BYU Basketball: 2019 keys to a Maui Invitational victory over UCLA

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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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 06: Brigham Young Cougars fans cheer after the team scored against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the championship game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs won 74-54. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

BYU Basketball and UCLA are both coming off tough losses, but the Cougars have a good chance to bounce back in their Maui Invitational contest.

On Monday, BYU Basketball travels to Los Angeles to take on UCLA in the Maui Invitational. The Cougars are 3-2 on the early season but come into this game on the heels of a gut-wrenching overtime loss against Boise State.

This BYU team has been a bit hard to peg down.

They beat a Houston team that was garnering some pretty big preseason expectations, especially after former Kansas player Quentin Grimes was granted immediate eligibility from the NCAA. But they also struggled against Southern Utah, though the Thunderbirds have been turning some heads this season. Remember, SUU knocked off Nebraska a few games back.

Besides the recent loss to Boise State, the Cougars fell to another Mountain West school in San Diego State. BYU played very competitively in both losses, though, so it’s hard to get too down on them for dropping those games.

Also, keep in mind that head coach Mark Pope has been without his best player, Yoeli Childs, due to a nine-game suspension from the NCAA related to paperwork issues.

Still, the team must press on without their star.

They’ve got another solid opponent in the offing in UCLA. The Bruins sit at 4-1, but the opening salvo of Mick Cronin’s tenure in Westwood just hit its first wrong note.

The Bruins lost at home to a Hofstra team that was beaten by San Jose State and Bucknell. It was the first sign that things might not be all glitz and glamor down in Hollywood.

Despite the fact that UCLA has looked better than anticipated so far, the Bruins are actually underdogs against BYU in the opening game of the Maui Invitational. The Cougars are favored by three points in the contest, according to KenPom projections.

If BYU is going to make good on that prediction, they’ll need to follow a gameplan that plays to their strengths—and also to UCLA’s weaknesses. Here are three keys to a Cougars victory in Maui.