Many brackets may not have predicted No. 6 seed BYU to make it past the first weekend of the tournament, but here they are in the Sweet 16. They used lights out shooting to get past VCU and Wisconsin in the first two rounds and now the No. 2 seed Alabama Crimson Tide lie ahead.
The Tide come with one of the most unique styles in basketball with their incredibly fast pace and high volume of three point shots. As winners of 11 of their last 12, BYU is playing their best basketball when it matters most and is more than capable of advancing further into this tournament.
Here are three keys for BYU to defeating Alabama and making it into the Elite 8 for the first time 1981.
1. Win the turnover battle
When playing against a high powered offense with Alabama, limiting turnovers is key as you cannot afford to give a team like that extra possessions. They want to speed the game up taking you out of rhythm in hopes of turnovers occurring. Out of the Tide’s eight losses this season they have lost, or tied, the turnover battle in all but one of them. These teams are about even both averaging just over 12 TO’s per game. If BYU value’s the basketball and is able to force some turnovers in their favor, then they will have a good shot at winning this one.
2. REBOUND
Alabama is the number one rebounding team in the country at 42.9 per game and Nate Oats’ entire coaching philosophy is centered around rebounds leading to a transition attack yielding open threes and layups. This can often lead to second chance opportunities with offensive boards which is something Alabama is very good at with their size. They love to get out and run with hopes of putting up a quick shot and if it does not go in, you are out of position and they can grab an offensive rebound. BYU should look to slow down the pace of this game to take away transition opportunities as well as always getting a body on a body and putting a strong emphasis on rebounding the basketball.
3. Stay hot from three
In my mind there is no real way to stop Alabama’s offense, you can only hope to contain it. With that comes a shaky defense for the Tide meaning if you really struggle on the defensive end you can simply outscore them, which has happened in a handful of their losses. BYU has been red hot from the field in their first two tournament games shooting 49.6% as well as 41.3% from three point range. Making three pointers will be key in slowing down the Tide and it also serves as a massive momentum boost which the Cougars showed against Wisconsin seemingly making a big three every time the Badgers went on a small run (outside of the wild last minute and a half of the game comeback). If Richie Saunders and Trevin Knell who both shoot over 40%, along with Egor Demin who has been shaky this season, can get hot from deep then I like BYU’s chances.