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BYU Basketball: Three keys to evening the season series with St. Mary’s

By Shaun Gordon

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 05: TJ Haws #30 of the Brigham Young Cougars drives to the basket against Jordan Ford #30 of the Saint Mary's Gaels 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: TJ Haws #30 of the Brigham Young Cougars drives to the basket against Jordan Ford #30 of the Saint Mary's Gaels 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: (L-R) Yoeli Childs #23 and Dalton Nixon #33 of the Brigham Young Cougars both try to grab a rebound as Evan Fitzner #21 of the Saint Mary’s Gaels looks on during a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 05: (L-R) Yoeli Childs #23 and Dalton Nixon #33 of the Brigham Young Cougars both try to grab a rebound as Evan Fitzner #21 of the Saint Mary’s Gaels looks on during a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

3 – Outrebound the Gaels

Thanks to their abysmal rebounding night against San Francisco on Saturday (outrebounded 34-20), BYU is now averaging fewer rebounds than their opponents.

Right now the Cougars are grabbing 36.5 boards per game, but they’re allowing their opponents to bring in 36.9 per contest. The most concerning stat is that they’re letting the other team get more that 10 offensive rebounds per game.

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Yoeli Childs is a monster on the boards, pulling down 9.6 rebounds himself. But when one player averages more than a quarter of your team’s rebounds that’s not a good sign.

The rest of BYU’s bigs aren’t great rebounders. Luke Worthington, Gavin Baxter, and Dalton Nixon all average roughly one board for every five minutes on the court. And while TJ Haws is a surprisingly strong rebounder for a guard, the rest of the Cougar perimeter players are average at best.

The second best rebounding rate on the team comes from Kolby Lee, but he’s only seeing the court for three minutes per game, and most of that comes in mop-up duty.

While BYU actually averages more rebounds per game than St. Mary’s (36.5 to 34.4), that discrepancy comes by the different pace the two teams play. The Cougars have had a lot more rebounding opportunities in a lot more possessions. The Gaels outrebound their opponents by nearly five boards per game, which doesn’t bode well for the Cougars.

BYU can’t afford to give the Gaels’ efficient offense any more opportunities than necessary, and if St. Mary’s wins the rebounding battle, especially on the offensive end, the Cougars will be in for a long night.

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