Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
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Don't look now, but at the end of today's entry, I'll share a trivial tidbit that will have Cougar fans bragging a bit. Wait for it.
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Meantime, what a night for the Cougars last night at the Marriott Center... a remarkable win in an unusual way.
Remarkable because BYU has now won 45 straight at home, a Rose-era record 9 in a row overall, and 4 in a row over the Runnin' Utes--BYU's first back-to-back regular season sweeps in 28 years.
Unusual, because the Cougars actually had to struggle to put a team away in Provo. Consider that over the 44-consecutive home wins prior to last night, BYU had won 32 of the games by 10 points or more, averaging 82 points a game in the process. Last night, BYU scored 67, and never led by more than the final margin of 8 points.
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A few observations, beyond the ones shared on the broadcast last night:
1) Ute head coach Jim Boylen is an interesting guy. On one level, I like him because he consents to pregame interviews(not every head coach does so), and during these conversations, he's engaging, affable and generally fun to talk to. I also think he's a genuine guy, and honestly passionate about the sport he coaches and the players on his team. He's also entertaining, especially if you enjoy sideline animation and post-game pep talks.
On another level, Boylen is just enough of a wild card to have rubbed a few people the wrong way in his short time on the job. Cynics will immediately point to Boylen's courtside microphone grabbing at the Huntsman Center, wondering at what point Boylen will cease the public address cheerleading and simply "act like he's been there before," for lack of a more appropriate phrase. Perhaps it's the fact that such a practice is so rare in big-time college basketball that Boylen's crowd-pleasing antics seem so odd. After all, it's happening after every home game now, or so it would seem, and I have to think that even die-hard Utes are wondering when he's going to simply shake hands and head to the lockerroom. I understand the emotions are real and he is trying to be himself and energize the fan base.
Then, there was something that happened last night that may have escaped your attention, if you were in attendance at the Marriott Center, and it may have crossed the line from strange, to unsporting. Just before the start of the second half, Boylen approached referee Scott Thornley and told him he wanted to talk to the officials. Thornley said "not without Dave Rose," and Thornley brought both coaches together at the scorer's table. Boylen then proceeded to recite a laundry list of grievances about the way the first half was officiated, listing BYU's per game averages and comparing them to the Cougars' 1st half numbers, with the implication being that the officials were favoring BYU, and that it needed to change in the second half. I had never seen such a meeting take place, and neither had Rose.
It's one thing to make in-game observations to an official within the limits of decorum, and another to call a conference to instruct the officials how to administer a game. The officials told Rose they weren't going to call the game any differently in light of Boylen's complaints, but you'd have a tough time convincing me they weren't thinking about what Boylen said as the whistles were blown in the second half.
While I like and respect Thornley, as soon as it was apparent what Boylen was doing, he probably should have shut the gathering down.
No secret that I think the world of Dave Rose, and I think Boylen's tactics were somewhat disrespectful of Rose and his team, and for a "rookie" in the league to come into someone's building and pull that off was presumptuous at best. Boylen clearly thought the 32-10 free throw advantage BYU enjoyed was the reason his team lost. And while he allowed reporters to allude to the disparity in his postgame remarks, Boylen was cryptic in his assessment of the officiating.
I really don't dislike the guy, but suffice it to say that his original way of doing things may at times make him either a sideline sideshow or a fuse for some potentially combustible situations in the future. Stay tuned.
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2) It's purely speculation on my part, but I wouldn't be surprised if we've seen the last of Michael Loyd in a close game for while, and may have seen the emergence of Jimmer Fredette as a spot replacement for Ben Murdock at the point. While Murdock needed an early sit-down to slow down after a couple of early turnovers, going to Loyd turned out to be a move that failed to pay any dividends. While Loyd only played 3 minutes, he took 3 shots and missed all 3, including an open lay-in. Loyd is not on the floor to shoot, having taken all of 7 shots in 10 conference games going into last night. His perimeter defense was lacking, and in short, he's been the one freshman who simply hasn't "found his feet" this season. To be fair, his position is perhaps the most pressure-packed, and it takes time to adjust to quarterbacking a team at the D1 level, with only limited floor time.
As the primary backup point guard, Loyd is averaging a turnover for every 8.5 minutes of play, while starter Ben Murdock averages one giveaway for every 18.4 minutes on the floor. With Fredette showing an ability to play the point in limited time (it was Fredette and not Loyd who spelled Murdock in the second half), it could be that Loyd's only appearances will be limited to late in games with comfortable cushions. Looking down the line, Loyd may be developed as a shooting guard, with Lamont Morgan likely to emerge as the top candidate at point next season. Time will tell whether Fredette ends up playing as a combo guard next year, giving Dave Rose a change of pace at the point while competing for the starting "2" spot.
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3) BYU takes a 2-game conference lead into the final 5 games of the regular season. In Rose's first year, BYU went 5-0 in the final five, and 4-1 in the final five last season. If BYU goes at least 3-2 this season, the worst the Cougars could do is tie for the conference crown--and that's assumuing UNLV goes undefeated the rest of the way, which is unlikely. A 4-1 finish would clinch an outright regular season title. So, BYU's "magic numbers" are as follows:
over UNLV: 3 to clinch a share, 4 to clinch outright (eliminate UNLV from title contention).
over New Mexico: 3 to eliminate
over San Diego State: 2 to eliminate
over Utah: 2 to eliminate
Air Force, TCU, Wyoming and are already mathematically eliminated from title contention.
The "magic number" is any combination of BYU wins and losses by the team in question totalling the number listed.
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Trivia Time--
How many schools nationally can claim both:
a football team that has won at least 11 games and a bowl game in each of the last 2 seasons,
and a basketball team that has already won at least 20 games in each of the last two seasons?
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Answer: One. BYU. Pretty interesting, no? USC (15 wins currently) and West Virginia (18 wins) can join that exclusive club by the end of the season.
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