two-fer

I'm calling this post two-fer,because i want to ask two somewhat unrelated questons.

#1,is the game vs. UNLV this weekend as big a game as I'm thinking?and i mean specifically for our seeding in the tourney?I've heard a few bigtime pundits like Jay Bilas say that we're the same team we were last year in what seemed to me to be a prettty dismissive tone,and in fact at one point he even said we may not be AS good as we were with Cummard.I think in order to change the nat'l. perception and get a high seed{4 or better]we need to win this game at the Thomas and Mack,a venue we've struggled in historically.what do you guys think?The rebs have been able to get in our heads in the past a little bit,but they don't have tiddly Wink Adams anymore,who was a cougar killer.

#2,is Boylen on the hot seat, or is he as good as gone?his players are out of control and the wheels appear to be falling off the bus.Do they give him one more year,because so many of the players are new? what a schizophrenic bunch.

i see where Kitic already posted his opinion on question #2,re Boylen's job security,"he won't be coaching Utah in two years",in the thread last nite,CSU beating duh Yew on da Hill,as did Craigo that "Boylen should be on career suicide watch right about now".Funny stuff,unless you're playing for the Utes.

My answer to both questions is yes.



#1. This is a huge a game. A win and BYU will silence a lot of critics when it comes to seeding. This game could be the difference between a 3 and a 6 seed.



#2. I do think Boylen gets next year. He just won the MWC last year (albeit in a tie) and won the MWC tourney so that's earned him some good grace. But his teams have been wildly inconsistent and lost to some VERY poor teams under him and have consistently underachieved. They've been under .500 in two of years in conference (they're going to have real tough time being above it this year). If he struggles next - and I think he will he's gone. You have to be consistent in college ball. Wild swings of emotion simply won't work.

BYU is far better than they were last year. Cummard was a disappearing act in big games, whereas now we have Fredette who is the go-to guy and he delivers every time...if some "expert" doesn't know the difference then I'll help him pay for The Mtn.

Number two is covered. Number one: Jay Bilas is an idiot. He knows little of the west this year. This team is head-and shoulders above last year's team,and Fredette is the one that gets into the opposition's heads. I don't see this team letting UNLV bother them. It will be a good game, but I think BYU pulls it out in the end.

1 - We're much better than we were last year. This year we have:

A) Better guard play. Jimmer is tearing it up at PG and we have several good shooting guards between Emery, Haws, and JT (isn't really a forward).

B) Stronger inside presence. Not that we're dominant in this area, but the addition of Davies really helps us out. It's not as big an Achilles heel this season. With Davies and Miles in the lineup it allows Noah to play the 4. We're better in this area than we were last year.

C) Better offense. We're 10th nation for shooting percentage and 7th in scoring average (we lead the nation in points). We're 2nd in the nation in 3-point shooting and are 1st in the nation in free-throw percentage (tied with Duke). Last year, we were 30th in the nation for scoring, 8th in the nation for shooting percentage, 33rd in 3-point shooting and 51st in free-throw percentage. (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/statistics)

D) Better defense. There's still room for improvement on defense, but this year we're 23rd in the nation in turnover margin, 41st in steals and 100th in blocked shots. Jackson Emery alone is 7th in the nation in steals/game. Last year we were 45th in the nation in turn over margin, 92nd in steals and 111th in blocked shots.

E) Last year we finished the regular season 28 - 5. We're 22 - 2 right now. Unless the whole team has to get the appendixes taken out we'll likely finish with 30+ wins. Even assuming we lose at UNLV, we'll finish with a better record than we did last year.

Don't know why anyone would even think we were a better team last year.



2 - Boylen will probably be given another year IMO. If the same thing happens next year, he'll be out.

Agreed.however,I'm still a little apprehensive about UNLV,not quite "nervous".we've been good in the past and then gone down there and gotten waxed,and they did play us tough in the MAC.granted the past teams have not had this Jimmer,but IF we stumble,then we have a 3 loss BYU,3 loss NM,and 4 loss Vegas and cannot boast the separation from the other MTN. WEST teams in the voter's minds that we can now.that's why i see this as a huge game for our seeding.Wrubell doesn't think the loss of Davies is that big,given that Vegas likes to go small,but Miles has not historically played big vs. UNLV.

2-

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZkV5J7EDM9c/SsQM7FFcqjI/AAAAAAAAABc/xyw-vtCUNCg/s320/ncb_ap_jboylen1_300.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">



Not that much to smile about up on the hill.

Unless of course you find Boylen's psychotic episodes to be humorous. :P

Remember, they played us tough at the MAC with a significantly less-than-100% Jimmer.

kitic77 wrote:
Remember, they played us tough at the MAC with a significantly less-than-100% Jimmer.

VERY good point,I'll step away from the ledge now.

#2 - Boylen, who cares, except that it adds some comic relief.



#1 - UNLV will be tough here is vegas, though I think BYU will win. The biggest problem we will have Saturday will be against the refs - not to whine about reffing, just the way they will set the tone of the game. UNLV is tough and aggressive on D and they are coached to push their aggressiveness to the limit. At the T&M the refs will make some calls on the tight defense, but will let a lot of it go. You will see UNLV defenders holding cutting players, bumping players and anything else they can to disrupt the BYU offense. Watch the UNLV defenders away from the ball and see what I'm talking about. Kruger knows the refs will only call a small percentage of all that goes on and he is willing to accept that for the upside of disrupting BYU's rythm. To further benefit UNLV, the refs are unlikely to call it even on both ends as we have seen previously this year so the further advantage goes to UNLV. The difference this year for BYU will be their mental toughness. They know they can win on the road in tough environments, they know they can win with poor shooting, they know they can win without Jimmer (if he gets shutdown) and they know they can win without an inside presence. BYU will be able to overcome the tough defense, the crowd and the refs. This will catapult them into the top 10 next week. 8)

I'll be there front and center (so to speak).

BYULV wrote:
#2 - Boylen, who cares, except that it adds some comic relief.



#1 - UNLV will be tough here is vegas, though I think BYU will win. The biggest problem we will have Saturday will be against the refs - not to whine about reffing, just the way they will set the tone of the game. UNLV is tough and aggressive on D and they are coached to push their aggressiveness to the limit. At the T&M the refs will make some calls on the tight defense, but will let a lot of it go. You will see UNLV defenders holding cutting players, bumping players and anything else they can to disrupt the BYU offense. Watch the UNLV defenders away from the ball and see what I'm talking about. Kruger knows the refs will only call a small percentage of all that goes on and he is willing to accept that for the upside of disrupting BYU's rythm. To further benefit UNLV, the refs are unlikely to call it even on both ends as we have seen previously this year so the further advantage goes to UNLV. The difference this year for BYU will be their mental toughness. They know they can win on the road in tough environments, they know they can win with poor shooting, they know they can win without Jimmer (if he gets shutdown) and they know they can win without an inside presence. BYU will be able to overcome the tough defense, the crowd and the refs. This will catapult them into the top 10 next week. 8)

I'll be there front and center (so to speak).

I think this post reopens a lot of painful memories for Cougar fans,as to exactly why we've seen games get out of hand in the Thomas and Mack in past years,and just how difficult it is to get a win on their court.Thanks for the reality check.I think our team is much more focused and confident on the road than squads in the past,we'll see if that's enough.Here's hoping.