BYU Basketball: Cougars look to bounce back during in-state stretch

Horrible shooting has doomed BYU Basketball in their last two games. It’s time to stop expecting improvement from deep and start finding ways to win.

It’s time to stop expecting BYU Basketball’s three-point shooting to improve.

Can it? Sure, especially with the return of Nick Emery in just a few days.

But while fans can certainly hope for improvement, there’s been no indication that it should be expected.

If that’s the case, the Cougars can kiss their NCAA Tournament aspirations goodbye, but they still have to figure out how to win games.

So from now on we’ll stop considering three-point improvement as a key. We’ll look at what BYU has to do to win in spite of their poor shooting from distance.

That starts with Saturday’s matchup at Weber State. It’s BYU’s first of three straight in-state games, and at this point the Cougars can’t afford to lose any of them.

Here’s what BYU has to do to beat the Wildcats and earn their first road win:

Three-Point Defense

BYU has been very good so far this season at defending inside the three-point line. They’re holding opponents to just above 40% inside the arc, while most teams average around 50% or better.

But their three-point defense hasn’t been nearly as effective. Opponents are shooting 34.6% from distance against the Cougars. That’s not a horrible percentage, but still an area for concern.

The Cougars tend to close out on shooters slowly, giving them too much space to get good looks.

Weber State won’t launch excessive threes. They shoot five fewer per game than BYU, but they’re shooting 40.5% from distance.

If they’re able to shoot anywhere near that on Saturday night they’ll give the Cougars fits.