Tyler Haws gets his call... Quezon City - Phillipines

[craigoscarson]

So much for going to a country where he can train for 2 years

[bigbluepuma]

When does he report?

[1967cougar]

June 2 -according to Wrubell's blog on ksl.com

[craigoscarson]

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=498&sid=9806895

Last night's 82-68 win over San Diego State was a case of "run and gun" beating "shoot it and go get it."

*******

BYU pushed the Aztecs to exhaustion (20-4 edge in fast break points) and made the tired 'Tecs pay for their fatigue, turning 16 SDSU turnovers into 23 BYU points, for a +14 advantage in the points off of turnovers category.

Add 21/28 free throw shooting (SDSU: 7/12), and BYU was able to pull away from a 44-44 tie for a crucial win that sets up a potential winner-take-all game with New Mexico Saturday.

Should BYU beat the Lobos then somehow end up tied with UNM at the end of the season (perish the thought), last night's victory would give BYU the tiebreaker, thanks to the season sweep of the Aztecs.

On that note, BYU is one win away from guaranteeing no worse than a 2 seed in Las Vegas. A win over New Mexico would leave BYU needing only one more win (at Utah, OR at TCU) to secure the 1 seed at the conference tournament.

*******

Rebounding will always be crucial against the Aztecs, no more so than last night, as BYU out-boarded SDSU 38-37, only the third time in the last 23 games that the Aztecs have lost the rebounding battle. BYU was even with San Diego State on the offensive boards (8-8), and second chance Aztec points were never a factor.

Dave Rose prefaced the game by saying how important it would be that his guards rebound well; so it was that BYU's three leading glass technicians were Jackson Emery (7), Jimmer Fredette (6) and Tyler Haws (5).

*******

Emery complemented Fredette's 26 points with 17 of his own, making it double figure scoring in six straight games--a career-long streak for the Lone Peak product. Emery added five steals to his league-leading total and led both teams in defensive rebounds from his "two" spot.

*******

The significant edge in free throws taken and made was as simple as BYU playing zone defense for most of the night (13 total fouls) and an attacking mindset on offense that had the Aztecs on their heels and fouling frequently (21 on the night).

Interestingly, Fredette had a 26-point night while missing five free throws in a game for the first time in his BYU career (6/11). In fact, Fredette had never missed more than three free throws in a game before last night; in the last game of last season ( v. Texas A&M) he went 7/10, and earlier this season (v. Wyoming) he went 4/7.

*******

BYU Freshman guard Tyler Haws has received his LDS mission call, to Quezon City, in the Phillipines. He will be speaking Tagalog, and reports on June 2nd.

Haws, by the way, has made 23 consecutive free throws (8/8 last night), and leads the MWC in free throw percentage both overall (90%) and in conference play (91%); pretty impressive for a player in his first year of college ball.

Haws is struggling to find the same success from the field, going 16 for 47 (34%) over his last six games. The shooting slump is surprising, since Haws earlier went through a stretch in which he hit 50% or better from the field in 16 of 18 games. He has done so only once in his last six games.

Haws has been so good as a freshman, by the time he's done, he might rival Mr. Detmer as BYU fans' favorite "Ty."

*******

While technically a sell-out, last night's attendance was listed at "only" 20,124. So, what gives? The BYU Athletic Marketing folks said the school reserves up to 6,000 seats for students with All-Sport passes, and those seats were expected to be filled. Instead, I'm told there were only about 2,500 students in the stands.

Additionally, some of the sold public seats were clearly not filled--perhaps a function of yesterday's foul weather. Either way, 20,000 is still a big crowd, and it will be even bigger on Saturday.

*******

BYU's 21-game homecourt win streak is the nation's fifth-longest:

1. Kansas (58) vs Kansas St. 03/03/2010

2. Siena (34) vs Marist 02/28/2010

3. Old Dominion (22) vs VCU 02/27/2010

4. Xavier (22) vs Richmond 02/28/2010

5. BYU (21) vs New Mexico 02/27/2010

*******

BYU's updated national ratings:

RPI (Jerry Palm): 19

Ken Pomeroy: 4

Jeff Sagarin: 9

BYU has played seven games against top 50 RPI opponents, and is 4-3 [wins against SDSU twice (home/away), UNLV (home) and UTEP (away); losses to Utah State, UNLV and New Mexico--all away)]. Interesting to note that Kentucky (#2 in both polls) has played only six Top 50 games (6-0); almost every team in the RPI Top 20 has played seven Top 50 games or more. The only RPI Top 20 teams to play fewer than seven are Kentucky and Butler (RPI 16; six Top 50 games, 3-3).

Additionally, BYU is 4-0 against opponents ranked 51-100 [Arizona State (home), Weber State (home), Nevada (neutral), Arizona (away)].

*******

In a bit of a scheduling glitch, a BYU gymnastics meet with Utah is scheduled for the Marriott Center on Friday night; that means the building will not be available for the BYU or New Mexico basketball teams on the day before the game.

BYU would traditionally hold a late afternoon practice at the Marriott Center, while visiting teams often use the arena for a practice/shooting session on gameday eve.

As a concession for the inconvenience, BYU has given UNM the first choice of shoot-around time on game day.

*******

Weird: San Diego State has scored exactly 68 points in four consecutive games. You can look at a lot of teams' schedules and won't find the same point total in four straight games...

[Magnus Ver Magnusson]

Ayos iyan! Ang Pilipinas aye talagang maganda. Iyan ang pinaka-the best mission country sa buong mundo. The Philippines is a wonderful place to serve. Though Tyler will come back skinnier and with more sunken eyes (at least that's how I returned) he'll be treated like a celebrity over there and will be blessed for his efforts. Go Cougars!!!

[bigbluepuma]

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=498&sid=9806895
Weird: San Diego State has scored exactly 68 points in four consecutive games. You can look at a lot of teams' schedules and won't find the same point total in four straight games...

If we should face SDSU in the UNLV invite, all we have to do is score more than 68. Simple.

[MasterCougar]

I served in the Quezon City mission 10 years ago, and congratulate Elder Haws on his mission call. Metro Manila is really dirty and really hot. On the bright side, there are basketball courts all through the mission, and the Pinoys love to play. In the poor neighborhoods they go full-speed in sandals--and you never see anyone going down with ankle injuries. Pretty amazing. He'll get a chance to play, and the natives will love playing against an American college player. My only advice would be to stay away from the home cooking if he wants to keep his weight...

[Ungoy]

I served in the Naga Philippines about 6-8 hours south of the Quezon City Mission, about 5 years ago. If there's one thing the Filipino's love, it's basketball. He'll at least get to play on P-Days, but he'll have an extreme height advantage over them...

Awesome country, awesome people. I'm excited for him.

[Mars]

June 2 -according to Wrubell's blog on ksl.com

http://blogs.sltrib.com/byu/index.php?p ... &tb=1&pb=1
http://www.deseretnews.com/blog/19/1000 ... enter.html
http://www.sltrib.com/collegesports/ci_14472977