BYU Basketball fell short in an upset opportunity over a top-10 team on opening night. Here are the biggest takeaways from the Cougars efforts.
In an effort to bolster the team’s resume for the NCAA Tournament, BYU Basketball scheduled several quality opponents, including the team they faced last night. The Nevada Wolf Pack was given their highest preseason ranking at No. 7, thanks to all the talent newcomers combined with a trio of All-Conference studs leading the way.
With the game in Reno, the odds of a Cougar upset weren’t great, especially since this was the first of nine games without starting guard Nick Emery, who’s out after receiving improper benefits. It looked that way early, with BYU unable to score in the first few minutes and trailing 8-0.
But to the team’s credit, they fought back to even things up, led by their best player Yoeli Childs. By the end of the first half, things were all squared up by 34. In the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Wolf Pack were unable to get ahead of the Cougars, struggling to shoot against the zone employed by Coach Dave Rose.
However, turnovers and a superb performance from Jordan Caroline (25 points and 16 rebounds) allowed Nevada to pull ahead and win by a deceptive margin of 16 points. It was a good overall effort from BYU and they held on for longer than many expected. But the Cougars still couldn’t get the resume building block that they’ll need in the future. Here are some takeaways from the team’s performance.