BYU vs. Hawaii Game Preview
By James Pigott
Jan 25, 2014; Spokane, WA, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Tyler Haws (3) tries to get by Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Gary Bell Jr. (5) during the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center. The Bulldogs beat Cougars 84-69. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
BYU Cougars (6-2) vs. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (7-2)
Date: Saturday, December 6, 2014
Location: EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
Time: 4:00 PM MT
TV: BYUtv
Livestream: http://www.byutv.org/
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=68984
Series History: BYU leads the series 33-14, and won the last meeting in 78-57 in 2010 behind 16 points from Jimmer Fredette and 13 points from Stephen Rogers.
PROJECTED STARTERS
BYU
Kyle Collinsworth, 12.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 5.1 APG
Tyler Haws, 23.8 PPG
Chase Fischer, 14.6 PPG
Nate Austin, 3.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG
Luke Worthington, 4.1 PPG
Hawaii
Roderick Bobbitt, 9.1 PPG, 5.6 APG
Garrett Nevels, 12.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG
Aaron Valdes, 15.3 PPG, 7.4 RPG
Negus Webster-Chan, 9.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG
Mike Thomas, 8.2 PPG
Meet the Opponent
This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Hawaii after losing four out of their five starters from last season, including star forward Christian Stanhardinger. Garrett Nevels is the lone returning starter the Rainbow Warriors, who already have a quality non-conference win this season against Pittsburgh. They are getting good point guard play from Roderick Bobbitt, a JUCO transfer who averages almost 6 assists per game and has better than a 2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Missouri transfer Negus Webster-Chan is a long 6’7 guard who is in his first season playing for Hawaii, and he could see the matchup on Tyler Haws from time to time. Ironically, he is helping replace guard Keith Shamburger from last season who did the opposite of Webster-Chan by transferring from Hawaii to Missouri. Aaron Valdes is the one of the top breakout stars in the entire country, increasing his scoring average by over 12 points per game from last season. At only 6’5 he possess a similar talent for rebounding as BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth does, and it would be interesting to see those two matched up against each other.
Keys to the game for BYU
Hawaii doesn’t start anyone taller than 6 foot 7, so Austin and Worthington should be aggressive in attacking rebounds on both ends of the floor. Without a true post player and a perimeter oriented offense, Hawaii could pose matchup problems for BYU’s big men. Since Hawaii is a poor three point shooting team, BYU should play some zone defense because they won’t have to worry about the defensive backboard as much with such a big size advantage. Tyler Haws has played very well in his three previous games in EnergySolutions Arena, including 42 points two years ago against Virginia Tech, so BYU needs to feature him early and often on offense.
Prediction
This game might start out a little sloppily due to the fact that the game is being played in a relatively unfamiliar NBA arena, but BYU hasn’t lost there since 2007. The Cougars will ride Tyler Haws to a 81-66 victory over Hawaii.