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BYU Basketball: How the Cougars can get back on track against LMU

By Shaun Gordon

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) /
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RENO, NV – NOVEMBER 06: Jahshire Hardnett #0 of the Brigham Young Cougars shoots a free throw during the game between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Brigham Young Cougars at Lawlor Events Center on November 6, 2018 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images)
RENO, NV – NOVEMBER 06: Jahshire Hardnett #0 of the Brigham Young Cougars shoots a free throw during the game between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Brigham Young Cougars at Lawlor Events Center on November 6, 2018 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images) /

Play with Discipline

Gonzaga went on two major runs on Thursday night. Their first one, a 19-3 run early in the game, came as the Cougars got good looks offensively but couldn’t make their shots.

The second one, however, came in the second half after BYU showed some signs of life and cut the Bulldog lead to 14. The Zags then went on an 11-4 run to put the game back out of reach, and the Cougars practically gave up from there.

During that second run, and for the rest of the game, the BYU offense stopped running efficiently. Most players stopped moving without the ball and that stagnation led to mistakes and hero ball.

All season the Cougars have struggled to play with discipline when things start to go wrong. Rather that doubling down on their execution to stop an opponent’s scoring run, they play panicked on both ends of the court and let things become worse.

BYU should be able to beat Loyola Marymount at home, but it’s almost a guarantee that things will go wrong at least once, letting the Lions start a scoring run. BYU needs to stick to what works when that time comes rather than letting their discipline disappear.

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