WCC Game Preview: BYU at Loyola Marymount

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Apr 2, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Baylor Bears player A.J. Walton (22) is tripped up by Brigham Young Cougars players Nate Austin (33) and Matt Carlino (10) during the second half of the NIT Tournament semifinal at Madison Square Garden. Baylor won the game 76-70. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Brigham Young Cougars (8-5) @ Loyola Marymount Lions (8-4)

Date: Saturday, December 28, 2013

Location: Gersten Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA

Time: 1:00 PM PST

TV: TWC SN, ROOT, CSN CA

Video: TheW.tv

Last Season: BYU won both games against LMU.  The Cougars defeated the Lions 92-51 in Provo, Utah and 73-70 in Los Angeles, CA.

PROJECTED STARTERS

Loyola Marymount

Anthony Ireland, 19.2 PPG, 5.3 APG

Evan Payne, 14.1 PPG

C.J. Blackwell, 3.6 PPG

Alex Osborne, 5.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG

Marin Mornar, 3.5 PPG

Brigham Young

Matt Carlino, 16.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG 5.0 APG

Kyle Collinsworth, 12.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 5.3 APG

Tyler Haws, 23.2 PPG, 4.9 RPG

Eric Mika, 14.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG

Nate Austin, 4.4 PPG, 8.7 RPG

KEYS TO THE GAME

Brigham Young

Carlino’s turnovers and shot selection: Those are two things that have hurt BYU all season long.  If Carlino is taking good shots and not just launching threes and fadeaways from everywhere, and is looking to get the ball to Tyler Haws on offense, BYU will be successful on offense.

Mika and Austin’s foul trouble: BYU had little chance to compete against Oregon in overtime once Mika and Austin had fouled out. Like Gonzaga, BYU’s starting frontcourt doesn’t have very much behind them, and if Mika and Austin can stay on the floor, they should dominated the interior and the defensive glass.

Loyola Marymount

Get Ireland going early:  With Ben Dickinson coming off the bench now, it is important for Anthony Ireland to shoot well from the start, and look for teammates when necessary.  If he is struggling early, it will be very difficult for LMU to keep up with BYU’s fast-paced offense.

Scoring outside of Ireland, Dickinson, Levin and Payne: With the two Nigerian players, Ayodeji Egbeyemi and Godwin Okonji, likely out for the season, the Lions need to find role players who can consistently score 7-8 points per game.  Whether that player is Alex Osborne, C.J. Blackwell, Chase Flint or another player, someone needs to emerge.

PREDICTION

BYU will play an offensive similar to one Loyola Marymount played in the late 80s (maybe not quite that fast paced), and LMU will struggle to find all of BYU’s weapons such as Frank Bartley and Skyler Halford off the bench.  I predict an 88-73 victory for BYU.