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Provo • Having defeated Pacific last Saturday afternoon in Stockton, BYU coaches made it back to Provo in time to catch the second half of the San Francisco-Gonzaga game being played at USF's War Memorial Gymnasium.
They saw the best and worst of the Dons, who take on the Cougars on Saturday at the Marriott Center. San Francisco showed how good it can be in building a 16-point lead in the second half against the national power, then showed how inconsistent it can be when the Zags rallied to win 102-94 in overtime.
After the Cougars (11-5, 2-1 WCC) cruised past Santa Clara 97-61 on Thursday night, BYU coach Dave Rose said the USF-Zags game reminded him of how talented coach Rex Walters' team is when it is running on all cylinders.
"Rex does a really good job. His teams are really competitive. They play with a lot of urgency. This [Devin] Watson is a really good point guard. The kid can really score. And [Tim] Derksen is as tough as they come, as far as the league is concerned."
While BYU was toying with Santa Clara, the Dons were taking down San Diego 73-65 at Jenny Craig Pavilion, burying memories of their ugly finish against Gonzaga. They were 8 of 14 on 3-point attempts and got a career-high 22 points from Ronnie Boyce III. Watson added 16, after having scored a career-high 33 against GU.
Rose said USF will provide a more difficult challenge than Santa Clara. Last year, BYU routed the Dons 99-68 at War Memorial, then hung on for dear life at home four weeks later, taking a 78-74 win.
USF is "really aggressive on the dribble," Rose said. "So that will be something that will have to be a real priority for us, to keep guys out of the paint, and away from the basket. And as you do that, if you give too much help, they are really good at spreading it around and shooting threes.
"And then defensively, they are on attack. They try to turn you over. It is a defense that tries to trap you. So it will be a whole different approach here on Saturday."
BYU had six turnovers against the Broncos, tying a season-low. That's far from how they started the season, with 24 turnovers in the 66-65 loss at Long Beach State. USF plays more like LBSU and less like Santa Clara.
"The biggest thing is, they are just tough," said BYU guard Kyle Collinsworth, who recorded the ninth triple-double of his career against the Broncos. "They will play you tough for the full 40 minutes, and they will give you everything they have. They are a different team than Santa Clara. They like to get in the paint and make plays. They are just a tough team and you have to play well and have a consistent effort, because they are going to have a consistent effort. So that's what they are good at. They just keep going at you."
The Cougars are playing well, too, having won four of their past five. Rose was impressed Thursday by how the team put aside the distraction of the Utah scheduling announcement and played one of its best games of the season.
"There has been a lot said about our program over the last 24 hours," he said. "The bottom line is this is a good team, and this is a team that will continue to get better. I was impressed with how we handled the task [Thursday]. The game plan was good and we executed it well."
Twitter: @drewjay —
San Francisco at BYU
P At the Marriott Center, Provo
Tipoff • 7 p.m.
TV • BYUtv
Radio • 1160 AM, 102.7 FM and Sirius XM 143
Records • BYU 11-5, 2-1 WCC; San Francisco 9-6, 3-2
Series record • BYU leads, 13-6
Last meeting • BYU 78, San Francisco 74 (Jan. 29, 2015)
About the Cougars • Nick Emery scored 23 points and Kyle Collinsworth 21 in Thursday's 97-61 rout of Santa Clara. … The Cougars committed just six turnovers in the game, tying a season-low. … It was the first time Collinsworth has recorded back-to-back 20-plus point games. He also had 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his ninth career triple-double.
About the Dons • They are coming off a 73-65 win over San Diego on Thursday night in San Diego. … Guard Ronnie Boyce made 5 of 6 3-pointers and scored a career-high 22 points in the win. … Devin Watson, Tim Derksen and Uche Ofoegbu also reached double figures.