Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
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Now dealing with another injury on his already thin front line, BYU head basketball coach Dave Rose leads his team back out on the conference road this week, for games at Portland and league-leading Gonzaga.
Starting forward and occasional center Nate Austin was scheduled for x-rays on an injured left ankle, after hurting it early in Tuesday afternoon's Marriott Center practice. The injury forced Austin to miss most of the session, as he did not return to the floor.
Rose acknowledged that the injury could impact how well his team is able to play this weekend, starting Thursday.
"Portland will be all we can handle," said Rose after practice. "Hopefully we'll be at full force, and that's kind of an issue. You just kind of worry about if Nate is actually going to play and how good he'll be."
"I want these guys to have the very best opportunity as possible, so those things are really important."
Rose said with regard to the injury that "hopefully we keep the swelling under control, and just go from there. We'll see what the doctors have to say."
(TUESDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Rose said during his weekly radio show on KSL that x-rays on Austin's ankle came back negative, indicating only a sprain)
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Health concerns aside, it's a confident and resurgent BYU team that takes to the road tomorrow. The Cougars have won five games in a row after opening West Coast Conference play at 0-2, and with wins at Portland and Gonzaga, BYU would return to Provo assured of a spot in first place atop the league standings.
"I think our guys are in a pretty good mindset right now...(but) this is a marathon," said Rose on Tuesday, adding that while the first game of the weekend is "really important and we want to give it our best effort...it's not going to make or break our season--but we want to play like it does, then deal with the results and move forward from there."
"We know this is an important time of the season...and we were hoping that we'd get to this point and this road trip would be a crucial part of (the season)--you want it to mean something. And we're right in the middle of this thing, so hopefully we can play well and have good results.
"It's a difficult road trip, there is no question about it."
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About the Pilots (11-8 overall, 3-4 WCC), Rose said "they have been really consistent in their personnel," noting that head coach Eric Reveno's team has started the same lineup in all 19 games.
"I think that has given them a lot of confidence, especially in the last couple of weeks."
BYU has won all nine games in the all-time series with Portland, who earlier this season led at Michigan State before fading late in an 82-67 setback; Rose said "the first three quarters (of the game) they played at Michigan State might be as impressive as any 30 minutes of basketball we've seen from any team in our league."
Portland also owns a home win over Gonzaga--the Bulldogs' lone conference loss this season, which also snapped their 22-game conference win streak.
The Pilots are led in scoring by wing Kevin Bailey (17.2 points per game), while inside players Ryan Nicholas (12.7 ppg) and Thomas Van Der Mars (12.3 ppg) comprise a veteran front court that gobbles up rebounds.
"The challenge will be trying to figure out a way to handle those post guys in the low post and the high post," says Rose, "and still handle their guards."
"This Portland team is built to win. Hopefully we can play well and be successful up there."
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You can hear post-practice interviews with Rose, guards Tyler Haws and Matt Carlino, and center Eric Mika, in "Cougar Cuts," above left."
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