HB Arnett’s
801
372 - 0819
1391
West 800 South –
Vol. 33,
Issue 27 – February 4, 2013
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Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions
IT’S
STILL A CRAPSHOOT FOR COUGARS WHEN IT COMES TO WINNING GAMES AND EARNING AN
NCAA INVITE
I’m a rural
romantic. Maybe that’s why there’s a bucolic beat coming from my
heart.
I would have chickens in
my backyard except for one big detriment and drawback.
They poop.
I don’t dream of
cold fusion. I leave that to
I keep searching the
internet for some yolkster from
That not only would
maintain the pristine condition of my back yard, but it would give me the daily
thrill of an ultimate crapshoot (no pun intended). Making a four-egg omelet for
breakfast not knowing what was in all those eggs would automatically be the
most exciting part of my day. I’d call it rooster roulette.
Until then, I will have
to settle for the crapshoot that is BYU basketball.
You never know if this
team is going to get an ovation or a waste product ovulation. Sometimes
it’s a standing ovation for great play and other times it’s a laid
egg of waste products and opportunities.
National
Nest
This latest BYU Cougar
basketball team has a penchant for laying eggs on the national nest when facing
good teams.
BYU has a current record
of 18-6 overall and 8-2 in WCC play. Those six losses are at the hands of
That’s an 0-for-six
omelet that’s not going to fly or fry its way to a NCAA post season
invite.
A crapshoot also
describes the play of two of the key cogs in the fortunes of this basketball
team.
You just never know what
you are going to get from Matt Carlino and Brandon Davies.
When both play well, they
are outstanding. When they don’t, they are very, very ordinary and so is
BYU.
It isn’t a game to
game deal either. Sometimes it’s a half to half frustration and futility.
For Dave Rose this past
week, he definitely saw some spotty and suspect play from both Davies and
Carlino, but when the games against Pepperdine and
Bacon
Boys
If you like bacon with
your eggs, Carlino and Davies certainly saved BYU’s.
Davies kept the Cougars in
the hunt in the first half against an upset minded Pepperdine team. Carlino
scored the last five points for the Cougars in BYU’s 63-61 nail biter win
over the Waves last Thursday night in
That included a
Jimmeresque three pointer in the waning seconds with the game hanging in the
balance.
Against
Tyler Haws is steady and
dependable but Brandon Davies and Matt Carlino are BYU’s Google maps. You
never know where they will take you. Their games are either chicken a la king
or chicken_ _ _ _ (I don’t know what four-letter word you were thinking
of, but chicken soup also works).
NIT or
NCAA
Their play during the
remainder of this season will determine if the Cougars end up in the NIT or in
NCAA play.
In the last five games,
Carlino’s and Davie’s play has BYU on a fast track to season ending
showdowns against St. Mary’s on the road and Gonzaga at home in
Provo. A split in those two games in late February and another NCAA
invite becomes less of a crapshoot for the Cougars.
Meanwhile, I still have a
hard time putting all my eggs in the Carlino and Davies’ baskets. While I
have yet to see a poopless chicken, I have seen way too many games this season
in which Carlino and Davies almost go hoop less.
I don’t see that
changing against the bigger birds and better teams remaining on the Cougar
schedule.
I still dream of Huevos
Rancheros coming from my back yard, but I also am realistic enough to Huevo
adios (wave goodbye) to BYU advancing to another NCAA tournament bid this year.
BYU AND
BRACKETS
You know my opinion of
BYU getting into NCAA post season play.
Let’s take a look at
what others are saying about BYU’s post season bracket chances.
According to
bracketologist Joe Lunardi of ESPN fame, he has BYU in his first four out group in his current
predictions.
That means the Cougars
are hovering just outside of getting an invite.
When it comes to RPI
rankings BYU is at 38.
For those who would like
to know what RPI stands for, here it is:
The RPI (Rating
Percentage Index) is a measure of strength of schedule and how a team does
against that schedule. Created in 1981, the RPI is a tool used in selecting and
seeding the 68 teams for the NCAA Men's basketball Division I tournament. RPI
data includes games against Division I schools only.
For added perspective,
Gonzaga has a current RPI of 8. St. Mary’s is at 60 and
Of the four teams outside
the WCC that have beaten the Cougars this season
In Jeff Sagarin’s
ratings for NCAA Division I basketball teams as published in USA Today, he has
Gonzaga comes in at No.
10 with an 89.17 ranking. BYU and St. Mary’s come in at No. 41 and No. 42
respectively with rankings of 83.31 for the Cougars and 83.29 for the Gaels.
FOOTBALL
SCHEDULE NOW SET IN STONE (MAYBE)
Because of some broadcast
plans still could still cause some changes to be made, BYU may see their 2013
football schedule altered a little to accommodate television broadcast plans.
What is set in stone is
the order in which and where the games will be played this season.
Here is the latest
schedule released by BYU last week:
Saturday, Aug 31…
Saturday, Sep 7…
Saturday, Sep 14…Bye
Saturday, Sep 21…
Friday, Sep 27…
Friday, Oct 4…
Saturday, Oct 12…Georgia Tech
at
Saturday, Oct 19…
Saturday, Nov 9…
Saturday, Nov 16…
Saturday, Nov 23…Notre Dame
at South Bend
Saturday, Nov 30…
Nobody knows what the
schedule is for announcing two new offensive coaches. We are positive that the
announcement will be made sometime before the kickoff of the
There is even a chance
that the new hires could be announced before the start of spring drills.
We actually look for some
news later this week after BYU gets a chance to play up their newest football
recruiting class.
Speaking of news and schedules, we will be publishing
another issue of Cougar Sportsline later this week outlining and detailing the
latest on the 2013 BYU football recruiting class.
BASKETBALL
BRIEFS
Dave Rose finally saw
enough last week to pull the recruiting trigger on Jake Toolson, a 6-5 scoring machine
from Highland HS in Gilbert Arizona.
Toolson is a junior and
will be a 2014 recruit. He joins TJ Haws of Lone Peak HS, Dalton Nixon of Orem
HS, 6-9 Brekkott Chapman of Roy HS in
Toolson has long wanted
an offer from BYU and has had an offer from
The fact that Rose
decided that Toolson could help the Cougars plus the fact that St. Mary’s
and Stanford were on the verge of also offering, likely pushed Rose to not wait
any longer.
The issue of being able
to play at the next level is not in question with all of these 2014 prospects.
What is in play is what their LDS mission schedules look like.
What also is not in
question for next year are the mission plans of two already signed players.
Eric Mika will definitely play next season for BYU. His high school teammate,
Nick Emery will definitely not be playing next year.
He leaves for a mission
call to Frankfurt
Mika and Emery were
featured in a nice Sports Illustrated video last week. Those of you who are
Cougar Clicks subscribers already saw this video earlier last week. Here it is
again for those non subscribers who likely have not seen the video.
VOLLEYBALL
AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The BYU’s
men’s volleyball team started last week as the No. 1 rated team in the
nation. After suffering a defeat in
BYU followed up the loss
to LBSU with a convincing thrashing of Cal State Northridge.
The BYU women were the
pre-season pick to win the WCC championship in basketball. At roughly the half
way point of the season, the Lady Cougars are not looking like championship
caliber.
They currently are in
third place in the WCC standings behind Gonzaga and St. Mary’s. The
Cougars have a 6-2 conference mark and a 15-6 overall record. The league losses
came at the hands of Gonzaga and
Television
Timetable
BYU
Football Signing Day Special
Wednesday, Feb 6
Features Bronco
Mendenhall detailing latest recruiting class
Broadcast Time: 7:00 pm
Mountain Time
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs.
Thursday, Feb 7 at
Tipoff: 8:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs.
Saturday, Feb 9 at
Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs.
Saturday, Feb 16 at
Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs.
Tuesday, Feb 19 at
Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: BYUtv
BYU vs.
St. Mary’s
Thursday, Feb 21 at
Tipoff: 9:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: ESPN2
BYU vs.
Gonzaga
Thursday, Feb 28 at
Tipoff: 9:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: ESPN2
BYU vs.
Loyola Marymount
Saturday, Mar 2 at
Tipoff: 9:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: ESPNU