Provo • The BYU men’s basketball team went through an emotional rollercoaster last week by losing two games that, on paper, should have been wins. That rollercoaster continued Sunday, when a few select players held a meeting to try to figure out what was going wrong — a meeting followed by more conversation among the entire team.
Whether those emotional conversations contributed to a lackluster performance Thursday against the San Francisco Dons is a matter of opinion. But what was clear in the 73-59 loss is that the Cougars still haven’t fixed the issues plaguing them.
Coach Mark Pope listed off a slew of things that would normally bring the Cougars back to center, but just aren’t right now. Post catches, play calls, pushing the pace. Sound defense. Moving the ball. It’s a situation that may point to some deeper issues for the Cougars than just a rough stretch.
“We’ve kind of lost our identity,” Pope said. “It’s partly circumstantial, it’s a lot me.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars guard Te'Jon Lucas (3) steals a pass, in West Coast Conference action at the Marriott Center in Provo, on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022.
BYU (17-7, 5-4 West Coast Conference) prides itself in being one of the best rebounding teams in the country. It lost that battle Thursday night by seven. It only generated four points off its 10 offensive rebounds, and gave up 12 offensive rebounds to the Dons.
“That’s just not us,” Pope said.
No players were made available to answer questions after the game.
Pope said that while all teams go through ebbs and flows every season, it is “a new experience” for the Cougars this year. BYU has now lost three games in a row with No. 2 Gonzaga looming on Saturday.
“Right now, we’re getting beat up a little bit,” Pope said. “We’re getting tested.”
Senior guard Alex Barcello led the Cougars with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Seneca Knight had 12. Atiki Ally Atiki added 10 points and four blocks, both career highs.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars forward Gideon George (5) takes a shot as San Francisco Dons forward Yauhen Massalski (25) defends, in West Coast Conference action at the Marriott Center in Provo, on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022.
The Cougars shot just 10 of 23 from the free throw line and 3 of 13 from the 3-point line. They had multiple stretches where they could not score points.
“We’re just not a prolific offensive team,” Pope said. “It’s not the makeup of this team. [If]we don’t rebound the ball, our game gets really hard. And when we don’t guard the 3-point line for stretches, the game gets really complicated.”
San Francisco shot 8 of 30 from the 3-point line. But that came only because it went cold in the second half, missing all nine attempts from that distance.
The Cougars sprung to life midway through the second half, going on a 13-2 run that included seven straight points to pull within 10 points. Gideon George’s layup pulled the Cougars within nine points with six minutes, 19 seconds remaining.
But that was the only run BYU could muster. It went on yet another scoring drought and the Dons took advantage.
Pope said he has the utmost confidence in his team. He’s hoping that the last three losses will only galvanize the team to rise to the challenge at hand.
