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The BYU Cougars are the highest-scoring team in West Coast Conference play, with the league's second best field-goal percentage and the third-best scoring margin. Defense, however, was the topic du jour at the Cougars' post-practice media availability on Wednesday--the day before BYU opens a four-game home set, with the Pacific Tigers paying their first visit to Provo since 1996.
BYU is last in the league in scoring defense, and while middle-of-the-pack in FG% defense, has been victimized by the three-point shot almost more than any other team. BYU is 9th in the conference in 3PFG% allowed, having given up a league-high 74 triples through nine conference games.
In BYU's four league losses, the Cougars have been outscored 135 to 45 from the three-point line alone. On the season overall, BYU's opponents have taken 200 more three-point attempts than the Cougars, outscoring BYU by more than eight points per game from the arc.
"We've had some games where teams have just really kind of got hot from the three-point line," said BYU head coach Dave Rose said after Wednesday afternoon's Marriott Center practice. "It seems to be teams that have good offensive post players, and I think that's where we need to shore up our defense. We try to give help inside, and then we get stretched pretty good (at the three-point line). Maybe we're over-helping on the post, and guys are getting loose on the perimeter."
This past weekend, Portland and Gonzaga combined to shoot 24-for-45 from behind the arc in a pair of BYU road losses. To open conference play, BYU went on the road and lost at Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine, with those two teams combining for a 21-for-41 performance from distance.
Rose noted the synchronicity, saying "the challenge that we face tomorrow is similar to the challenge that we faced a couple of weeks ago, when we came back from LMU and Pepperdine. We responded well last time; hopefully, we can respond well this time."
BYU guard Matt Carlino conceded the "BYU's M.O. is not defense, in general--I think we can all agree on that-- but I think that's what really is going to bring us to the next level."
"We have to make (defense) our M.O. for the second half of league and for the rest of this season," said Carlino, "to really be great."
Rose addressed BYU's short-term and long-term defensive challenges, while saying that "before last weekend, we had really improved in our (defensive) execution and in our effort. Hopefully, we can get back to that."
"In order to improve defensively," Rose said, "this team here just really needs to focus in on execution issues...then as a program, overall, moving forward, I just think that we need to have more roster players that are actually capable of stepping out there and helping us."
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In scouting the Tigers (11-8, 2-6 WCC), Rose said of Ron Verlin's team that "I'm sure they're trying to adjust to the style of play in this league, but on film, they look really impressive."
"They run their offense really well--it's a great-executing half-court set team...they've got really good balance in their scoring. It's an impressive team on film. They're a really tough defensive team that guards you hard. They're physical and hopefully our guys are ready for it."
Rose said Pacific's 2-6 debut as a WCC member "is just a mystery."
"Their guys play hard, they play well, (but) one thing about league play that can get you is your confidence level. You get on a bad streak for a week or two where you don't play well, you lose some games and it's hard to turn it around.
"They're coming in here after a big win, (which followed) a few losses, so hopefully we can play well enough and not them get started in our building. I think if you can go into Logan and win (78-68 on Dec. 7), I think you can go anywhere and win."
Pacific starts five seniors who were all a part of last season's NCAA-tournament team. The Tigers are led in scoring by guard Sama Taku--one of four players averaging between 10 and 13 points per game.
Pacific is last in the league in FG%, and second-to-last in 3PFG%, while ranking 8th in FG% defense and last in 3PFG% allowed.
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BYU guard Tyler Haws says the Cougars' current two-game losing skid "definitely is a challenge, but we've been through something like this before, where we lose two games on the road, so it's going to be good to get back home."
"We're trying to stay positive," said Haws, the WCC's leading scorer in conference play at 24.0 points per game. "There's still a ton to play for, so practice is still intense and we're not done fighting."
"We have played against the best teams in the country and we played against lots of great competition in our conference, and so we know we can play with anyone. I think we're trying to reach our full potential and finish this second half of conference the right way, then make a run in our conference tournament."
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The 2013-14 West Coast Conference men's basketball schedule is an equal-opportunity brain-bender. While the addition of a tenth league member and the introduction of travel partners was expected to produce a more balanced slate of games, practically every team is facing unique sets of scheduling circumstances.
For BYU, it has meant that a stretch of four straight road games is immediately followed by four consecutive home games. Of the Cougars' nine league foes, eight of them also have to face four consecutive away games at some point, with six of those teams also given an additional three-game stretch of road games in league play. Santa Clara is the only WCC team with nothing longer than a two-game away swing, while Pacific is the only team without at least three straight conference home games. Portland, St. Mary's and San Francisco all have five-game homestands.
Rose said that that WCC schedule "is surprising to everyone," adding that "then it was surprising to see how it actually played out after (the league got) our non-conference schedule," which had two straight away games to conclude non-league competition.
"We got our conference schedule," says Rose, "and you put it together and you realize that we're going to be faced with that stretch where we play 11 games, and eight of them are on the road. You'd have hoped we would manage that a little bit better as far as wins and losses (BYU went 5-6 over the 11-game segment), but I think our guys are in good spirits and hopefully we get a really good effort tomorrow."
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You can hear Thursday night's game on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM and BYU Radio (SiriusXM 143), starting with pregame coverage at 6:00 p.m.; tipoff at 7:05 p.m.
You can listen to Thursday's post-practice interviews with Rose, Haws, Carlino, Eric Mika and Nate Austin in "Cougar Cuts," above left.
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