BYU’s basketball team is no longer on the side of a milk carton. It may have taken 26 games, but the Cougars (16-10, 6-5) have been found and by all accounts from their recent homestand, they are alive and well.
Most importantly, they know who they are — and just in time. BYU is beginning the final stretch of its schedule leading up to its final West Coast Conference Tournament.
The Cougars aren’t contending for one of the top two seeds — but having lost one-point decisions to Saint Mary’s (57-56) and Gonzaga (75-74), they aren’t afraid of them either. What BYU is doing is making a strong play for a third-place finish and a first- and second-round bye in Las Vegas.
The narrow defeat to No. 15 Saint Mary’s (Jan. 28) showed the young but ever-aging Cougars they are good enough to hang with the best team in the WCC.
Thursday’s 28-point win against LMU proved that when limiting turnovers (7), BYU can dominate a team that had previously defeated them.
Saturday’s double-digit victory over Pacific is evidence that BYU’s defense, when fully engaged, can determine its fortunes. The Cougars held the nation’s 10th-ranked 3-point shooting team (38.9%) to just 15.4%, while forcing 18 turnovers (12 steals) and blocking five shots.
On the heels of those three consecutive performances, BYU can look at itself in the mirror and see a group of guys, providing they replicate the effort, that can leave the WCC with their one and only tournament championship.
It’s a tall task for one of the shortest rosters in the league that has managed to outhustle the others to rank among the top two in both offensive and defensive rebounds. The Cougars also sit at or near the top in defensive scoring, blocks, steals and assists.
Scoring points has been an issue all season, but when turnovers are kept at 12 or below, as has been the case the last three games, BYU has proven to be tough to beat.
Now comes a unique test. A road trip that takes the Cougars to the bottom of the conference Thursday at Pepperdine (8-17, 1-10) and back near the top Saturday at No. 16 Gonzaga (19-5, 8-2). While another win in Spokane on ESPN would warm the hearts of Cougar Nation, the contest in Malibu is more important — because it comes first, and when you are in a dogfight with six teams within two games of each other, there is little ground to give up.
BYU is 9-1 in its last 10 games against Pepperdine, including a 91-81 victory Jan. 14 in Provo, but the Cougars’ history at Firestone Arena has left them covered in burn scars. Since joining the WCC, the Cougars are a surprising 4-4 in Malibu.
The Waves are relishing their first WCC win of the year when they outlasted Portland Saturday night on Jevon Porter’s buzzer-beater in double overtime. Head coach Lorenzo Romar also knows they were within striking distance at the Marriott Center right up to the final minutes.
Thursday night could get interesting ahead of a Saturday showdown in Spokane that might be the Cougars final game in the Kennel. No WCC team has won more at Gonzaga since BYU joined the league than the Cougars.
BYU stunned the No. 3 Zags 73-70 in 2015. The following year, BYU beat No. 5 Gonzaga again, 69-68. The Cougars returned to Spokane in 2017 when the Zags were undefeated (29-0) and ranked No. 1 and beat them 79-71.
Interestingly, during BYU’s unprecedented three-year winning streak in Spokane, they went 0-3 at Pepperdine.
It’s coach Mark Pope’s job to keep the focus solely on Thursday, even if fans can’t help but look ahead. He knows that as fast as BYU discovered its identity, it could lose it again. All it will take is not enough rebounds and too many turnovers.
With March just three weeks away, time is running short. Teams that turn back now can get lost for good. The Cougars can’t afford to go back on the milk carton — or let the sweet taste of success turn sour.
Beat Pepperdine on Thursday and go take your best shot at the Zags and keep marching. That is the mission ahead for a team that hopes to be playing well enough to avoid having to play too early and too often in Las Vegas.
Dave McCann is a contributor to the Deseret News and is the studio host for “BYU Sports Nation Game Day,” “The Post Game Show,” “After Further Review,” and play-by-play announcer for BYUtv. He is also co-host of “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com.
