BYU basketball is on a tear. The Cougars won their sixth straight, defeating West Virginia 77-65. The Cougars overcame poor first-half shooting and dominated the second half, blowing the Mountaineers out of the water. BYU looks good and can make it deep in the postseason.
BYU has their final road game of the season against the Iowa State Cyclones. The Cyclones are currently ranked #10 in the country and have been stellar at home. The Cougars are no strangers to adversity and have won big games before. The Cougars will need to dig deep and stay hot, or else this could get messy.
BYU had a concerning first half last Saturday against West Virginia. The Cougars didn't hit a single three in the first half. It was a slow start, but BYU lit it up in the second half. The Cougars scored 52 of their 77 points in the second half and looked unstoppable.
BYU cannot afford any more slow starts and will have to get ahead early if they want to compete. There is hope, however, as the Cougars can and will get hot. When the Cougs are hot, they are hot. BYU has shown time and time again that they are a good three-point shooting team. BYU will need to get going and stay red-hot.
Keys to the game for BYU:
1. Get going fast: BYU has struggled with starts on the road this season. Ames is a tough place to play, and the Cyclones have only lost one conference home game (Kansas State). BYU will have a tough test. If the Cougars get hot early, they could take the crowd out of it and gain momentum. Also, if the BYU fans show up as expected, it could quickly turn into a BYU home game.
2. Feed Fouss: Fousseyni Traore was a beast down low against West Virginia, and the Mountaineers couldn't stop him. BYU is not just a three-point shooting team, and Fouss is a bucket-scoring machine. If BYU keeps feeding the big man, they will keep scoring.
3. Minimize turnovers: BYU has a turnover problem. Bad passes and poor ball handling have plagued BYU all season. The Cougars have been punished for it several times, and Iowa State will be looking for turnovers. Turnovers lead to easy buckets, which get the crowd into it. BYU will need to take care of the ball and win the turnover battle.
BYU has a big test agianst Iowa State. The Cougars can prove a lot of people wrong this year, and the game against the Cyclones is a perfect opportunity for that. BYU needs to get hot fast, feed the big man and take care of the ball. BYU has a big chance and they will need to stay focused.
BYU will be back in action on March 4th at 7:00 pm against Iowa State. That game will be broadcast on ESPN2.