BYU grabs key win for title run

It isn’t over yet, but Dave Rose has the Cougars on track to win a third title with a tough win Saturday over the Utes.

They’ll need help from New Mexico, which hosts Utah this coming week in the Pit and they’ll need to win out including a win on Wyoming’s home court on Wednesday.

Some observations about the game:

Interesting that a BYU fan giving the prayer finished with “Bless the Sugar Bowl Champion Utes,” and was booed.

I thought BYU’s offense struggled once again. Teams are finding ways to slow down BYU’s regular offense that features Lee Cummard. Like I’ve said, they get very physical with him and in the early going of this game, I thought Utah banged him around a lot, tugged at him and held him off the break coming off screens. To his credit, he shook off a 1 for 8 first half and finished with 16 points. His block of Luke Nevill’s attempt at a dunk will be a featured clip in a highlight film.

Jimmer Fredette delivered his second-straight butt-kicking performance. His dribble runner makes right at Nevill in the key were described by Dave Rose and Jim Boylen as “terrific.” Interesting they used the same word to describe his play. He finished with 25 after posting 28 on SDSU.

Boylen used the word “circus” to describe what he called “tough” shots.

JT had 8 boards but went scoreless in the game and didn’t attempt a shot in the second half. Credit Utah’s defense and Shaun Green for shadowing him and keep the ball out of his hands. But it proved costly because Fredette was a monkey on roller skates inside Utah’s defense –a circus act.

Chris Miles. He’s taken a lot of flak this season, but he hasn’t played that much basketball since coming off his mission. He should have redshirted last year but Gavin MacGregor was injured. Miles physically wore down Nevill, holding him scoreless the second half and he finished with just 9 points. Miles work was so good that Nevill had trouble getting off shots right under the basket to end the game. His timing was off and he was tired.

Lastly, the crowd. BYU fans can be called a lot of stuff and the booing over a prayer, even if it was a goofy but harmless incantation towards guests, was in bad form. But the student section was the best I’ve seen in years. And they were loud.

Funny thing. After the prayer booing, I looked in the stands and saw a former LDS Bishop that served on campus a few years a go. I mouthed the words, “who was that giving the prayer?” I said I didn’t know. He motioned, pounding his hands together, like the guy should be slapped.

It was that much of an item to some at the game. I thought it was harmless.

BYU was expected to win this game. What they were not expected to do is shoot so poorly in the first half. Cummard said he and Tavernari had open shots, they just didn’t fall. But this is the third game in a row in which BYU’s offense was either defended in a superior way, or shooting just plain stunk it up.

Fredette is unlikely to keep saving poor shooting by the stars. Although he’s capable, he too can have an off night and has had some this season. BYU will have to play much better than this if they want to win at Wyoming and keep title hopes a live.

It’s been a long time since BYU had a point guard who could break down defenses and get to the rim like this guy. Fredette has taken over games of late just like opposing point guards have done to BYU in NCAA tournament games. Good to great teams have point guards who can do this, especially in tight spots when the offense isn’t working and there is a drought. Fredette is uniquely gifted. He has a deep, deep bag of tricks and we saw it in this game when it took it right to 7-2 Nevill and still had the acrobatic skill to stretch out and deliver his shot.

Bottom line about the kid? Dave Rose told Fredette after the game this wasn’t Glen Falls, N.Y. Yet, in the last two games, he’s made the two best defensive teams in the league look like they were playing in his high school district back home in New York and he was in his senior year. Fredette has scored 53 points the last two games. Nobody in the league is hotter than this guy.