Why getting Pacific game on schedule Saturday is a boon for the Cougars

BYU’s Alex Barcello drives to the hoop during a game against Gonzaga. After a disappointing loss to Pepperdine Wednesday, the Cougars are happy Pacific was added to the lineup on Saturday. | Brigham Young University

By virtue of beating BYU, the Waves jumped up to No. 135 in the NCAA’s NET. That means Wednesday’s loss is, for now, considered a Quad 2 defeat

As disappointing and frustrating as Wednesday’s 76-73 loss at Pepperdine was, BYU received some good news in the hours after the game.

First, the Cougars learned that they will play this weekend after all. Their scheduled opponent, San Francisco, went on pause due to COVID-19 issues, postponing the matchup with the Dons Saturday in Provo.

But now BYU will play Pacific Saturday (4 p.m., MST, CBS Sports Network) at the Marriott Center. This game was rescheduled Wednesday night. It was previously scheduled for Feb. 8 before being moved up to Saturday.

That means the Cougars won’t have to wait to play again until next Tuesday, when they play at San Diego.

“You never like sitting on a loss,” coach Mark Pope said after Wednesday’s setback.

Meanwhile, the loss at Pepperdine marked the first time BYU has lost a Quad 3 game under Pope.

But by virtue of beating BYU, the Waves jumped up to No. 135 in the NCAA’s NET. That means Wednesday’s loss is, for now, considered a Quad 2 defeat.

On the other hand, the Cougars (13-4, 4-2) dropped 10 spots from No. 28 to No. 38 in the NET rankings.

After falling at Pepperdine, BYU forward Kolby Lee vowed to get back to work.

“We’re going to do what we do every single day, which is to get better. This one stings, for sure. It hurts,” he said. “But we’re going to think about it on the flight home. Me, personally, I’m going to be in the gym tonight. That’s how we’ve gotta respond, to get better every single day. We’ve got to hit it hard in practice (Friday).”

“We’re going to do what we do every single day, which is to get better. This one stings, for sure. It hurts. But we’re going to think about it on the flight home. Me, personally, I’m going to be in the gym tonight.” — Kolby Lee

Against the Waves, the Cougars shot just 44%, gave up 11 offensive rebounds and had 13 turnovers. BYU made only 5 of 20 shots from 3-point range.

Lee attributed many of the turnovers to “miscommunication.”

The Cougars’ top three scorers — Alex Barcello (3 of 10), Matt Haarms (3 of 10) and Brandon Averette (3 of 10) — combined to shoot 9 of 31 from the floor. Barcello went 1 of 6 from 3-point range while Averette was 0 of 5. Averette also had six turnovers.

“We’ve just got to do better. We will,” Pope said. “The one thing we do is focus on getting better.”

On the bright side, guard Spencer Johnson scored a team-high 15 points on 6 of 8 shooting, including 2 of 3 from the 3-point line. Forward Richard Harward finished with 10 points — all in the second half — on 3 of 4 shooting. Johnson scored 10 of his points in the second half.

Pacific (5-3, 2-2) has played only eight games this season due to COVID-19 issues. The Tigers are coming off 95-49 loss at No. 1 Gonzaga last Saturday. Pacific was supposed to play Saint Mary’s, which has paused activities because of COVID-19.

The Tigers are led by guard Daniss Jenkins, who averages 13.6 points per game, and forward Jeremiah Bailey, who averages 7.4 rebounds per game.

The BYU-Pacific game was originally scheduled for Jan. 7, but the Tigers went on pause due to COVID-19 concerns and the game was postponed and later moved to Feb. 8.

Now, they two programs will meet Saturday.

After what happened Wednesday in Malibu, BYU’s just glad to have another game this weekend.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/39o2Qtz