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PROVO — With the 2013-14 BYU basketball season now in the rearview mirror, it’s time for fans, media and the Cougar coaches to reflect on a year filled with peaks and valleys. As I try to think of a way that best describes this past season, I keep coming back to only one word: successful.
It always stings when your team’s season is done, but I was surprised by the number of BYU fans who expressed an overall sense of disappointment in this year’s team. Yes, there were some disappointing aspects and stretches during the year, but to me, I don’t think you can view the Cougars’ season as anything other than a success.
The Cougars played one of the nation’s toughest non-conference schedules. The beat Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., and got a neutral-site victory over Texas in Kansas City. The Cougars also played Wichita State tough and should have beaten Iowa State in Provo, losing by just two points.
The obvious low point of the season was BYU’s four-game losing streak at the end of December where it lost at Utah, Oregon (in OT), Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine. BYU was at a crossroads heading into 2014, but the Cougar coaches were determined to right the ship quickly.
That change came in the form of a new starting lineup. Kyle Collinsworth was moved to the point-guard position, utilizing Matt Carlino off the bench, and Skyler Halford was inserted into the starting lineup as the shooting guard. Those changes not only helped BYU win its next five games, it also set the tone for the rest of the season.
BYU head coach Dave Rose talked about ‘reinventing’ his team several times this season. That initial change to the starting lineup was the first of three significant moves that Rose made. Eventually, Anson Winder would replace Halford at the shooting-guard position, and for the final three regular-season games and the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament, Eric Mika came off the bench. To be able to make that many changes on the fly that worked in BYU’s favor speaks volumes about the job the coaching staff did with this group.
Despite all of the changes, BYU played its best basketball down the stretch. The Cougars won eight of their final nine games heading into the conference tournament, which included a win over Saint Mary’s in Moraga, Calif., and a victory over Gonzaga at the Marriott Center.
Since joining the WCC in 2011, BYU had never finished higher than third in the conference standings and had never advanced past the semifinals of the conference Tournament. This year’s Cougar team finished second in the WCC and played in the title game against Gonzaga.
Just like every team in college basketball, the goal every year is to make it to the NCAA tournament. After a one-year hiatus, the Cougars found themselves back in the big dance. While most had resigned themselves to BYU playing in the play-in game as an No. 11 or No. 12 seed, the selection committee rewarded the Cougars season and strength of schedule with a No. 10 seed and a rematch with the Ducks.
The absence of Collinsworth due to injury, a poor shooting display and a very good Ducks team were all reasons why the Cougars were eliminated from the field of 64. However, the ending doesn't take away from what the 2013-14 Cougar basketball team accomplished.
Even though there were disappointing losses along the way, let’s not forget that BYU had zero seniors on the roster and successfully utilized a freshman big man to replace a player that is now playing in the NBA.
This year’s Cougar team dealt with lineup changes and the toughest non-conference schedule they’ve ever played, and it still found a way get further in the WCC tournament than they’ve ever gotten and make it back to the NCAA tourney.
That sounds like a pretty successful season to me.
