BYU basketball: Can Cougars finally overcome their WCC nemesis?

No team, not even Gonzaga, has had BYU basketball’s number like the Saint Mary’s Gaels. In their final chance to knock off their WCC rival, do the Cougars stand a chance?

BYU basketball has a matchup problem.

The fundamental identity of Saint Mary’s is, in almost every way, opposite to what the Cougars want to do. BYU wants to attack, attack, attack. Off misses and makes, in transition and half court, Dave Rose basketball wants to score and score a lot, to move bodies and the ball and put up the first good shot.

Saint Mary’s, however, has been described as a counter-punching team. They grind on offense and defense, making only the surest move at the best time. And the best time is always when the shot clock counter on TV turns red.

They are careful, studied, and wait patiently for the opponent to make a mistake. And then they stab that mistake with a knife.

Their system is admirable in its efficiency. It’s also, bar none, the most boring style of basketball in the college game.

But boring is in the eye of the beholder. No one can argue with the results of their balance and their patience, as almost no one not named Gonzaga has stood a chance against their plodding. Getting down by even ten points is essentially a death sentence.

Portland learned that Saturday. They had some early success, but one or two possessions without a basket, one or two for Saint Mary’s getting a three, and the jig was up. The Pilots gradually fell as frustration built against that glacial pace, that mechanical efficiency.

So if the Cougars want to have beaten every WCC team this season, and go on to the conference tournament finals, they will have to do it by beating the team that they are worst against. Like trying to fight water with fire.

BYU basketball’s shooters are going to have to be awfully hot to avoid being doused by one of the best defenses in the country.

Next: Cougars sneak by LMU, advance to SMC

In fact, it will take quite a perfect storm. The Cougars will have to shoot well and efficiently. They will also have to out rebound the Gaels, and turn them over much more than normal. But most of all, if they don’t want an early trip home from Vegas, it is essential that BYU basketball gets an early lead, and pulls the game toward their style and their pace.

I’ve heard it said that the answer to a question in an article title is always “NO.”  So do the Cougars stand a chance at overcoming the Gaels?

I answer with another question: Did they stand a chance at Gonzaga?