BYU basketball: Three takeaways from the first 10 games of the season
BYU basketball has an 8-2 record through its first 10 games. Here’s what we’ve learned from the first third (or so) of the 2017-18 season.
BYU basketball has gotten off to a solid 8-2 start to the season – not too shabby for a squad that lost Eric Mika and NIck Emery in the offseason.
But as West Coast Conference play approaches, we’ve gotten plenty of looks at the Cougars. So now we have a pretty good idea of what this team is (and isn’t).
Here are the three biggest takeaways regarding the Cougar Cagers.
No. 1: BYU basketball plays… defense?
It feels weird to say, because the Cougars left a lot to be desired on the defensive end last season. But while their defensive efficiency numbers are pretty similar (before BYU basketball defeated Weber State it was ranked 82nd in the nation – which was the same spot the team finished in the year before), the on-court product looks different.
Maybe it was a case of recency bias. After all, the last two times we saw BYU basketball last season, the team was getting shellacked.
But everything looks and feels different this season. The Cougars can win games shooting 25 percent from 3-point range. They can get ugly and gritty and grind out victories – and that’s something that didn’t seem possible a season ago.
Huge credit to assistant coach Heath Schroyer, who has apparently brought about a pretty major change in the culture.
No. 2: Dalton Nixon is going to contribute in a big way
Coming into the season, the second-unit was covered in questions. No one was entirely sure how Jahshire Hardnett would play. If Payton Dastrup would solidify himself as the third big man.
Now we know how that second unit looks. And it looks pretty good – in large part due to the play of tweener forward Dalton Nixon.
Nixon missed the Beehive Classic matchup with the Weber State Wildcats with a foot/ankle injury, and his absence showed on the court.
He’s made a name for himself this season by winning the vast majority of hustle plays and 50-50 balls that come his way. It’s pretty clear his play fires up the rest of the roster.
On the season, Nixon is averaging 6.7 points per game and 3.7 rebounds. He’s shooting an impressive 54 percent and is playing nearly 18 minutes per game.
Hopefully he gets healthy in time for the Holy War game on Saturday.
No. 3: BYU basketball is capable of making a run
The Cougars are good. How good? Well, not quite good enough to beat NCAA Tournament teams (UT-Arlington), but good enough to really hang with them (Alabama). So, could this team continue to gel, leading up to a WCC Tournament upset?
Maybe, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The ‘run’ I’m referring to is the regular season.
BYU basketball currently sits at 8-2. If the Cougars can defeat Utah in Provo, that’s 9-2. Idaho State, Texas Southern and Portland are all (very) likely wins. That’s 12-2. Playing St. Mary’s on Dec. 30 is a tall order, so let’s call it a loss. The next six games are very winnable, so you’re looking at a potential 18-3 record, with each loss coming to a solid NCAA Tournament team. Another loss in Moraga puts the Cougars at 18-4, but two more wins against bottom-feeder WCC teams gives you a potential 20-4 BYU basketball team hosting a Top 25 Gonzaga Bulldogs squad.
That’s a matchup that would turn heads.
Basically, it comes down to this for the Cougars: defeat the teams you’re supposed to. Don’t slip up and let a bad WCC team blow your doors off. Because if BYU wraps up the season with six losses (UT-Arlington, Alabama, St. Mary’s twice and Gonzaga twice), that’s a team on the bubble for the Big Dance.
Can the Cougars do it? Absolutely. Will they? We’ll have to find out.