BYU Basketball: 2019-20 keys for Cougars to defeat San Diego State

RENO, NV - NOVEMBER 06: TJ Haws #30 of the Brigham Young Cougars has a talk with a referee during the game between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Brigham Young Cougars at Lawlor Events Center on November 6, 2018 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images) /

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RENO, NEVADA – MARCH 09: Head coach Brian Dutcher of the San Diego State Aztecs talks to players during the game between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the San Diego State Aztecs at Lawlor Events Center on March 09, 2019 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images) /

1. Don’t get killed inside

The biggest reason for optimism this season for BYU was the surprise return of Yoeli Childs, who averaged 21.2 ppg and 9.7 rpg last season. He’s one of the best players out west and is a top candidate for WCC Player of the Year…. but he’s unavailable for this game. That’s due to a nine-game suspension from the NCAA four faulty paperwork that involves impermissible benefits once he declared for the NBA Draft this past Spring.

Making matters worse, the other starting forward and breakout candidate Gavin Baxter is out for the season after suffering a preseason shoulder injury. And with former Utah Valley big men Wyatt Lowell and Richard Harward out via transfer rules, BYU has just Kolby Lee and Dalton Nixon to roll out there as true forwards. Look for a lot of small-ball by the Cougars, with Zac Seljaas and Connor Harding playing at the four-spot and creating as much space as possible.

That works against smaller teams like Cal State Fullerton but things get much tougher starting with the Aztecs. They pulled down 54 rebounds in their opener, including 20 on the offensive end. BYU will struggle against Vanderbilt grad transfer Yanni Wetzell and both Joel and Nathan Mensah, who are all listed as 6’10. It causes a ripple effect if the Cougars have to double-team down low, allowing guards Malachi Flynn and Jordan Schakel to scorch them from deep.

While BYU will likely lose the rebounding and points in the paint battle, they can still out-shoot the Aztecs. It’ll just come down to limiting the damage done down low if you’re BYU. 10+ made three-pointers might be the magic number to stay in this one.