HB Arnett’s
COUGAR SPORTSLINE
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West 800 South –
Vol. 32,
Issue 30 – February 13, 2012
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BYU BASKETBALL AND WEST COAST
CONFERENCE AS SEEN WITH A DOWNTON ABBEY PERSPECTIVE
Excuse the letter being sent a little late today. I blame Downton Abbey for the delay.
I stayed up and watched a few episodes. I make no apologies. I am
hooked.
Unlike most junkies, I don't need rehab, just a little more rest and
sleep on Monday mornings.
BYU has the WCC; I love the BBC and Masterpiece Theatre.
The addiction started with the slippery slopes of North and South,
Wives and Daughters, Pride and Prejudice,
Downton Abbey, season 2, the latest offering from Masterpiece Theatre,
is even better than season 1 of last year.
The overall storyline of Downton Abbey reminds me of BYU basketball and
its first year as a member of the West Coast Conference.
The Cougars are a lot like Matthew Crawley who was unexpectedly brought
into the upstairs aristocracies of Downton Abbey and Gonzaga and St. Mary's.
Both
Downstairs at Downton Abbey is where the servants reside. The WCC is no
different. There is a definite distance between the aristocracy of the league
and those living in the basement of the WCC and Dowton Abbey.
That was never so evident than last Saturday's 85-48 Cougar win over
Pepperdine at the
Occasionally the aristocracy of the WCC can show a kinship for those
living in the lower level of the manor and league, but there is an indisputable
difference between the classes and teams.
We already cast BYU as Matthew Crawley. He has had his ups and downs,
but eventually will have a happy ever after ending. Similarly, the Cougars also
just have to endure season 1 in the WCC.
Gonzaga would be perfect for the part of Mary. Both are so used to
getting their way and what they want.
This season, St. Mary's is perfect for the role of Sybil. The Gaels
have broken away from their normal lifestyle to explore new options at the top
of the league.
My favorite character of Downton Abbey is Thomas, the footman. He
reminds me of WCC officiating. You can't trust either of them.
BYU has had its ups and downs and enough setbacks to make their story
line interesting and at times, even riveting.
Here is how we see the Cougars storyline of this season.
They are retooling and rebuilding. Yes, I know that is hard to swallow;
especially with a current record of 21-6 overall and 9-3 in league play, but
the signs are obvious.
This is not a complete team. There is a very good inside game, but BYU
is definitely rebuilding their guard line and buffering for time until they
have the tools needed to get the makeover done.
It's still possible for BYU to earn an invite to NCAA play this year,
but they won't do well there because of a suspect guard line.
That guard line, despite some current liabilities, also has some
definite possibilities for the future.
Dave Rose currently has two guards that are both freshmen in Matt
Carlino and Anson Winder. Both have proven to be hot and cold, especially
shooting the ball.
The good news is that both can get to the basket with the ball in their
hands.
That is an anomaly for a BYU guard line.
If both can spend the summer shooting hundreds of jumpers a day, BYU may
be back in the guard business next season. They key is not the shooting of
hundreds of jumpers, but making hundreds of jumpers.
The addition of another mentally tough guard with a penchant for
scoring will also help next year. BYU and Dave Rose and his staff are hoping
they have filled that need with juco transfer Raul Delgado.
Demarcus Harrison will either get better or get going on an LDS mission
this summer. He is athletic enough that he should be better than he has shown
this season.
We look for that to eventually happen.
BYU's guard play has been an overall liability this year. We expect it
to pick up and be much better beginning next season.
The reality of this year is that we lost Jimmer Fredette.
For you chess buffs, how would you like to play after losing your
queen?
That is exactly what Dave Rose has done this year. The fact that he and
his Cougars are 21-6 and still in the hunt for a shot at a NCAA tourney berth
is a testament to his coaching abilities and the weak bottom half of the WCC.
Speaking of the Mountain West Conference this year. BYU would not have
a current 9-3 record in league play in the MWC.
Check out and compare the two league standings below. In our
opinion, there are five teams that BYU would have trouble beating on the road
in the MWC this season.
|
TEAM |
CONF |
OVERALL |
|
6-2 |
22-4 |
|
|
6-2 |
20-4 |
|
|
6-2 |
20-4 |
|
|
4-4 |
18-6 |
|
|
4-4 |
15-8 |
|
|
4-4 |
14-10 |
|
|
1-7 |
11-11 |
|
|
1-7 |
11-12 |
|
|
TEAM |
CONF |
OVERALL |
|
12-1 |
23-3 |
|
|
10-2 |
20-4 |
|
|
9-3 |
21-6 |
|
|
9-4 |
16-10 |
|
|
7-6 |
17-10 |
|
|
5-8 |
10-15 |
|
|
3-9 |
6-19 |
|
|
2-12 |
8-17 |
|
|
0-12 |
8-17 |
|
|
TEAM |
CONF |
OVERALL |
|
11-2 |
22-4 |
|
|
10-2 |
22-4 |
|
|
9-3 |
18-6 |
|
|
9-4 |
18-8 |
|
|
7-5 |
12-11 |
|
|
3-9 |
10-15 |
|
|
3-10 |
7-18 |
|
|
2-10 |
9-17 |
|
|
2-11 |
4-22 |
|
|
|
||
BYU MEN LOOK LIKE LOCK FOR THIRD SEED
IN UPCOMING WCC POST SEASON TOURNAMENT
Based on the current WCC standings and remaining games for the top
three teams, it would take a couple of serious upsets during the next two weeks
for the Cougars to merit a pass into the semi-finals of the league tourney.
The two top seeds and finishers in league play are automatically seeded
into the semi-finals.
That looks like it will be St. Mary’s as the No. 1 seed and
Gonzaga as the No. 2 seed.
The Gaels of
Gonzaga has very good shot at securing the second pass into the semis.
If form holds, the only way that BYU and Gonzaga could swap places as
the No. 2 seed is if the Cougars can upset the Bulldogs in
That means that BYU will be the No. 3 seed and begin play on Friday,
March 2 against the winner of the 6/7 game of the previous day. Currently the
6/7 teams in the standings are
That would put BYU up against Gonzaga in the semi-finals the following
day, Saturday, March 3. The Zags would be playing their first game of the
tourney.
The tournament will take Sunday off for religious services. The
championship game is set for Monday, March 5.
The same format holds for the women’s tournament. BYU, with three
home games remaining against
All men’s games will be televised by ESPNU beginning on Friday,
March 2. Both men’s semi-final games will be televised by ESPN2. The
Monday men’s championship game will also be televised by ESPN2.
The only women’s tournament game set to be televised will be the
championship game on ESPNU.
SPRING
SPORTS RECAP
In one of the better
performances by a BYU athlete in years, Miles Batty, a senior distance runner
for the BYU track team, set a new indoor collegiate record for the mile in
taking second place in the prestigious Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games in
His time was 3:54.54.
Batty was also last year’s national indoor champion in the mile.
You can see his race
here: http://byucougars.com/home/m-track-field
In softball, the BYU
women started their season with a 2-2 record at the Kajikawa Classic in
The Cougars were blasted
22-5 by
The Cougars came back
strong the last day of this classic by beating No. 11 ranked
TELEVISION
TIMETABLE
BYU vs.
Thursday, Feb 16 at
Tipoff: 8:00
TV: ESPNU
BYU vs.
Thursday, Feb 16 at
Tipoff: 7:00
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs.
Friday, Feb 17 at
Start: 7:00
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs.
Saturday, Feb 18 at
Tipoff: 1:00
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs.
Saturday, Feb 18 at
Tipoff: 5:00
TV: ESPNU
BYU vs.
Saturday, Feb 18 at
Start: 7:00
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs.
Thursday, Feb 23 at
Tipoff: 7:00
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs. Gonzaga
Thursday, Feb 23 at
Tipoff: 9:00
TV: ESPN2
BYU vs. UC
Friday, Feb 24 at
Start: 7:00
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs.
Saturday, Feb 25 at
Tipoff: 4:00
TV: BYUtv