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BYU Basketball: A win over Houston would be big come March

By Shaun Gordon

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 03: Brigham Young Cougars mascot Cosmo the Cougar performs during the team's quarterfinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament against the San Diego Toreros at the Orleans Arena on March 3, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-79. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 03: Brigham Young Cougars mascot Cosmo the Cougar performs during the team's quarterfinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament against the San Diego Toreros at the Orleans Arena on March 3, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-79. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Saturday is a rare resume-building home game for BYU Basketball as they host Houston in the championship of the Men Against Breast Cancer Cougar Cup.

BYU Basketball faces a litmus test on Saturday afternoon when they welcome another Cougar squad to the Marriott Center.

Houston won’t be the best team that BYU has faced so far this season. That honor still belongs to No. 6 Nevada.

But while the Wolf Pack are BYU’s best early-season opponent, Houston sits closer to where BYU does. Both will likely find themselves on or near the NCAA Tournament bubble come March, and whoever walks away from Saturday’s matchup with the win will have a solid win on their tournament resume.

BYU has done a good job of scheduling more of those resume-builders this year, but this is one of the few that they have at home. That makes winning this one that much more important.

Plus, this is the championship game for the Men Against Breast Cancer Cougar Cup. Both BYU and Houston took down Alabama A&M, Northwestern State, and Rice, so the winner on Saturday will take home the trophy.

It’s the Cougars against the Cougars for the Cougar Cup. Go figure.

And a win for Dave Rose against his alma mater would be pretty sweet, too.

Here’s what BYU needs to do to get the resume-building win.

  • No Easy Shots – Rice was a good shooting team and shot the ball on their average against BYU. Houston is an even better shooting team (50.3% overall, 43.8% from distance). If BYU allows Houston to shoot anywhere near that percentage on Saturday it will be the wrong Cougar team adding to the win column.
  • Contain Armoni Brooks – Houston’s junior guard leads the team in scoring, averaging exactly 20 points per game. He’s a sharpshooter, hitting 63.6% from beyond the arc so far this season, and more than half of his shots have come from three. If he gets good looks he’ll make BYU pay.

Next. BYU Football will play in one of these nine bowls. dark

  • Hit the Gimmes – This doesn’t just mean free throws. BYU has been excellent at taking care of the basketball and moving it around, but they’ve been hit-and-miss so far though (pun intended) when it comes to making the open looks they get. Houston isn’t a particularly good defensive team, so BYU will get looks. They just have to make them.
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