MALIBU, Calif. — For the first time this season, BYU has back-to-back road games on the same weekend.
The Cougars visit Pepperdine Thursday (9 p.m., MST, ESPNU) before playing at San Francisco Saturday night.
“It’s a road trip that will kind of define us — where we are, where we need to be and what we can do,” said coach Dave Rose.
BYU (17-8, 8-4), which sits in third place in the West Coast Conference standings, has dropped three straight games at Pepperdine. The Cougars haven’t won a game at Firestone Fieldhouse since Matt Carlino drilled a game-winning 3-pointer with 12.1 seconds left during a 63-61 victory in 2013.
The Cougars fell last year at Pepperdine 71-65. What does guard Nick Emery remember about that loss?
“I just remember that we didn’t rebound the ball in the first half. That's a huge emphasis coming into this game, rebounding the ball,” Emery said. “Once we rebound we get easy points and we get into the flow of our offense and it’s easier to score. That’s one thing we’ve got to focus on. It’s a cool atmosphere right on the beach. I love playing at Pepperdine. It’s a great experience.”
Forward Eric Mika also suffered a loss the last time he visited Pepperdine — three years ago.
“I remember losing. I don’t really remember why,” Mika recalled. “I also remember getting a technical foul. I didn’t have the best game, obviously.”
Not only have the Cougars struggled with the Waves at Firestone Fieldhouse, but they are 2-3 away from home in WCC play this season.
“It’s hard to get up on the road. You can see it in a lot of different years. For whatever reason it is, we need to let it go, learn from the games we’ve lost on the road to teams that we should beat that we’ve beaten here at home, that we’ve played a lot different against here at home,” Mika said. “I think coach Rose said it best. He said, ‘This week and these games are a lot more about us than they are about the other team. We’ve got to play our game, we have that mental edge going into it and we have to stick with it.'”
Why has BYU been unable to win at Pepperdine in recent years?
“It’s a really athletic team. Year in and year out, they have athletic guys who cause us problems,” Rose said. “They cause us problems (at home) too. It’s not just (in Malibu). Their size over the years — not so much their height but their physical strength — has caused us to either speed up or not be able to function in situations in the half court. They get through screens, they’re tough and physical and they’re athletic.”
BYU will rely on establishing a presence inside in order to break that losing streak at Pepperdine.
“The times that we’ve been successful (at Pepperdine) is when we can throw the ball inside and score around the basket,” Rose said. “I think that will be important for us to get at the rim anyway we can — dribble penetration, throwing the ball into the post.”
The Waves opened the season with a 4-1 record before losing senior guard Amadi Udenyi to a season-ending injury. Pepperdine (7-17, 3-9) has posted a 3-16 record since.
Swingman Lamond Murray Jr. is the reigning WCC Player of the Week after he averaged 24 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists last week. But Pepperdine has other talented players, including Chris Reyes (13.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Jeremy Major (12.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg).
“I also think that in the past, their depth has been terrific,” Rose said of the Waves. “They’ve had some injuries this year that’s affected their depth. They always have one or two guys who can really score the ball and five or six complementary guys who are really good, offensive players. The combination between those two things have caused us not to be able to get into the rhythm that we like.”
BYU is coming off three straight home games and hoping to build some momentum heading into the WCC tournament in Las Vegas in a little less than a month.
“It’s been good playing at home and getting back to the way we play and playing in front of our fans,” Emery said. “It’s good motivation and it’s a confidence-booster. To get back on the road and have the doubleheader, we’re going to have to be ready but we’re definitely looking forward to it.”