Strength, or BYU's lack thereof, seemed to be a recurring subject of talk after the Cougars' first-round NCAA Tournament loss, 76-70, to Tulane late Thursday night.
"It's tough to make guys stronger when it gets to this part of the year," Cougar coach Roger Reid said. "That's the one thing we really need to concentrate on in the future - getting stronger. That's not a knock on our guys, but it's a physical game and we were worn down at the end of the year."Going into the contest, Tulane coach Perry Clark felt his shorter, but more athletic and stronger players might be able to give the Cougars problems. He was right, but he was also complimentary of BYU afterward.
"A lot of people thought coming in that because they were a little weaker that it would be easy for us, but BYU is a very physical team and the thing I admire most about them is the way that they compete," Clark said. "(BYU's) competitive effort throughout this basketball game was second to none of the teams we've played all year."
The loss was BYU's fifth in its final seven games. The Cougars finished the season 22-10 - the identical record they had a year ago. Tulane, now 23-9, advanced to play Kentucky, the Southeast Regional's top seed, Saturday.
The Cougars' season started with promise - early wins over NCAA tourney teams Louisville, Oklahoma State and Mississippi State - but fizzled down the stretch.
"The difference between the first of the season and the end of the season for our team is physical strength," Robbie Reid said. "We don't have guys that work out year round and are truly dedicated to the game. BYU basketball is maybe fourth or fifth on their list of priorities, where most other col-lege players have basketball as (priority) one or two. At the first of the year, we'd been lifting and were excited, but by the end of the year some of that enthusiasm was gone and we were basically outmuscled."
BYU, behind 16 points by center Kenneth Roberts, led at halftime, 36-35, but Jerald Honeycutt scored inside seconds into the final half to give Tulane the lead. The Green Wave never trailed again. A Honeycutt 3-pointer from the right side capped a 13-4 run right after the intermission to put Tulane up 48-40 with 15:25 to play.
The Cougars, behind five straight points by sophomore point guard Robbie Reid, pulled to within three, 48-45, but could get no closer. The Green Wave went on to lead by as many as 10 points. A Craig Wilcox 3-pointer with 15 seconds left pulled the Cougars to within four, 72-68, but a pair of free throws by Kim Lewis with 9.7 seconds remaining put the Green Wave back up by six and the game was all but over.
BYU turned the ball over 18 times - 14 on steals by the Green Wave's pressure defense.
"I had no problem with our intensity and our desire," Roger Reid said. "The problem is that we turned the ball over too much. You have to give (Tulane) credit."
Roberts and Russell Larson finished with 20 points each, while Robbie Reid had 19 points, six assists and five steals. The trio accounted for 59 points, while the other seven players who saw action managed a grand total of 11.
A clearly discouraged Robbie Reid, who said basketball is his No. 1 priority unlike most of his teammates, scored 13 second-half points to almost single-handedly keep the Cougars in the game.
"Robbie did an outstanding job handling the different defenses that we threw at him," Clark said. "We'd try to wear him down and make him play a little faster than he was used to, but he did a great job as far as handling it and helping them execute."
While Robbie broke out of a bit of a shooting slump, going 8 for 12, his two backcourt mates - Randy Reid and Craig Wilcox - had it rougher. BYU's two shooting guards made just a combined 1 of 10 from the field.
Tulane shot 25 free throws to BYU's 10 for the game.
"I would have liked to have gone to the line a little bit," Roger Reid said. "We were going inside and trying to create some fouls, but evidently they played really tenacious defense and blocked some of our shots (without fouling)."
In the first half Tulane led by as many as six points, at 29-23, after a Honeycutt 3-pointer with 4:53 to play, but the Cougars battled back. Robbie Reid made a pair of 3-pointers in the final 4:11 - the second one, with under a minute to go, gave BYU a 36-35 halftime advantage.
Roberts was perfect in the first half, making 8-of-8 from the field for 16 points, while Larson scored 12 before the break.
GAME NOTES: For four seniors - Larson, Wilcox, Shane Knight and Mark Durrant - Thursday was their final game for BYU. "I'd like to thank the seniors. I appreciate what they've done for the program," Roger Reid said. "It's tough to lose guys like this." . . . Reid's BYU teams are now 2-5 in NCAA games . . . The Tulane band, located behind the BYU basket in the first half, held up pictures of Memphis' favorite son - Elvis Presley - to try to distract the Cougs as they shot free throws. Perhaps it worked, as the best free throw shooting team in the nation (77 percent) made just 50 percent on the night.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Bad day for locals
Utah State bows to Illinois State in NIT, see Page D10.
Utah women lose to SW Missouri State in Colorado, see Page D3.