×
×
homepage logo
SUBSCRIBE

BYU men’s hoops continuing defensive turnaround

By Darnell Dickson - | Dec 1, 2021

BYU's Alex Barcello (13) defends against Utah's David Jenkins during a men's college basketball game at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. (BYU Courtesy Photo)

The early season defensive numbers for the BYU men’s basketball team are elite.

That’s a sentence that hasn’t been written about a Cougar team in a very long time.

After seven games, BYU is 40th in the country (out of 350 teams) in scoring defense at 59.5 points allowed per game. In addition, the Cougars are 14th in the country in rebounding margin (11.3) and No. 3 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (22.1%).

“We have the length in the middle of our lineup from two to four,” BYU coach Mark Pope said. “That makes a huge difference. So that’s one. Two is our guy’s willingness right now to try and kind of stay dialed in on our basic concepts.”

Pope said a few years ago he heard some wise words from Wisconsin coach Tony Bennett, who has produced some of the country’s best defensive teams.

“He told me his biggest challenge was to keep his players from getting bored because they were doing the same thing every day,” Pope said. “We practice the same skill set every day. And our guys have been willing to let us coach them like that so far. When you emphasize the same thing every day, you get pretty good.

“Our guys have been solid. We still have some holes and we have still got to get way better. But the fact that our guys are willing to dial in on the things that matter is important and they bring energy every day.”

Pope provided some insight into the defensive improvement for All-American guard Alex Barcello.

“Let me give you an Alex Barcello tidbit,” Pope said. “So Alex, over the past two years, has been in the bottom 10% in terms of spot up shooting defense. Spot up shots is a category that is just catch and shoots against close outs and penetrate. It’s a marker we’ve tracked on our team for the past couple of years because when we came here, as a team, we were often in the bottom 10% in the country.

“So last week we’re arguing about assignments (against Utah) and my staff is like ‘Hey, let’s put Alex on David Jenkins,’ and he’s a terrific player. I’m like, ‘Are you guys crazy? The numbers don’t bear out well for one of the top shooters in the country, for Alex to guard him.’ And of course, my staff is like, ‘Coach, Alex is a different man.'”

In truth, Barcello is currently the 19th ranked player in the country in spot up defense. Barcello held Jenkins to zero points in the first half of Saturday’s game.

“It’s huge,” BYU guard Spencer Johnson said. “It really sets the tone for the whole team. When you’ve got your top guy that’s willing to go out there and fight on both ends and put himself in situations to grow maybe where he didn’t feel comfortable last year, Alex has really taken on that challenge.”

SCOUTING REPORT

The connections between BYU and Utah Valley are numerous and well documented: Pope and his staff coached in Orem for four years before leaving for Provo. Three players on the Wolverines roster — juniors Connor Harding and Blaze Nield, along with sophomore Colby Leifson — started their careers with the Cougars.

“Yeah, I’ve got a lot of love for Utah Valley,” Pope said. “We fought and bled and sweat there for four years. We still laugh about things that happened there as we tried to find our way as a staff and we had some incredible young men compete for us. It’s a really special place. It’s also a great university and it’s serving this community incredibly well. It’s filled a space that was desperately needed here.”

The Wolverines are off to a 6-1 start, opening with a loss at Boise State before winning six games in a row, three in overtime. BYU’s biggest concern — literally — is 6-foot-11 center Fardaws Aimaq who is averaging a double-double (20.3 points, 13.7 rebounds per game) after leading the nation in rebounding last season.

“He’s surpassed where he was last year,” Utah Valley coach Mark Madsen said. “He’s on all the watch lists for major awards nationally. Blaze has played really well and helped us win a close game at Long Beach State with some big plays down the stretch. Connor is a player who has exceeded all expectations. He’s shooting the ball well, he’s been playing point guard for us as needed and he’s often defending the best player on the other team.”

Harding is averaging 11.9 points per game and shooting 50% (13 of 26) from the 3-point line for the Wolverines. Nield is scoring nine points per game and leads UVU in assists (4.6 per game).

Madsen said Wednesday’s game is close to a sellout at the UCCU Center (8,500 capacity) and will be a “green out,” with all fans getting a free green T-shirt upon entry.

BYU is riding high at 6-0 and this week is ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press poll after beating arch rival Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday. The Cougars haven’t been ranked this high this early since 1972.

“I love these in-state games,” Pope said. “I think they’re really good for us. They test us in amazing ways. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing the first rank team in the country or the 357th ranked team in the country. If you’re playing somebody that’s in state rival, then it’s going to come down to a desperation heave with no time left on the clock to win. It’s just the way that in-state games work. You can take all the prognostications and throw them out the window. It just turns into a street fight battle.”

Men’s College Basketball

No. 18 BYU (6-0) at Utah Valley (6-1)

Wednesday, 7 p.m. MT

UCCU Center, Orem

TV: BYUtv

Radio: BYU Radio, Sirius XM 143/BYU radio app, KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: BYU leads the overall series with Utah Valley 5-1. … UVU’s only win in the series came at the Marriott Center in 2016 (114-101). … BYU has won the past three meetings, including an 82-60 victory in the Marriott Center in 2020. … Utah Valley has won six games in a row and the Cougars are undefeated at 6-0.

BYU’s Te’Jon Lucas (right) defends a Utah player during a men’s college basketball game at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. (BYU Courtesy Photo)

Newsletter

Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)