With non-conference play behind them, the Cougars can now look ahead to the grind of conference season. BYU ended the non-conference win on a good note, with wins over Stanford and UMass. Those are BYU’s two best wins thus far.
The Cougars are coming off a season in which they went 13-5 in conference play; they were 9-0 and home, but a measly 4-5 on the road. That was good for second place in the WCC, but the Cougars will likely have to improve on that number if they want to make it in the tournament this year. Last year’s non-conference resume was better for the Cougars, so they will have to avoid so many bad losses if they want to find themselves on the right side of the bubble come March.
Here is a breakdown of each team, in the order of projected finish:
RPI: 261
Best Win: DePaul
One year after finishing last in the WCC, the Lions seemed destined to finish at the bottom once again. They lost their coach and one of the best players in the conference in Anthony Ireland. Sophomore Evan Payne has improved from an impressive freshman season. He is the 2nd leading scorer in the conference at 20.1 points per game. Evan Payne will be a lot of fun to watch in the coming years, but this team will have some growing pains along the way. They are a pesky team and put up a good fight against some of the tougher competition they saw this, but it is difficult seeing them finishing above the bottom two in the conference.
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10
Loyola Marymount Lions (4-8)
RPI: 261
Best Win: DePaul
One year after finishing last in the WCC, the Lions seemed destined to finish at the bottom once again. They lost their coach and one of the best players in the conference in Anthony Ireland. Sophomore Evan Payne has improved from an impressive freshman season. He is the 2nd leading scorer in the conference at 20.1 points per game. Evan Payne will be a lot of fun to watch in the coming years, but this team will have some growing pains along the way. They are a pesky team and put up a good fight against some of the tougher competition they saw this, but it is difficult seeing them finishing above the bottom two in the conference.