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 05: Jordan Ford #30 of the Saint Mary’s Gaels guards TJ Haws #30 of the Brigham Young Cougars during a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-72. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

#1 Shoot, shoot some more, then keep shooting

Hofstra laid out a helpful blueprint for smaller teams facing the Bruins, and it hinges on shooting the rock well. Luckily for the Cougars, it’s a strategy that suits their current lineup, with TJ Haws, Jake Toolson, and Alex Barcello all more than capable of launching from deep.

UCLA has seen its opponents shoot from distance at a 37.4% clip this season, which puts their three-point defense in the bottom third of the country. Mick Cronin can fill up the lane with big bodies, making it difficult to score inside against the Bruins. So far, UCLA’s interior defense has registered a 15.5% block rate, which is in the Top 30 nationwide.

Without Yoeli Childs, the Cougars don’t have the strength to consistently penetrate inside against UCLA. So, they’ll need their shooters to be in good form.

Toolson, Barcello, and teammates Dalton Nixon, Zac Seljaas, and Connor Harding have all shot well in relatively small sample sizes. The problem from beyond the arc for BYU has been Haws. The seemingly ageless senior is shooting just 16% on his team-leading 25 attempts from downtown.

There are plenty of guys around him who can launch, but if Haws carries his cold streak through this game, it might be difficult for BYU to pull off the victory.