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BYU guard Alex Barcello (13) drives the ball as guard Te'Jon Lucas (3) sets a screen against Gonzaga guard Rasir Bolton (45) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

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BYU forwards Fousseyni Traore (45), Gideon George (5) and Gonzaga forward Anton Watson (22) go after a rebound during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, in Spokane, Wash. Gonzaga won 110-84. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

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BYU players prepare to take the floor before the WCC game against Saint Mary's at the Marriott Center in Provo on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

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BYU sophomore forward Lauren Gustin goes up for a shot during the WCC game against Saint Mary's at the Marriott Center in Provo on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

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BYU men's volleyball players watch the action on the court.

BYU Courtesy Photo

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Daily Herald sports reporters Jared Lloyd and Darnell Dickson answer five of this week’s big questions about BYU athletics:

1. What did you learn about the BYU men’s basketball team as it went 2-1 against the gauntlet of Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga and San Francisco?

LLOYD: On the positive side, I saw the Cougars display a lot of heart and composure in all three games. Yes, the Bulldogs smashed BYU but I still thought the Cougars stayed composed and kept battling. In the wins over the Gaels and Dons, BYU had to be tough at both ends of the court and in doing so did enough to emerge victorious. I think that bodes well for the Cougars the rest of the year. The bad lesson, however, was that Gonzaga is as bad of a matchup for BYU as I feared it would be. Gonzaga is so good inside that the Cougars had to try to minimize its success — and in doing so surrendered a lot of 3-pointers. If BYU was at full strength, maybe that equation would be different. Since the Cougars aren’t, I just don’t see a big upset in the cards for the rematch in February.

DICKSON: One thing I learned is that Gonzaga is insanely good and when the Zags are playing on top of their game they could probably compete in the NBA. A lesson we learned (again) is that Mark Pope’s crew is really good at bouncing back from losses. Beating USF on the road just two days after the Gonzaga loss was an impressive feat. So far, Pope hasn’t lost consecutive regular season games since taking over in Provo. One aspect of the Cougars that keeps showing up is they are extremely tough. This isn’t a team that’s going to blow opponents out a lot, but the Cougars will compete and be tough. They will mentally and physically wear down opponents to get victories. It may not be pretty every time, but the victories will keep coming if the toughness continues to shine through.

2. Will the Cougar men’s team win the rest of its regular season games against teams not named Gonzaga?

DICKSON: Most years, I would say yes. This year, I’m not so sure. One thing Pope pointed out was that the Cougars metrics are improving playing the WCC schedule, and that’s not always the case. Keeping in the top 30 in NET ranking is important, and there are fewer opportunities to take it into cruise control during WCC play. It’s kind of a “good news, bad news” situation. While the league is ranked higher, it becomes even more of a grind during the regular season. It seems the Cougars often have a slip up against a sub-100 team during WCC play. I feel like they can avoid that this year but it won’t be easy.

LLOYD: This isn’t the top-heavy West Coast Conference of years gone by and while that’s very good for the league overall, it means running the table without having Gonzaga’s stacked roster is going to be very tough. There are eight teams with winning records and seven who have already won at least 10 games. As much as I like BYU’s defensive effort, I just think that in one of these games an opposing player is going to get hot and the Cougars won’t be able to keep up, kind of like what happened with Creighton and Vanderbilt. I’m going to predict that BYU ends up with four conference losses: Gonzaga (twice), at Saint Mary’s and at Santa Clara.

3. The No. 17-ranked BYU women’s basketball team has only one loss this year, which came on the road against a ranked team in overtime. Do you think the Cougars aren’t getting enough respect?

LLOYD: The problem BYU is running into is that it doesn’t have any opportunities to really be impressive. The Cougars got a pair of wins over teams that were ranked in November, knocking off No. 17 Florida State and No. 22 West Virginia. Both of those teams, however, are now hovering around .500 for the season and so those victories don’t look as good. The same can be said about wins over Utah and Washington State. It’s not going to get much better either, since BYU’s top conference rivals are Gonzaga (12-4) and San Diego (10-5), neither of which are ranked. The Cougars can’t be worrying about that. All they can do is let their performance on the court do the talking.

DICKSON: The only number that means anything to me right now is “Top 16.” ESPN Bracketology has the Cougars as one of the top 16 teams, which means there is a possibility they would be able to host an NCAA regional this spring. I think that would be a first for BYU and would be a tremendous boon to the program. Gonzaga and San Diego will provide some tough competition soon after the Cougars have won their first four WCC games by an average of 30 points per contest.

4. What has impressed you the most with how the BYU women’s squad is performing?

DICKSON: When BYU shares the ball, it’s a powerful force. In a recent game, all five Cougars touched the ball on one particular play and it ended up in a wide open 3-point shot. That happens a lot. Shaylee Gonzales makes some of the best cuts away from the ball you will ever see and Tegan Graham is one of the best passers in the country from the high post. They are so difficult to defend because they can hurt you in so many different ways. I really like how they’ve put the hammer down early in WCC play, grabbing a huge lead early and never letting up. Just keep winning, get an opportunity to host and magic can happen.

LLOYD: The thing that stands out to me is that I think this Cougar team still can get quite a bit better. BYU is demolishing opponents without shooting the ball consistently. Instead, the Cougars have shut down opposing offenses, taken advantage of transition opportunities and made enough shots to win easily. This is a versatile, veteran group that does a lot of different things well and can go fairly deep on the bench when needed. If it can up its shooting percentages a few points, watch out. It should be on a mission to prove it is the best BYU women’s team ever and I’m not going to bet against it.

5. The Cougar men’s volleyball team started the year by getting swept twice at Penn State. Did that change your expectations?

LLOYD: Not really, no. We knew BYU lost a lot of stars from last year and that the young players would need time to develop. The first weekend of the season simply demonstrated how true that was. I think the Cougars have raw talent and ability, but this isn’t the time to start making guesses about how good the squad will end up being. We’ll learn a lot more over the next five or six weeks as BYU starts gelling. If the Cougars are getting swept frequently at the end of February and beginning of March, then I’ll definitely revise my opinions on their potential.

DICKSON: As it turns out, Penn State is really good. The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 3 in the country for a reason. It’s important to note that two key contributors for BYU, setter Zeo Meyer and outside hitter Miks Ramanis, didn’t make the trip to Penn State but should be available this week against UC Irvine. Both of those players will make a huge difference. But in all honesty, this season will be a long climb for the Cougars. While there is talent, most of it is still untested and men’s college volleyball is very unforgiving, especially in MPSF play. I would expect BYU to improve this season but until I get my eyes on this team I still have a lot of questions. This week’s matches against UC Irvine should provide some of those answers.

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