Depth with Rose's team
The most impressive thing about BYU’s 77-73 win over UNLV Wednesday night?
BYU’s showed the depth of talent on the roster and it wasn’t against some lightweight team that got throttled and reserves came in and continued the beat down.
No, on this night, it was UNLV, a team that whipped the Cougars in Provo a year ago en route to sweeping the Cougars three straight times.
It was telling to see Jimmer Fredette, the national player of the week after his record 49 at Arizona, look absolutely gassed after fighting strep throat. His elevation was not there. His moves were a tick too slow and his shot was off. Jackson Emery, who also missed the Eastern New Mexico game last Saturday, is BYU’s most accurate jump shooter and he struggled to make a bucket. When Dave Rose brought in Lamont Morgan, he promptly took an elbow to the head so hard he couldn’t get up and after he wobbled to the bench he sat the rest of the game. There went Fredette’s replacement.
BYU’s three guards, Fredette, Jackson and freshman Tyler Haws, who are the strength of this team were 3 of 20 in the first half, yet the Cougars managed a 33-32 lead.
BYU’s trio finished 8 for 30 for the game. But as UNLV took control of this contest and looked to hand BYU its first league loss, here came Noah Hartsock, who carried the Cougars offensively. Then came Jonathan Tavernari, on scoring sabbatical for 15 games. And then you saw Michael Loyd come off the bench and although he scored just 7, he made a series of plays that upended the Rebels including two big drives and a forced turnover on an inbounds pass.
Tavernari scored 17 points, 14 of them in the second half. But it was Loyd’s change up speed that rocked the Rebels, especially on two drives on a clear out call by the bench. Loyd rocketed around Rebel Oscar Bellfield and made a layin with under four minutes to play. Tavernari hit a three and Loyd repeated that another successful drive.
All of it came in crunch time and it proved too much for the Rebels, who got a sniff at a huge win on the Cougar court only to have it taken away by some great bench play.
BYU had to sit Fredette down for long stretches of this game. He simply couldn’t elevate and drive and he struggled to defend on the other end, giving up a fast break wen he didn’t get back. He looked exhausted. As one coach told me after, if he or I lost seven pounds we would hardly notice it, but when Fredette lost that much weight over a long weekend, it took it out of him. His system was on reset, he had little to give.
Hartsock took a wild elbow to the nose in the second half and it appeared he would be done for the game. He came back in to get some key rebounds. Most of his career high 17 came in the first half.
No, this one was it. This bench thing.
This was a game in which BYU’s bench flexed its muscles and it was very impressive.