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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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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) /

Protect the Paint

Loyola Marymount is just as bad from beyond the arc as BYU is. The Cougars are hitting 32.1% of their threes, while the Lions hit 32.0% of theirs.

But both teams have learned how to score in the paint. BYU uses TJ Haws’ dribble penetration and Yoeli Childs’ post dominance to score down low.

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LMU does much the same. James Batemon leads the Lions in scoring with 17.1 points per game, and he’s a 6’1 guard who gets into the lane to either get an easy basket or draw a foul. He gets to the line for 6.6 free throws per game, and he hits 51% of his two-point attempts in comparison to his 29% three-point percentage.

Mattias Markusson does his damage down low, scoring 11.2 points per game, and he’s only attempted two three-pointers on the season. The matchup between Markusson and Childs will be fun to watch.

The Lions do have a few shooters who can do damage from the perimeter, such as Dameane Douglas (70.6% 3PT), Jeffrey McClendon (45.8% 3PT), and Joe Quintana (35.4% 3PT), but the Lions prefer to attack the hoop.

BYU has struggled to avoid dribble penetration for most of the season, but they’ve been slightly better recently. They’ll have to be even better at the point of attack on Saturday night.

Down low Gavin Baxter has turned into BYU’s best post defender, and he’ll be needed in this matchup.

Sounds like the perfect time to make a switch in the starting lineup…

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