This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • Groundhog Day came and went on Tuesday, and in Pennsylvania the world's most famous rodent, Punxsutawney Phil, did not see his shadow. Supposedly, that means an early spring for the rest of us who have to spend our time above ground.
Provo also has its Groundhog Day every season, it seems, and one local outfit has finally poked its head above the mediocrity level as well.
It's called the BYU basketball team, which again fell out of the hunt for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid in January, only to resurrect hopes in February with a big win on Thursday night over No. 25-ranked Saint Mary's.
It is 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 all over again for coach Dave Rose's teams. The difference this year, unfortunately for the Cougars (17-7, 8-3 WCC), is that they didn't post any resume-building wins in November or December. The 84-76 win over Northern Iowa in Hawaii on Christmas Day sparkled at the time, but the Panthers (13-11, 5-6 MVC) are struggling now.
Oh, and the win over Gonzaga is not nearly as impressive as last year's. The Zags' RPI has zigged to 69, in case you haven't noticed, BYU's is up to 56, while Saint Mary's dropped to 54 after only its third loss of the season.
Other ratings indexes look more favorably upon the Cougars: They are 45th in Jeff Sagarin's, 53rd in Ken Pomeroy's and 50th in Jerry Palm's.
After scoring a game-high 19 points against the Gaels as BYU avenged an 85-74 loss to the Gaels on Dec. 31 in Moraga, senior guard Chase Fischer said Thursday's win means a lot. Up next for the Cougars, who have won eight of their last 10 and 17 straight at home, is Saturday's 2 p.m. rematch with Pacific at the Marriott Center.
The Tigers (6-15, 4-7) nearly upset Saint Mary's a week ago in Stockton, then fell flat at San Diego on Thursday night and lost 54-43 to the last-place Toreros.
"We try not to think about that stuff [beating a nationally ranked team] too much, just because if you start thinking about that, then you let games slip away," Fischer said. "We've had a lot of doubters, I think. But internally we are really strong and we know this was a big game, and not just because it was a top 25 team and NCAA resume [builder] or whatever, but because we need to get back up to the top of the conference. That's the way we are approaching it, and I think wins like this bring us closer as a team, and I think it will help us in the long run."
The most encouraging sign for BYU fans is that the Cougars have improved defensively, thanks in part to a 1-3-1 zone that proved effective in BYU's 81-67 win over Pacific a month ago and again on Thursday when Saint Mary's managed to shoot just 23.3 percent in the second half and ultimately had to scrap its high ball-screen offense.
"I thought Nate [Austin] and Corbin [Kaufusi] were really special in that defense tonight, because it is a hard defense to rebound out of," Rose said. "And we were able to get quite a few defensive rebounds on their misses, make that thing work for us."
Still raw at times, but freakishly athletic for a 6-foot-10 sophomore who, people sometimes forget, was recruited to BYU to play football, Kaufusi is emerging as the rim protector BYU has been missing in the past. He had three blocks vs. SMC, and altered several other shots.
"I think we are starting to hit our stride," Kaufusi said. "We had to figure some things out, and now it is just, 'OK, it is the back end of the season, and we just have to keep going.' These are big games that you have to win in order to keep momentum until the postseason."
Every February Rose seems to find a seldom-used player and turn him into a key ingredient, and this year's candidate for that role is freshman Jakob Hartsock, who got his first start Thursday. He hit a big 3-pointer before getting into foul trouble. Rose said he started Hartsock over Austin because teams had been sagging off Austin — perceived as a non-offensive threat until he hit a pair of jumpers — and doubling Kyle Davis in the low post or attacking Kyle Collinsworth on his drives in the lane.
"It worked well," Rose said of his first starting lineup change in 13 games. "Tough game to make your first career start, but [Hartsock] has been playing really well. We think that he can really help us down the stretch here. I sure hope so."
Twitter: @drewjay —
Pacific at BYU
P Tipoff • Saturday, 2 p.m., Marriott Center, Provo
TV • BYUtv/TWC
Radio • 1160 AM, 102.7 FM and Sirius XM 143
Records • BYU 17-7, 8-3 WCC; Pacific 6-15, 4-7 WCC
Series record • BYU leads, 7-4
Last meeting • BYU 81, Pacific 67 (Jan. 2, 2016)
About the Cougars • Freshman Jakob Hartsock made his first career start in Thursday's 70-59 win over Saint Mary's and had three points and two rebounds in 10 minutes. … Senior G Chase Fischer played all 40 minutes and had 19 points, three rebounds and a steal. … They have won 17 straight home games.
About the Tigers • They are coming off a 54-43 loss at San Diego in which they committed 23 turnovers and scored just 11 points in the game's final 15 minutes. … They are led in scoring by Alec Kobre (12.7 ppg.) and in rebounding by Eric Thompson (5.7 rpg.).