Utah lost the game in the first half

[MartyFunkhouser]

The Utes were up at the half, but I was pretty sure the Utes were going to lose. Rose made a great coaching decision by going to the zone to start the game. He was testing to see if the Utes were going to make shots and we didn't. The Utes got a ton of open looks from 3-point land in the first half and we sucked ass. Utah played great defense in the first half and BYU was just not executing their offense. Utah needed to be up 10-15 points with the way that BYU was playing. It was clear that BYU was not going to play that way the whole game.

Utah not hitting shots allowed BYU to sag in on Nevill and really took him out of the game. It was a great gameplan by BYU and great execution by the players. I hate to admit it but it was a great win by BYU.

Also, Fredette should be first team all-conference. Boylen should be the coach of the year and it isn't really even close right now. Utah has 1 first team all-conference player and maybe one player who will make third team. In contrast, BYU has 2 1st teamers and a 2nd teamer. It is damn impressive that Utah is going to share the title.

[TripletDaddy]

BYU won? sweet!

Go Cougars!

[cougjunkie]

I agree about Utah having to take advantage of their good defense and poor shooting by BYU especially on the road. I felt this same way when BYU was at UNLV. UNLV had 11 straight empty possessions and BYU could only muster a 5 point lead.

Chris Miles did an outstanding job on Nevill tonight, Nevill was clearly frustrated, I also think that BYU bringing the double from several different guys and angles had Nevill looking over his shoulder. Lees block on the Nevill dunk was sick, Carlon Browns block on James Andersons dunk attempt was also sick.

I thought it was a good game, the fact that JT didnt score and Emery only scored 5 points yet BYU still won was huge.

[cougjunkie]

By the way Karmas a bitch. The fact that the guy who gave the opening prayer said: "Please bless the Sugar Bowl Champion Utah Utes." got what he had coming to him.

[DrumNFeather]

Utah started ho-humming it towards the middle of the first half. Drca didn't have his head in the game at all and Bohra's hustle was fantastic. Utah settled for 3 point attempts all game long and didn't attack the basket at all.

Tonight, they totally died by the three.

Boylen has certainly maximized the potential of the players he has and honestly, it's pretty remarkable that they are in the position they're in.

I know the crowd was loud and whatnot, but from my view at home, it just seemed like this game lacked the intensity that it should have given what was at stake.

[il Padrino Ute]

BYU did a great job with the zone today and earned the win.

I would have liked to have seen Utah have better spacing on offense, though it really wouldn't have mattered much with BYU playing zone, but it would have at least meant the Utes were thinking and moving well without the ball to find better open spots to increase the chance of making a shot.

I'd also like to have seen Luke be more assertive and demand that his teammates get the ball inside to him. I credit BYU's zone in getting the Utes to make soft passes inside that were easier to get a hand on.

Luke also needs to be more physical when he gets pushed off the block. He needs to push back and plant himself there. Miles did a terrific job against him this afternoon and was the more aggressive player in that match up and I credit him for making Luke ineffective the 2nd half.

[CardiacCoug]

By the way Karmas a bitch. The fact that the guy who gave the opening prayer said: "Please bless the Sugar Bowl Champion Utah Utes." got what he had coming to him.

Did that result in any Cougar fans booing the prayer?

[DrumNFeather]

BYU did a great job with the zone today and earned the win.

I would have liked to have seen Utah have better spacing on offense, though it really wouldn't have mattered much with BYU playing zone, but it would have at least meant the Utes were thinking and moving well without the ball to find better open spots to increase the chance of making a shot.

I'd also like to have seen Luke be more assertive and demand that his teammates get the ball inside to him. I credit BYU's zone in getting the Utes to make soft passes inside that were easier to get a hand on.

Luke also needs to be more physical when he gets pushed off the block. He needs to push back and plant himself there. Miles did a terrific job against him this afternoon and was the more aggressive player in that match up and I credit him for making Luke ineffective the 2nd half.

I think if Luke had pushed back in any way, he'd be starring at 2 or 3 offensive fouls. Playing on the road in the MWC is no time to play physical if you want to stay in the game.

[il Padrino Ute]

I think if Luke had pushed back in any way, he'd be starring at 2 or 3 offensive fouls. Playing on the road in the MWC is no time to play physical if you want to stay in the game.

Probably so, but pushing back also makes the defender play that much harder. Luke could set himself and dig in by lowering himself a bit and push back with his hiney and usually not get called for a foul, even in the MWC.

[RockyBalboa]

I turned to my brother at halftime and said....."the fact we played that shitty and are only down by 2 is a good sign for us."

This game if anything is perfect example of why Luka Drca is NOT a point guard.

Borha impressed me a lot tonight. He was the player on your team that displayed a lot of guts.

I really like the contribution Hartsock is beginning to have.

Miles played fantastic defense on Nevill all night. If you told me before the game that Chris Miles was going to outscore Nevill, I would've thought you were smoking crack. Also tonight is a perfect example of why Nevill isn't a 1st round pick. There are a lot of guys with the bulk of a Chris Miles in the NBA and they aren't gonna let him get the ball on the lower block that he does at will most games.

Having said that Miles pulled a Greg Ostertag tonight. Played a fantastic game and teased you with his potential....let's hope it's the start of better things, as opposed to going back to sucking for the rest of the year.

Oh...also.....if BYU comes back to tie for the MWC Title this year....there's a very strong argument that Jimmer Fredette should be MWC POY.

He won't get it, but there's a good argument for it.

[MartyFunkhouser]

I turned to my brother at halftime and said....."the fact we played that shitty and are only down by 2 is a good sign for us."

This game if anything is perfect example of why Luka Drca is NOT a point guard.

Borha impressed me a lot tonight. He was the player on your team that displayed a lot of guts.

I really like the contribution Hartsock is beginning to have.

Miles played fantastic defense on Nevill all night. If you told me before the game that Chris Miles was going to outscore Nevill, I would've thought you were smoking crack. Also tonight is a perfect example of why Nevill isn't a 1st round pick. There are a lot of guys with the bulk of a Chris Miles in the NBA and they aren't gonna let him get the ball on the lower block that he does at will most games.

Having said that Miles pulled a Greg Ostertag tonight. Played a fantastic game and teased you with his potential....let's hope it's the start of better things, as opposed to going back to sucking for the rest of the year.

Oh...also.....if BYU comes back to tie for the MWC Title this year....there's a very strong argument that Jimmer Fredette should be MWC POY.

He won't get it, but there's a good argument for it.

He will not get it because of his "turnstile defense" as you so eloquently put it. He is probably the best offensive player in the conference right now, but if you factor in the defense, Nevill is the winner.

[Clark Addison]

He will not get it because of his "turnstile defense" as you so eloquently put it. He is probably the best offensive player in the conference right now, but if you factor in the defense, Nevill is the winner.

I'm not going to argue that Jimmer is a great defender. He can particularly be exposed in a one on one setting. He makes a lot more plays than he should, though, on rotations, weak-side help, and stepping into passing lanes. At least that is my impression as a non-professional observer.

[ewth8tr]

Did that result in any Cougar fans booing the prayer?

From what I read on cougarboard, he was showered with boo's after the prayer.

[SCcoug]

From what I read on cougarboard, he was showered with boo's after the prayer.

I remember them being more like "Mendenhall" boos. Though I'm not sure the guy giving the prayer will keep talking about it five years from now.

[cougjunkie]

Luke also needs to be more physical when he gets pushed off the block. He needs to push back and plant himself there. Miles did a terrific job against him this afternoon and was the more aggressive player in that match up and I credit him for making Luke ineffective the 2nd half.

I think Luke needed to get more physical but also keep his composure. He was pissed at one point in the game and turned and threw an elbow right in to Miles chest, Miles didnt move an inch. But then when James Anderson was in there, Luke did a great job of hooking him with his elbows for an easy jump hook. Miles did say after the game that Luke didnt try to drop his shoulder to create space at all during the game.

So who is Jimmer MWC co-player of the week with this week?