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BYU Athletics: Here’s our Cougar Christmas wish list

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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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) /

With Christmas so near, everyone is making a Christmas wish list for Santa Clause. Here’s what we’re asking Santa to bring BYU Athletics in 2019.

Hopefully everyone is having a wonderful Christmas season so far, and we’re sure that many of you have already made your wish list known for the upcoming holiday.

Mariah Carey’s list is pretty short – she just wants you.

Kelly Clarkson’s is a quite a bit longer and more grownup.

And we won’t even get into the cost of the list from every person who’s ever recorded “Santa Baby.”

Our Christmas wish list for BYU is longer than Mariah’s, but not by a whole lot. Here are the four things that we’re asking Santa to bring us in 2019.

BYU Basketball: Defense

Is it too much to ask for Santa to help the men’s basketball team improve their defense, at least a little bit?

The Cougar defense has been abysmal this season, especially recently and away from the Marriott Center.

While BYU scores the ball with ease (16th nationally with 85.1 ppg), they’re allowing opponents to score with the same ease, allowing 77.1 points per game (287th in the country).

And the bulk of their problems come on the perimeter. They’re allowing opponents to shoot 35.3% from distance. In their last two games, both losses, they’ve let the other team hit 25 out of 53 threes combined (47.2%).

If that was the only problem with the perimeter defense it might be manageable, but opposing guards are just as adept at getting by Cougar defenders and breaking down the defense. San Diego State had BYU caught almost constantly in the “blender” that Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder talks about.

The Cougars have no more margin for error if they want to reach their goal of making the NCAA Tournament. If they lose to any team not named Gonzaga or Mississippi State the rest of the way they’re as good as done.

And with a much improved West Coast Conference this year, that’s a tall task that’ll be impossible if the Cougars can’t improve their woeful defense.

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