What if Brandon Davies wasn’t suspended from BYU basketball in 2011?

What Might Have Been

It’s not entire fair to put a Sweet 16 loss on a sophomore, but there’s no denying that Davies would’ve drastically improved BYU’s chances against Florida.

The Cougars struggled with the size of Gator forward Alex Tyus.

Tyus used his 6-foot-9, 225-pound frame to snag a game-high 17 rebounds, while adding 19 points. He was averaging just 5.7 rebounds per game entering the matchup with BYU.

Surely, if nothing else, Davies helps corral Tyus in the paint.

But one has to think that Davies would have added some scoring and rebounding as well.

BYU’s leading rebounder that night was Kyle Collinsworth. Granted, KC snagged 15 boards, but the Cougars needed more.

It’s also worth noting that Davies was an excellent passer. His presence down low, even if he wasn’t scoring the rock, would’ve been valuable.

James Anderson and Stephen Rodgers – the two that took on an expanded role in Davies’ absence – gave the Cougars just seven points and six rebounds.

With the way Davies had been playing before his suspension, that would’ve been a poor game from him.

What’s more realistic is something more like 10 points and eight rebounds. That’s about on par with his averages before the suspension. Plus, this doesn’t take into account the other things Davies might give BYU. Some defense in the paint, tipped balls, and crisp passing from down low.

Obviously this isn’t an exact science, and you can’t just add his projected point total on to BYU’s final score and judge things that way (but that would, in fact, give the Cougars a win).

So the million-dollar question is: Would Davies had given the Cougars a victory?

Ultimately, I think it would have. Davies was becoming the third best player on the roster, so adding him back would’ve made a world of difference. At the very least, he slows down Tyus – who was Florida’s best player that night.

Stay tuned next week when we return to What If Wednesday.