BYU Basketball 24-25-Bring out the Jelly!

[BlueK]

BYU wins their first NCAA tournament game in 15 years as they beat the VCU Rams by 9. VCU's full court pressure defense started off with a TO by Demin, but BYU adapted and had just 12 team TOs, which is pretty good I would say. VCU hit 2x as many 3FGs, but BYU dominated the FTs and shot the ball extremely well inside the 3P line. A good stretch of play at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half saw BYU get a lead up to as much as 20 points. This was a good win. Both of our big men were very dominant.

Fousseyni Traore gets the Player of the Game. He had the best PER and GSc. A PER/Min of 1.0 is just amazing. I love how he has really improved his FT shooting and how consistently good he has been shooting from the line this season. Can you believe that both of our bigs almost had a double-double? Demin had the best TS% thanks to hitting 3 3FGs. If I had to guess Saunders was our best offensive player and Keita was obviously our best defensive player.

Trevin Knell gets the Struggled to Perform award. For his 17 minutes he didn't exactly play horrible. He hit 2 3FGs, grabbed a few boards and had a steal. But compared to everyone else, he was just lacking in box score production. He had the worst PER and GSc. Mag had the worst TS% as he went 2/5 from the floor and 2/4 from the line.

Up next is 3 seed Wisconsin. Let's make it to the Sweet 16!

34 VCU.png

It's 13 years. But yeah, way too long.

[SteelBlue]

You could tell VCU was a very good team. They probably would have beaten last year's BYU. BYU is just a lot better this year.

I was never worried about this one. About 5 min in, watching them press and seeing it had little effect it reminded me of that scene in The Matrix when everything moves in slow motion for Neo and he's completely untroubled by bullets and fists. BYU saw that VCU D 10+ times this season but better. Watching VCU's offense turn to desperation 3 chucking with 10 full minutes to play was so enjoyable. If that game was in the Marriot Center byu wins by 20+.

Question for the experts: Why is there no NBA talk about Keita? His development over the past two months should be right up there with the talk of Saunders' improvement. Believe me, I don't want him to go yet, but besides FT shooting is there a reason his game isn't a fit?

[Clark Addison]

I was never worried about this one. About 5 min in, watching them press and seeing it had little effect it reminded me of that scene in The Matrix when everything moves in slow motion for Neo and he's completely untroubled by bullets and fists. BYU saw that VCU D 10+ times this season but better. Watching VCU's offense turn to desperation 3 chucking with 10 full minutes to play was so enjoyable. If that game was in the Marriot Center byu wins by 20+.

Question for the experts: Why is there no NBA talk about Keita? His development over the past two months should be right up there with the talk of Saunders' improvement. Believe me, I don't want him to go yet, but besides FT shooting is there a reason his game isn't a fit?

I absolutely love Keita but in today's NBA if you are 6'8" and can't really shoot outside of 10 feet you need to basically be all-world in everything else. How many current NBA players are Keita's size and never shoot a three? I am sure there are some but I'm having a hard time thinking of them (if SMR were around more often he would probably immediately respond with 10 names).

[SteelBlue]

I absolutely love Keita but in today's NBA if you are 6'8" and can't really shoot outside of 10 feet you need to basically be all-world in everything else. How many current NBA players are Keita's size and never shoot a three? I am sure there are some but I'm having a hard time thinking of them (if SMR were around more often he would probably immediately respond with 10 names).

That makes sense. I sometimes forget he's only 6'8".

[originalsocal]

It's 13 years. But yeah, way too long.

Richie going 1-6 on 3's is encouraging, because that's not gonna last.

[Bo Diddley]

Late breakfast this morning. Denver omelette with a side of tater tots. I want to ask them if they're Ore Ida.

[Omaha 680]

That makes sense. I sometimes forget he's only 6'8".

It's so wild our bigs are 6'-8" and 6'-6" but can play well at both ends against most bigs in college.

[Shaka]

Fun atmosphere at the game. We had a few cheeseheads down the row from us. One spilled his beer on my brand-new shoes. It will be interesting to see how the cheeseheads behave tomorrow after getting their pre-game load on.

[BigFatMeanie]

I was never worried about this one. About 5 min in, watching them press and seeing it had little effect it reminded me of that scene in The Matrix when everything moves in slow motion for Neo and he's completely untroubled by bullets and fists. BYU saw that VCU D 10+ times this season but better. Watching VCU's offense turn to desperation 3 chucking with 10 full minutes to play was so enjoyable. If that game was in the Marriot Center byu wins by 20+.

Question for the experts: Why is there no NBA talk about Keita? His development over the past two months should be right up there with the talk of Saunders' improvement. Believe me, I don't want him to go yet, but besides FT shooting is there a reason his game isn't a fit?

This. Some of those desperation 3s that went in were complete prayers.

[Omaha 680]

I now have a client meeting/lunch in Newark at noon on March 27.

[Joe Public]

Wisconsin is a good team and will be favored to win. Good guards, and Crowl and Winter are a lot to handle for our current roster. Maybe some similarities to Arizona’s Veesaar.

I see some things for BYU fans to like, though, from a matchup standpoint. I’m looking for the Cougars to keep that super-efficient offense humming, not send the Badgers to the line a bunch of times, and defend (I imagine Mihailo will have a role here, and Mag may be glued to Tonje). The Cougars earned their way here and belong in this game.

[Pelado]

Wisconsin is a good team and will be favored to win. Good guards, and Crowl and Winter are a lot to handle for our current roster. Maybe some similarities to Arizona’s Veesaar.

I see some things for BYU fans to like, though, from a matchup standpoint. I’m looking for the Cougars to keep that super-efficient offense humming, not send the Badgers to the line a bunch of times, and defend (I imagine Mihailo will have a role here, and Mag may be glued to Tonje). The Cougars earned their way here and belong in this game.

Last I saw, Wisconsin is favored by a single point.

[Joe Public]

Last I saw, Wisconsin is favored by a single point.

Thank you for confirming.

[BigPiney]

I now have a client meeting/lunch in Newark at noon on March 27.

Ummm, I will be in NYC all next week...

[Omaha 680]

Ummm, I will be in NYC all next week...

It's a Festivus miracle! I'm watching tix. I'll PM you if we win tomorrow.