BYU says goodbye to seniors, but not the hopes of NCAA tournament bid


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PROVO — According to BYU basketball coach Dave Rose, the past week has played out as one of the best of the season for the Cougars.

They won both of their games, and held onto third place in the West Coast Conference standings. But, Rose also noted last week is behind them, and now the focus is San Diego coming to the Marriott Center Thursday night.

“Our Monday and Tuesday practice is all on San Diego," Rose said. "We are trying to accomplish some real important things with this team.”

First, Rose said San Diego beat BYU in San Diego early on in the year, putting the Cougars on edge as far as if they can beat them this time around. Secondly, Rose said they have been in this position four times so far in the season where they are on a three-game winning streak and fail to win the fourth game.

“We have to prove to ourselves that we can find a way to stay focused, make a plan and then prepare to perform in a way that will help us win a game,” said Rose.

Part of BYU’s preparation has been rebounding the ball. Rose said clean defensive rebounds is what BYU has struggled with this season in particular.

BYU's rebounding struggles began with the loss of forward Nate Austin to injury. He was averaging 7.9 rebounds a game.

BYU has also struggled with consistent baskets coming from a low-post scorer, even with center Corbin Kaufusi and forward Josh Sharp stepping up to make big plays in the paint.

“Rebounding is always important to our program but never as important as it is this year,” said Rose. “And especially those clean rebounds where we can actually get the ball out and actually get some easy looks either from the perimeter or at the rim.”

Overall, BYU’s fast-paced style of play has proven a lethal tactic, usually giving the Cougars opportunities to close out games with solid wins. It also has given BYU the advantage of allowing its big players to stay out of foul trouble and get some depth from the bench in places it needs a lift.

Thursday’s game is not only on the team’s mind because they need a win, but it is also senior night. It has been two years since BYU basketball has hosted a senior night, making this game anything but short on emotions.

Seniors Tyler Haws, Skylar Halford, Josh Sharp and Anson Winder will take to the Marriott Center court one last time with their team.

The night will not necessarily be all about the senior players though, as junior Chase Fischer has been playing some of his best basketball in the last three games.

“Chase has had a terrific year for us, and I think that right now his confidence is at a season-high, and I think that Chase and the style and emotion that he brings to a game hopefully can really have an effect on our team,” said Rose.

Fischer has become known throughout the season to be BYU’s 3-point shooter. He hit four threes in last week’s game against Pacific. With a total of 84 3-pointers this season, Fischer is behind just three BYU players who have made more 3-pointers in a season. He is not just a one-trick pony, though. He makes sure his game is more about the team than anything else.

“I think the position that we are in adds a little bit more pressure,” said Fischer. “Every game is a must and you can get caught up in it and get really stressed out but just being able to play with such a great group of guys at a great university you kind of have to step back and look at it from the big picture.”

BYU’s last three regular-season games are its last attempts at building a resume for an NCAA tournament bid. A tournament run this season would be huge for the Cougars and something the team is looking to clinch despite some unfortunate losses and hardships it has faced.

“I have been trying to really pour out everything I have these past couple of weeks, and hopefully we can make something special happen,” said Fischer. “We have a really special group so hopefully we can.”

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Katie Nielson

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