LAS VEGAS — By the time No. 15 BYU tips off its West Coast Conference semifinal game late Monday night, it will mark only the second game the Cougars will have played over a 16-day stretch.
Since upsetting Gonzaga on Feb. 22, BYU has had one contest: an 81-64 win at Pepperdine last Saturday.
“We’re in that weird spot where we’ve got to stay fresh and conditioned and sharp and hungry, not stale,” said coach Mark Pope.
“We want to go play. We’re trying to compete and get after it in practice. We’ll definitely be fired up when it’s time to go play.” — BYU forward Yoeli Childs
Forward Yoeli Childs doesn’t like having to wait until Monday (9:30 p.m. MST, ESPN2) to play after the No. 2 seeded Cougars earned a triple bye to the semifinals. Of the 10 WCC teams in this tournament, BYU will be the last to take the floor at Orleans Arena.
“It sucks. It’s great that we put ourselves in this position, but we’re all so competitive,” Childs said. “We want to go play. We’re trying to compete and get after it in practice. We’ll definitely be fired up when it’s time to go play.”
The No. 2 seed Cougars, riding a nine-game winning streak, will play the winner of Saturday night’s late game between No. 3 Saint Mary’s and No. 6 Pepperdine. The Waves beat No. 7 Santa Clara Friday night, 84-73.
Aside from the lack of games, BYU won’t practice on Sunday, of course, because of school policy. “We won’t have any live preparation after we find out who we’re going to play,” Pope said.
This kind of extended layoff can be a positive thing. Or it can be a negative thing. Will the Cougars be ready and rested? Or will they be rusty?
“There’s good things and bad things with the long rest period and the triple bye. It’s good because we’re a little banged up and it gives guys time to get healthy,” said guard Jake Toolson. “On the other hand, it’s making sure that we’re getting enough reps, making sure that we’re ready to go on Monday. The team we play will have already played a game. I’m not really worried about that because this team has shown that we’re ready to go every game. It’s just different. It’s a different part of the season. For a lot of us, it’s a new chapter in a season that we haven’t seen before. We want to make the most of it.”
Injured forward Dalton Nixon, who suffered a serious ankle injury on Feb. 13, isn’t expected to be available.
“He’s getting close. I don’t think there’s a chance he’ll play on Monday,” Pope said. “But if we can win some games, I think there’s maybe a chance he’s live for the week after (for the NCAA Tournament). That’s what I’m hoping for.”
Pope said because he has a veteran team with a bunch of seniors, he’s confident that the Cougars will be able to handle this unusual situation.
“We’ve had a lot of weird schedules this year. We had that stretch in December where we played once a week for three weeks,” he said. “The guys played some of their best basketball during that time, which gives us some confidence. We have the weird thing being off for eight days and the eighth day (a Sunday) we’re not even going to step on the court and we’ll play on the ninth day. That’s why you embrace all the different situations. The guys have done a great job of rewriting the script every time we’ve had weird scheduling things or tough challenges. That’s what they’ve done all season.”
“We’re just preparing the same way we have all season long. When we play the way we know we can and follow our defensive principles and share the ball, those things we’ve done all season long, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win, no matter who we play,” Toolson said. “When the next game is the biggest game, we have to be locked in. It helps us practice well and compete in practice and really have goals and have things in mind that we want to accomplish and get better at. It also helps us grow and not be complacent. It’s great that we finished out the conference the way we did. Now it’s time to do something else. We always have that mindset, thinking about the next challenge.”
This week, BYU has prepared for three teams on their side of the WCC Tournament bracket, knowing that Saint Mary’s has been the prohibitive favorite to advance to the semis.
“We’ve considered Pepperdine a lot. We just came off that game,” Pope said earlier in the week. “It’s league. Everybody knows everybody so there won’t be any huge surprises. We’re taking all those (teams) into account as we prepare.”
The Cougars are looking forward to playing Monday night after a long wait.
“You can’t help but feel the juice of March. It’s what we live for,” Pope said. “It’s Christmas every single day for six weeks if you do it right.”