BYU Looks to Regroup Against LMU
By James Pigott
March 8, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Tyler Haws (3) shoots against Loyola Marymount Lions forward Nick Stover (11) during the first half in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference tournament at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
LMU Lions (4-12,0-4) @ BYU Cougars (13-5, 3-2)
Date: Saturday, January 10, 2015
Location: Marriott Center, Provo, UT
Time: 7:00 PM MT
TV: BYUtv
Livestream: byutv.org
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=68978
PROJECTED STARTERS
BYU
Kyle Collinsworth, 12.6 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 5.7 APG
Tyler Haws, 21.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Chase Fischer, 13.5 PPG
Anson Winder, 14.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Luke Worthington, 2.8 PPG
Loyola Marymount
Chase Flint, 1.4 PPG, 2.2 APG
Evan Payne, 20.0 PPG
Ayodeji Egbeyemi, 8.8 PPG
Godwin Okonji, 4.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG
Patson Siame, 6.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG
BYU Looking to Respond from Bad Loss to Pepperdine
For the BYU Cougars, the 3 point shot is very crucial to the team’s success. Against the Waves, BYU went 6/26 (23%) from distance, so naturally they struggled to score points. Kyle Collinsworth had a rough game from the scoring, rebounding, and distributing perspective despite playing through an illness. It will be crucial for KC to rebound because Thursday’s game proved that he is much more crucial to the team’s success than Tyler Haws is. Haws is the scoring constant now that he is healthy, but Collinsworth is the X-factor. BYU was unable to stop Pepperdine star Stacy Davis, so will they be able to stop LMU star Evan Payne? Anson Winder will likely draw the defensive assignment on Payne, but will he exhaust too much energy on defense so that he becomes limited on offense? A couple of questions that BYU will need to answer against LMU.
LMU Rebuilding Under Mike Dunlap, Seeks Scoring Balance (By Sam Falcone)
Evan Payne has been LMU’s most amazing player by far. He’s consistently putting up double digits in points. But in the USD game, Marin Mornar stepped it up to lead LMU, even though they lost. It was great to see someone other than Payne be the leader. Their biggest problem is really supporting Payne. He’ll score 20 points and everyone else will score in mid-single figures. They’re still very much learning to play together, but the USD game was a big improvement. In terms of the future, coach Mike Dunlap is going to structure the team around Payne, who has the potential to be a special player. Dunlap is a great coach who is going to really rebuild LMU’s program.
Prediction
BYU will come out fired up and ready to prove that they are still worthy of an NCAA Tournament appearance this year. They cannot afford many more losses to teams not named Gonzaga, so expect them to play with a sense of urgency and toughness that might offset poor shooting. LMU doesn’t have the offensive firepower that Pepperdine does, so the Cougars shouldn’t have too much trouble against LMU. BYU 78, LMU 60.