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BYU Basketball: How the Cougars can take down St. Mary’s on Saturday

By Shaun Gordon

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 05: Jordan Ford #30 of the Saint Mary's Gaels guards TJ Haws #30 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: Jordan Ford #30 of the Saint Mary's Gaels guards TJ Haws #30 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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PROVO, UT – FEBRUARY 02: TJ Haws #30 of the Brigham Young Cougars fights for the ball with Killian Tillie #33 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during a game at Marriott Center on February 2, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
PROVO, UT – FEBRUARY 02: TJ Haws #30 of the Brigham Young Cougars fights for the ball with Killian Tillie #33 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during a game at Marriott Center on February 2, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /

Avoid Mental Mistakes

When BYU is playing well and has confidence they’re a very good team. Their first 10 minutes on Thursday is proof of that.

But when that confidence wavers they start making mental mistakes, and their play on both offense and defense pays the price. Their next 25 minutes on Thursday is proof of that.

Perhaps the most glaring example of this came in the second half against the Tigers. Pacific trailed by four points before Roberto Gallinat hit a layup to cut that lead in half. On the inbound, Zac Seljaas threw it in without paying much attention and Kendall Small took it away for an easy layup to tie the game at 67.

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That’s just one of a multitude of mistakes the Cougars made when they started feeling the pressure from Pacific’s comeback. Fortunately the team didn’t collapse late in the game and held on for the win, but the Tigers should have never worked their way back into it.

When BYU plays scared they tend to over-pursue on defense, ruining their rotations and leading to easy baskets. On offense the ball movement stalls, leading to too much dribbling and too many hero-ball shots.

St. Mary’s may not be as good as they usually are, but they’re still extremely disciplined and will make the Cougars pay for those little mistakes.

Watch for how the Cougars respond when the Gaels make a run. If they can halt the run and turn the momentum they’ll keep themselves in the game.

But if they fall victim to their own mentality this game will be over well before the final buzzer.

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