BYU Basketball: Bench Production and two more keys to beating Nevada

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 04: A basketball flies through the hoop during the round eight NBL match between Melbourne United and the Illawarra Hawks at Hisense Arena on December 4, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) /

2 – Knock Down Open Shots

In order to win a basketball game you have to score points. In order to knock off a Top 10 team with a high-powered offense you’ve got to score a lot of points.

Last season Nevada was No. 18 nationally in scoring offense, averaging 82.6 points per game. There’s a good chance they’ll be even better this year with added experience.

Knocking off a top-tier team usually takes a hot-shooting night from an underdog, and this game should be no exception.

Unfortunately the Cougars didn’t shoot particularly well in their exhibition games, especially from beyond the arc. They shot a measly 12-38 (31.6%) in the two games, and shooting like that won’t win games against Top 10 teams.

BYU has plenty of players who can shoot, but all of them have struggled with consistency. The Cougars will need to see some combination of Hardnett, Haws, Seljaas, Childs, Cannon, and Harding get hot from deep.

Fortunately, the Cougars have one of the better big men in the nation in Childs, which will help get BYU’s shooters open looks. They just have to make them.

If the Cougars don’t hit around 40% or better from three-point range they won’t beat Nevada.

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