BYU basketball: The Tale of the Trey

With BYU basketball’s change of offensive scheme this season, it may seem that there’s less emphasis on the three-point shot. The numbers would disagree.

Looks can be deceiving.

This year has seen a complete overhaul in BYU basketball’s offensive scheme. Gone is the up-tempo, run-and-gun style of offense that was a hallmark of Dave Rose’s first 12 years at the Cougars’ helm.

Gone for the most part are the three-pointers early in the shot clock that could often lead to easy fastbreak opportunities for the opponent.

This is a much more deliberate offense, focused on moving the ball both side-to-side and inside-out, creating mismatches and opportunities to break the defense down and get good shots.

The eye test would tell Cougar fans that BYU is shooting fewer threes than past years, relying a lot more on post play and driving opportunities.

This is true. But it also isn’t.

This season, BYU basketball is averaging just over 18 three-point attempts per game. That’s less than all but three seasons under Dave Rose, and the least since 2013-14.

That team was led offensively by two mid-range maestros, Tyler Haws and Kyle Collinsworth. That Cougar squad only shot about 14 threes per game.

An Efficient Offense

But while the Cougars shooting less three-pointers this year, they’re also taking less shots overall.

Last year, BYU was 12th in the NCAA in possessions per game. This year they’re 298th.

Which means if you look at the percentage of BYU’s total shots that come from beyond the arc, it tells a different story.

34.6 percent of their shots come for three-point range. That’s the highest ratio from beyond the arc in the last three years.

And the Cougars are hitting those threes.

They’re shooting .388 from beyond the arc so far this year, which is tied for the fourth best percentage in the Dave Rose era.

Right now, BYU is 47th in the country offensively. It’s may not be an elite offense, but it’s a very good one.

And that’s with two of their most dangerous shooters, TJ Haws and Zac Seljaas, shooting below their capabilities.

On the bright side, both Haws and Seljaas have shot much better since conference play started. Thanks to that, BYU is shooting a blistering .407 from three in conference.

On the not-so-bright side, the Cougars are actually shooting a lower rate of threes in conference. They’re averaging a tad more than one less three-point attempt per game against WCC foes.

With as hot as they’re shooting from beyond the arc, it wouldn’t hurt the Cougars at all to take a few more threes per game.

It might help them make that jump from very good to elite.