Three Takeaways From BYU’s WCC Tournament Loss Against Saint Mary’s

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The calendar turned March and BYU’s nine-game winning streak instantly vanished. BYU basketball fell to Saint Mary’s in the Semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament 51-50 off a last-second shot from Gaels guard Jordan Ford.

Let’s take a look at the three takeaways from BYU’s setback in Sin City.

#1 Missed opportunities in the First Half proved costly

BYU went into halftime with a 26-20 lead over Saint Mary’s, but the Gaels were in a good spot to be down by only two possessions. Jordan Ford sat out five minutes in the first half and BYU was not able to build the lead to double digits.

#BYU leads 26-20 at the half. Feels like the lead could have been bigger with Jordan Ford sitting out six minutes in the first half. Gaels are +5 on offensive rebounds.#BYUhoops #WCCHoops @kslsports

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 10, 2020

BYU opened the game sluggish scoring only two points in the first four minutes, which set the tone for the struggles BYU would experience the rest of the night.

In the second half, a turning point in the game was the technical foul called on head coach Mark Pope. That allowed Saint Mary’s to take the lead and it was back-and-forth from there.

#2 Against NCAA Tournament teams BYU Basketball needs to hit three’s

BYU has an elite frontcourt player in Yoeli Childs and elite three-point shooters. But when the three-point shooting goes array, it shows some of the vulnerability BYU has in a tournament setting. BYU ended up making seven three-pointers in the loss and shot 38.9 percent from beyond the arc, well below their season average of 42 percent.

"Not the best performance that we've had on the court that that will springboard us to doing something special that these guys have been dreaming their whole lives about doing. That's the story we have to write. That's the only story left for us." #BYU #BYUHoops @KSLSports pic.twitter.com/KSAu3VnKVO

— Sam Farnsworth (@SFarnsworthKSL) March 10, 2020

For BYU to make a run in the NCAA Tournament and be the potential bracket buster that many prominent voices in college basketball believe they can be, the Cougars have to knock down the three.

#3 BYU needs Kolby Lee and Dalton Nixon as soon as possible

The absence of BYU frontcourt players Kolby Lee and Dalton Nixon were significant in the Cougars loss against the Gaels. BYU has gotten used to life with Nixon and has won some big games without the senior forward, but the illness to Lee was another blow to a team that has dealt with so many personnel hits that they just couldn’t overcome yet another loss.

No Kolby Lee tonight. That’s a loss for #BYU to not have one of their best bigs. #BYUhoops #WCChoops @kslsports

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 10, 2020

There was less than a 50 percent chance that Nixon was going to play in the WCC Tournament, maybe the odds improve with another week to wait until the NCAA Tournament. Pope has said previously that he would tape up Nixon himself to get the senior to play in the big dance. Lee’s sickness is something that has to play itself out and maybe he can be ready for the big dance. But BYU desperately needs both players to add to their frontcourt.

Saint Mary’s on multiple occasions was able to extend possessions with offensive rebounds. The Gaels finished the night with seven offensive rebounds in the one-point victory. Those seven second chances prove costly in a tightly contested game.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.