Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
With UNLV and Utah already knocking off Top 20 teams this week, it's up to BYU to maintain the mojo in Provo.
Saturday night at a "whited-out" Marriott Center, BYU welcomes #6 Wake Forest, and one of the biggest lineups in all of college basketball.
*******
The Demon Deacons sport six players standing 6'9" or taller, with four players topping 6'11". The height advantage has not surprisingly shown up in a number of categories that have helped pace the Deacs to a 12-0 record.
Wake Forest is in the top 5 nationally in rebounds per game and rebound margin, averaging 44 boards per contest, and outrebounding opponents by better than 10 caroms a game.
Four times this season, Wake has had a rebound margin of 20-plus, but the Deacs are prone to lapses, as they were outrebounded by Radford (45-39) in their last outing.
*******
Wake Forest's domination in the paint shows up at the free throw line, where Wake has made more free throws (232) than its foes have attempted (215). The Deacons average 19.3 points a game from the stripe, to their opponents' 11.5 (BYU, by comparison, averages 15 points a game from the free throw line). In two seasons under head coach Dino Gaudio, Wake is 23-4 when attempting more freebies than its opponents.
All told, 54% of Wake Forest's scoring comes in the paint, to its opponents' 38%. BYU has scored only 37% of its total points from inside the painted area.
*******
Where BYU can hope to have an advantage Saturday night is in trading Wake Forest "twos" for Cougar "threes."
Wake attempts an average of fewer than 12 three-pointers per game, and shoots only 34% from the arc. BYU puts up better than 20 three-point attempts per game, and shoots 38% from outside.
*******
Saturday night's game matches the second- and third-best shooting teams in the country. Wake Forest's impressive 51.3% number from the field is topped by BYU's 52.1%.
*******
Where BYU must do a better job is in cleaning the defensive glass. After allowing the opposition only 51 offensive rebounds in the first seven games (7.3/gm), BYU has allowed 68 offensive rebounds in the last five (13.6/gm), and the Cougars are minus-44 in second-chance points over that span. Over the last five games, opponents have gained offensive rebounds on 40% of their missed shots (BYU rebounds 33% of its misses).
Wake Forest, meantime, has gained offensive rebounds on 44% of its misses this season; so if BYU thought if teams like Tulsa and Arizona State were making the Cougars pay on the glass, they ain't seen nothin' yet.
*******
In the last three games, BYU's opponents have taken 33 more shots than the Cougars, while committing 10 fewer turnovers. Normally, such numbers would not bode well for BYU, but the Cougars' 55% shooting in those games has negated the possession differential. BYU's long-term success will require better rebounding and more care with the basketball.
*******
Interesting note: under Gaudio, Wake Forest has never won a game (0-11) when trailing with 10:00 minutes to play; Wake is 29-2 when leading at that point.
*******
This year's Demon Deacon team looks a lot like last year's--only better. Every important player is back from last year's 17-13 team; 99% of last year's scoring is back this year, as are 97% of the rebounds, 99.4% of the assists, 99.6% of the steals, 99% of the blocked shots, and 98% of the total minutes played.
*******
Wake Forest has beaten a Top 20 team (Baylor) on a neutral floor, but while BYU is unranked, Saturday's game will be the toughest test the Deacons have faced this season, in part because Wake is attempting to snap the nation's longest homecourt win streak (53 games). Wake is 12-0 and has the second-longest current win streak in the country (12 games), but the Deacs' relatively weak schedule has Wake behind BYU in the latest RPI rankings (41st, to BYU's 33rd).
*******
Speaking of RPI (courtesy realtimerpi.com), the MWC has three teams in the top 50 (BYU-33, Utah-36, UNLV-49) and four in the top 70 (SDSU-69), with only one of its teams (Air Force) outside the top 150. The MWC is 6th as a conference, ahead of the SEC and behind the Pac 10.
*******
Jonathan Tavernari is rounding out his game. In the latest stats (updated after games on Dec. 31), JT is in the top 5 in the MWC in scoring (3rd), rebounding (4th), steals (2nd), and 3-point fg made (2nd). He is making a strong bid to join Lee Cummard on the all-conference first team in a couple of months.
Cummard, by the way, is 2nd in the MWC in scoring, 10th in rebounding, 3rd in fg%, 5th in ft%, 9th in assists per game, 9th in blocked shots and 3rd in assist/turnover ratio. That, my friends, is well-rounded.
*******
