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BYU Basketball: The blueprint for winning the conference opener at Pacific

By Shaun Gordon

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 05: Jock Landale #34 of the Saint Mary's Gaels is guarded by Yoeli Childs #23 of the Brigham Young Cougars during a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-72. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 05: Jock Landale #34 of the Saint Mary's Gaels is guarded by Yoeli Childs #23 of the Brigham Young Cougars during a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-72. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 05: Jock Landale #34 of the Saint Mary’s Gaels is guarded by Yoeli Childs #23 of the Brigham Young Cougars during a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-72. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 05: Jock Landale #34 of the Saint Mary’s Gaels is guarded by Yoeli Childs #23 of the Brigham Young Cougars during a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-72. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

BYU Basketball has a fresh start with a new year and a clean conference slate. They’ve got to beat Pacific on the road to take advantage of that fresh opportunity.

Whelp, that was a disappointing non-conference slate for BYU Basketball.

And a disappointing 2018 in general for the Cougar hoopsters.

There’s no more perfect time to hit the reset button than right now. It’s a new year, and the Cougars start West Coast Conference play on Thursday night with a road trip to Pacific.

The Cougars still haven’t won a road game, and this would be a good time to pull one off. Starting conference play off 1-0 would look and feel a whole lot better than 0-1, especially with a showdown coming against St. Mary’s on Saturday.

But the Waves are a good team, sitting at 10-5, including five wins in their last six games. They’re one of a handful of teams that have surged this season, creating the toughest WCC slate since the Cougars joined the conference.

If BYU is going to knock off Pacific and finally pick up a road win, they’ll have to do these things well:

Play Defense

Yes, we’re sounding like a broken record, and yes, this is an extremely broad key, but BYU’s defense has gotten worse and worse as the season has progressed.

The Cougars are giving up an astoundingly bad 90.7 points away from the Marriott Center, including giving up 90 or more in three straight games. They allowed Mississippi State to hit triple-digits last Saturday, and they’re now last in the conference in scoring defense, giving up more than 78 points per game on the season.

BYU’s perimeter defense has been woeful, and their interior defense hasn’t been any better. With so many holes this late in the season there’s not going to be an easy fix. But if the coaches can’t find a way to increase both the effort and execution on defense it’ll be the same old story in the new year.

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