Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
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Well, here are are again. BYU and UNLV, both teams assured of a spot in the NCAA Tournament, playing for the MWC Tournament Championship.
After its win over San Diego State last night, BYU is now 10-2 in MWC Tournament games at the Thomas and Mack Center versus teams not named UNLV. BYU is in the tourney finals for a fourth time in the six years the event has been staged in Las Vegas.
After its win over Utah, UNLV has now advanced to the tourney finals every year the tournament has been staged on the Rebels' home floor (five times in five years--UNLV was ineligible in 2001).
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BYU and UNLV are meeting for a 3rd time in the tourney title game--BYU is 0-2, losing in 2000 and again last year.
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Flashing back to last night for a moment, Dave Rose showed again why he is a premier coach, and a few things stand out:
-his adjustments on Lorrenzo Wade, giving him different defensive looks, including having 6'11" Trent Plaisted use his length and agility to stay with Wade from the arc on in.
-his halftime lockerroom work. In the CSU game, a so-so first half resulted in a calm reminder of what BYU needed to do in the second half, and his team responded. Last night, he loudly got into his team at the break (yes, he was yelling), telling them in no uncertain terms that they were not playing the kind of basketball that put them in the position they are right now. And again, his team responded.
-his personnel moves in the post. Trent Plaisted played 31 minutes, Chris Miles played 9 minutes. But Miles was in the game in one of the most crucial stretches, and he made all three of his shots in that time. Was Plaisted itching to get back in? Absolutely. Was Rose going to favor the all-conference junior over the return missionary sophomore who was playing well? No. Not until Rose was ready to make his move. And when he did, Plaisted came in fired up and immediately scored 7 points in 2 and a half minutes. Similarly, Jonathan Tavernari watched as Chris Collinsworth put in a 3-point, 2-rebound performance while JT sat to think about a quick shot or two. Coach Dave Rose knows the game, and he knows his team. And so far, he's making all the right moves.
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BYU now has the best 33-game record in program history at 27-6. Let that sink in for a moment.
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Quick thoughts about the Utah-UNLV game last night...
I was surprised Luke Nevill only played 29 minutes without being in any kind of foul trouble. It is true that he failed to find Rene Rougeau (allowing him to grab 6 offensive rebounds), and it's also true that double teams were aggressive, but I thought he would be in a little more. Coach Boylen went offense/defense with him late, subbing him out 5 times in the final 7:35.
The Rebels aren't deep (they played 7 guys), they're not tall (Darger's the center), but what they are is fanatical in their effort--they play with absolutely psycho intensity for 40 minutes. It was interesting to watch a game without having to call the play-by-play, because I could just focus on how they play. And it's something to behold up close. They're coordinated, they're athletic, they have special players in Adams, Terry and Rougeau, and when that crowd gets into it, well... you know how it gets. BYU will have its hands full (as always) tonight. I'm looking forward to it!
I feel real good about my vote putting Rene Rougeau on the all-conference third team (he ended up as an honorable mention selection). Rougeau had 12 points and 11 rebounds (including those 6 offensive boards) in 33 minutes of play last night.
Then, there is this: on 22 field goals made last night, UNLV had 5 assists. The point guard had no assists. That, too is UNLV. The Rebels excel in one-on-one play and scoring hustle points outside the flow of the offense.
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It's been a rough week for Joe Lunardi. ESPN's "bracketologist" has had BYU in incorrect regions, facing impossible opponents, and now, he has outdone himself. In his latest update, he has dropped BYU from a 6 seed to an 8 seed--this after BYU won twice this weekend to advance to tonight's tourney title tilt. I know it's tough to slot every team, and sometimes you get left having to "plug someone in somewhere," but honestly: dropping two spots? C'mon, Joe!
The way I see it, with a win tonight, BYU will be a 6 or maybe even a 5. With a loss, the Cougars will be a 7. BYU got an 8 last year, and the Cougars' record and profle is better this year, so I'm hoping for a bump. We'll see who's right tomorrow...
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Finally, since I've been asked about this by more than a couple of people in the last couple of weeks, I figured I could use this space to clear up a slight misconception--
I've been approached and asked if I have actually knocked my headset off during a couple of the more "exuberant" moments of the broadcast in the last few weeks. While it might be fun to imagine me getting so excited I either:
a) smack myself in the head with glee
or
b) begin whipping my head around with sheer delight
neither of those things has actually occurred.
--
Without getting too technical, what we hear in our headsets courtside is what we are "receiving" (i.e. the sound of our voices, court sounds, crowd, etc.). What you hear on the radio is what we are "sending" (everything I jut mentioned, transmitted over what is called an ISDN line). What has happened at least a couple of times in the last couple of weeks is this:
during a couple of moments of "high excitement," the signal has become overmodulated (for lack of a better term), and the ISDN line has experienced momentary instability, resulting in a "crackling" of "crunching" sound lasting a couple of seconds as the line renegotiates its cycle rate. This shouldn't happen, and measures are being taken to assure that the broadcast console/ISDN line/studio levels are all in coordination to prevent reoccurrences. And again, at the time, we on the headset had no idea there were any interruptions whatsoever, since we are hearing what is being sent, and not what is being received (in other words, we hear the "clean signal," not the one you are hearing on your radio/computer).
Wow, that was a long answer to a short question. But I figured if wat least a few of you were curious about it, perhaps more of you might be. Just a peek "behind the curtain," as it were.
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