11 FG | 0-4 3PT | 7-8 FT | 4 REB | 4 AST | 13 PTS The Cougars' shooting woes continued on Saturday, and Carlino was no exception. For some reason, Matt just can't find his stroke. Nevertheless, he continued to do a good job attacking the rim and got himself to the free throw line for easy points. He continues to commit lazy defensive lapses occasionally, but he's getting better on that end of the floor. All in all, not bad for an off night.
	Anson Winder, SG 0-2 FG | 0-2 3PT | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 0 PTS Rose went with Winder at shooting guard for the second game in a row, but didn't get the same results. It's not that Anson did anything poorly, he was just a non-factor. He's not bringing anything stupendous to the table on offense and, against a mediocre team like Portland, his lock-down defensive abilities aren't as vital. It will be interesting to see if Rose sticks with him in the starting five next week.
	Charles Abouo, SF 1-6 FG | 1-4 3PT | 4-6 FT | 7 REB | 0 AST | 7 PTS Abouo spent a large amount of the game on the bench after picking up a multitude of stupid fouls. When he was actually on the floor, Charles brought great hustle and rebounding like he always does, but he also brought some really bad shot selection. The Cougars would benefit greatly from him making smarter choices on both sides of the ball.
	Noah Hartsock, PF 0-6 FG | 0-0 3PT | 12-12 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 12 PTS A weird night for Noah, who didn't make a field goal for the first time in... well, as long as I can remember. A lot of that had to do with him going to the bench early after picking up two quick fouls, and the rest had to do with him drawing a foul on pretty much every touch in the second half. Still, he made all 12 of his free throws and, as is the Hartsock way, took care of business when BYU needed him.
	Brandon Davies, C 7-13 FG | 0-0 3PT | 4-10 FT | 13 REB | 4 AST | 18 PTS A standout performance for Davies, who was literally all over the place. In addition to a strong offensive showing, Brandon also racked up 8 steals — a huge number by any standard, but unheard of for a big man. There's always room for improvement (he led the team in turnovers yet again and missed a boatload of free throws), but Brandon's excellent, balanced play was the driving force behind this win.