BYU Basketball: Breaking down the buzzer-beating loss to UNLV

It’s another game in the loss column for BYU Basketball, this one a loss at the buzzer to UNLV in overtime.

BYU Basketball still can’t figure out how to win outside of the state of Utah.

This time they got beat less than 100 miles away from the state line, falling in an overtime thriller to UNLV 92-90. It took a last-second three from Noah Robotham to hand the Cougars their fifth loss of the season.

BYU’s NCAA Tournament chances are dimming more and more, as their loss column is climbing and they’ve lost every key game they’ve played.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the buzzer-beating loss:

First Half Flop

The final 11 minutes of the first half was some of the worst basketball BYU has played all year. UNLV outscored the Cougars 30-11, flipping a four-point BYU lead into a 17 point blowout at the half.

Why? BYU turned it over six times and shot 25% from both three-point range and the free throw line. And the Cougars failed to put up much of an effort at all at guarding the Rebels from beyond the arc.

Anatomy of a Comeback

Fortunately, BYU came roaring back in the second half, erasing the 17-point deficit and sending the game into overtime.

And they did it calmly.

Too may times over the past few years, we’ve seen BYU fall significantly behind and try to do too much in the comeback attempt.

Against the Rebels they chipped away at the lead little by little, getting and making good looks on offense and playing pretty good defense.

Feed the Beast

The Cougars made one glaring mistake over and over at the end of the game, though. Yoeli Childs was unstoppable in the post in the second half, hitting seven of his ten shots.

Yet toward the end of regulation and all of overtime, Childs spent most of his time out of the paint, and BYU made little effort to post him up and get him the ball down low.

The Rebels couldn’t stop him, yet he only took one shot (and had two free throws) in overtime.

Shootin’ Rebels

For a team that only shot 27.3% from distance and 66.1% from the line coming into the game, UNLV shot lights out against BYU. Part of their three-point success came from the Cougars’ horrible perimeter defense in the first half, and they cooled off considerably in the second half as BYU’s defense got back on track. Even their game-winning three was well-contested.

But they still hit shots that they normally don’t, and their 84.4% free throw shooting was impressive and kept them in the game.

Give credit to the Rebels for a great shooting performance.

Free Throw Woes

On the flip side, the Cougars didn’t shoot well from the free throw line, finishing 13-20 (65%). That included a key miss by Jashire Hardnett late in regulation, and another key miss by Childs in overtime.

And Gavin Baxter should probably spend an entire week doing nothing but free throw drills. The freshman drew three fouls late in the first half and missed the front end of all three in a one-and-one situation. That’s zero points out of six possible.

Those lost points would have been huge at the end of regulation.

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