Cougars looking forward to home games


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PROVO — If you feel like it's been awhile since BYU has played at the Marriott Center, you would be correct. Since the start of the new year, the Cougars has been on the road five of the seven games they have played.

That is all about to change.

To close out the rest of conference play, the Cougars leave home for just three of the remaining 10 games. On his weekly show this week from Malawi's Pizza, coach Dave Rose said, "I think we have some energy from what could be the possibility of a good run from our schedule, and hopefully we take advantage of that."

One of the biggest benefits to having such a road-heavy schedule this far into the season is that the tough stretch is over. BYU is much more confident at home, and it shows. This season, BYU is outscoring teams by an average of 20.4 points in the Marriott Center.

Another benefit to having played on the road so much is becoming battle tested and learning what you are made of when things get tough. When talking about last weekend's split to Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine, Rose said, "I really saw a side of our players that really gives me a lot of encouragement, they dug in and really relied on each other and trusted each other."

The trust in each other is something that is vital in finishing conference play strong heading into the conference tournament in Las Vegas this March. As trust continues to build, so does the confidence in each other.

Rose talked about how this confidence is key for the younger players to continue to progress and help the team.

"Hopefully, we'll get home and some of these guys that have played some minutes but haven't played as many minutes as they would like can experience some real success, and that will expand our bench," Rose said.

One of those players Rose looks forward to see gain some confidence is Jakob Hartsock.

"He's got really good talent," Rose said. "I think that right now the way that things sit with our team and a few games at home where younger guys usually preform a lot better, we will see what he can do with some minutes. Hopefully it will turn out to give us a lot more depth. It's all up to him now, because I think that he will actually have an opportunity to get out there and play."

The Cougars have the opportunity to play the same two teams this week that they played last week. This is something that happens every season in conference play due to the way the schedule is formatted. This opportunity presents a challenge about game planning.

"It's still on your mind, the adjustments that were made during the game and how you reacted to them," Rose said of the challenge. "So I've spent more time thinking about what the other coach is thinking, and that's really a little bit unusual."

Although nether LMU nor Pepperdine have been know as West Coast Conference powerhouses since the Cougars have joined the conference, things are changing in a positive favor for both teams as of late. LMU has already passed its win total for all of last year and currently stands at 10-10. Meanwhile, Pepperdine is third in the conference and the only team to beat both BYU and Saint Mary's.

BYU has found success in finishing the season strong the last few years. As mentioned by Greg Wrubell, the Cougars have been able to close the season 8-1 the last two years.

While it's nice to finally be home and to have the support of local fans, Rose knows there is still a lot ahead for the Cougars.

"The important thing now is you just got to win," Rose said. "You got to win every game, and you've got to concentrate on the next game and not get ahead of yourself and try and predict what is going to happen somewhere else or with another team."


Andrew is a recent graduate of Brigham Young University-Idaho. He is an intern for KSL Sports Radio. Andrew lives in Springville, Utah, with his wife and son. Follow him on Twitter @Drewthehoop.

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