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BYU Basketball: Keys to winning the Cougars’ final home game of 2018

By Shaun Gordon

SPOKANE, WA - FEBRUARY 03: Yoeli Childs #23 of the BYU Cougars controls a rebound against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center on February 3, 2018 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images)
SPOKANE, WA - FEBRUARY 03: Yoeli Childs #23 of the BYU Cougars controls a rebound against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center on February 3, 2018 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /
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SPOKANE, WA – FEBRUARY 03: Yoeli Childs #23 of the BYU Cougars controls a rebound against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center on February 3, 2018 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images)
SPOKANE, WA – FEBRUARY 03: Yoeli Childs #23 of the BYU Cougars controls a rebound against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center on February 3, 2018 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /

Wednesday night’s matchup with Portland State will be BYU Basketball’s last home game of 2018, and they’ll need to do three things well to beat the Vikings.

BYU Basketball plays their final home game of the calendar year on Wednesday night, and it may not be the cakewalk that some expect.

Portland State comes to Provo to take on the Cougars, and they’re one of the better programs in the Big Sky Conference. They’ve already taken down cross-city rival Portland this year, and they’re sitting at 5-3 so far.

Plus, BYU doesn’t have the best track record against Big Sky teams this year…

But this is a game that BYU should win, and one that they certainly can’t afford to lose. There are three things the Cougars need to do to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Don’t Look Ahead

This game could easily be considered the calm before the storm. After Wednesday night’s game the Cougars will head out on a five-game road trip full of important matchups. They’ll finish the non-conference slate against UNLV, San Diego State, and Mississippi State, then they’ll start WCC play on the road at Pacific and St. Mary’s.

So it wouldn’t be too hard for the Cougars to look ahead, mentally skipping this game with their minds on the road stretch.

But BYU isn’t good enough at this point to coast through games, especially against teams that are more than capable of pulling off the upset.

And Portland State can do just that. They’re a good defensive team, giving up just 43.6% shooting (30.1% from deep), and they’re balanced offensively. Four different Vikings average double-digits, and six average at least eight points per game.

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