After six years of failing to win a WCC title, pressure from the BYU basketball fanbase has started to heat up around head coach Dave Rose.
Entering this season, BYU is yet again expected to settle behind Gonzaga and St. Mary’s in the WCC. Both the Gaels and the Zags consistently have stronger teams and BYU’s at-large bids are suffering by finishing third in the conference year after year. With this continuously occurring, head coach Dave Rose is starting to feel the heat from Cougar fans.
Here are three things that he can do this season to stay off the hot seat:
1. Get at least one victory against Saint Mary’s or Gonzaga
Both the Zags and the Gaels are ranked in the preseason AP top-25. The story in the WCC this season is which of those two will win the conference championship. That’s a problem for BYU, who is a program with the resources to at worst be on par with these teams.
In each of the previous six seasons, the Cougars have always achieved at least one victory between the two schools. In fact, there has only been one year that Gonzaga has swept BYU.
To continue the perception of the WCC being the “big three,” Rose needs to knock off either the national runner-up (Gonzaga) or the squad that blew them out three separate times last season (St. Mary’s).
2. Avoid losing more than once to the “other seven”
The reason why BYU hasn’t won the regular season title isn’t the Zags, but rather multiple losses to the other teams in the league. I know that fans expect to go 14-0 against those teams, but it’s just unrealistic. Rose-coached teams tend to be perimeter-centric and filled with jump-shooters.
One bad shooting night is all it takes to leave with a loss. That being said, it’s not too much to ask to not give up 100 points at Pepperdine like last season or losing at home to Pacific in the case two years ago. If they can limit their season to just one defeat at the hands of the “other seven,” then it will be a success for the Cougars.
3. Beat the Utah Utes
For some fans, this could be every reason. Fans unaware of the “Holy War” rivalry miss out on one of the most passionate and, at times, heated encounters between both players and fans. As of late, Utah has owned the head-to-head matchups in both sports. In basketball, the Utes have taken three straight games. That will need to turn around in a hurry.
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The upcoming game this season will have even more emotion after the series was canceled due to an incident between Utah’s Brandon Taylor and BYU’s Nick Emery where a “punch” was thrown. Ever since the game was announced, BYU fans have been counting the days before the Utes come to Provo. If Rose can win that game, his job won’t be in any danger.