They return three starters from a year ago. They were 23-12 last year, and 13-5 in the tough WCC. In their only game this year they beat Long Beach State 95-90, with four players in double figures. (From the stats in that game, it does not appear that either team played much defense.) Notable is that BYU was 28 of 33 from the FT line.

Their main man in Tyler Haws, who averaged 23.2 ppg last year and shot 40.4% from the arc. Last year there was not much to dislike about their game. They shot very well, had a +5 rebounding margin, and a 1.38 A/TO margin as a team.

They are a huge team. Their starting front line against LBS was 6-11, 6-10, 6-6, and they have 6-11, 6-11, 6-10 also on the roster.

Sagarin makes them a 17-point favorite at their place. RealtimeRPI has BYU by 23.

I have them by 30

That's an incredible amount of height. We had better make every shot we take, or we'll have a problem.

(11-17-2014 08:33 AM)insideualr Wrote:  I have them by 30

Wouldn't surprise me. I think they are pretty salty.

(11-17-2014 10:20 AM)outsideualr Wrote:  That's an incredible amount of height. We had better make every shot we take, or we'll have a problem.

Doesn't look like a great matchup for us. Our size is more than adequate for the Sun Belt. Not so much for a team like BYU. We will need to be very hot from the outside, which this team is capable of doing. We will have some great shooting nights this year and, inevitably, some poor shooting nights. We need a good one tomorrow to keep it competitive.

The key will be to keep them from getting second shots on their misses. I know we probably won't get a lot of offensive rebounds, but if we can reasonably control the defensive boards and shoot well on the offensive end, we could have a shot at least keeping it close, if not winning. Another factor could be the altitude. Isn't the elevation a lot higher there, sort of like Denver?

This is one of those games where you just have to come out loose, play good basketball, and hope you are hot and they are not.

Just pretend you're playing Arkansas Monticello and let it all hang out.

http://www.ualrtrojans.com/ViewArticle.d...=209769948

http://byucougars.com/m-basketball/tuesd...ittle-rock

Looks like I will be able to watch our ladies play Mo St tonight at the Jack and then catch the second half of our men's game against BYU on BYU website.

As always in a game like this, the thing we have to do is to try to stay within striking distance and hope they hit a cold streak or get lackadaisical for a while. Just hang around.

The BYU feed is free.