BYU Basketball: Keys to beating a streaking Santa Clara squad

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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) /

Contain Tahj Eaddy

Santa Clara isn’t a particularly good offensive team. They’re averaging 71.6 points per game and just 61 in conference. They’re a pretty good three-point shooting team, averaging 36.2% from deep, but they’re only shooting 45.8% from the field overall.

Sophomore guard Tahj Eaddy has the ability to take over games, and when he’s playing well the Broncos are a vastly better offensive team. Eaddy is averaging 17 points per game, and he’s got a complete offensive repertoire.

He’s most dangerous from behind the line, though. He’s hitting 41.1% of his three-pointers, and almost exactly half of his 13 shots per game come from distance.

In Santa Clara’s conference opener against San Diego, Eaddy went off for 30 points, and he added a 28-point performance in Thursday’s win over Pepperdine.

The Cougars did a much better job of contesting threes on Thursday night, and they also played better on-ball defense to prevent dribble penetration. They’ve got to do both well again on Saturday, especially against Eaddy.

If Eaddy goes off for 20 points or more, the Bronco offense should be able to keep them in the game.

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