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Spokane, Wash. • When BYU basketball coach Dave Rose spoke to fellow West Coast Conference coaches at the WCC Tournament last spring in Las Vegas, or during the summer recruiting circuit, they all had one question for the 11-year Cougars coach.
How did you do that?
How did BYU manage to snap mighty Gonzaga's 41-game winning streak at the McCarthey Athletic Center? The 73-70 upset win on Feb. 28, 2015 at the 6,000-seat arena better known as "The Kennel" over the No. 3 Zags almost certainly propelled BYU into the NCAA Tournament, and drew nationwide attention.
Rose explains that the Cougars went small with their four-guard lineup, creating some matchup problems that forced GU coach Mark Few to not be able to play his three towering stars — Kyle Wiltjer, Damontas Saboinis and Przemek Karnowski — at the same time.
BYU's coach doesn't think he will be able to do that Thursday night, and not only because Karnowski has been lost for the season due to a back injury. The Cougars don't have the personnel at the guard line to pull it off again. Guards Tyler Haws, Skyler Halford and Anson Winder, who combined for 28 points that night, have graduated, and Frank Bartley IV transferred to Louisiana-Lafayette.
"I don't think you are going to get those two guys [Wiltjer and Sabonis] off," Rose said. "I mean, they will be on the floor all the time, and so we are going to have to deal with them."
With Winder sitting out with a knee injury, Gonzaga avenged the loss 91-75 in the WCC championship game 11 days later. The Zags got a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and made it to the Elite Eight before being dumped by Duke, but as BYU star Chase Fischer noted last week, the No. 25 Zags (13-3, 5-0 WCC) "will have a bad taste in their mouth" after last year's letdown in front of 6,000 at The Kennel.
"It will be a little shock to some of our younger guys, just because the atmosphere is so crazy, and they are always a really good team," said Fischer. "I think some of us have a lot of confidence going in there, but I think this week we have to get mentally prepared for that, and how intense it will be and kinda the emotions that go into that."
The Cougars (12-5, 3-1 WCC) are better equipped to stand up to Wiltjer and Sabonis inside this year with big men Kyle Davis, Nate Austin, Corbin Kaufusi and Jamal Aytes, but Wiltjer can also play effectively outside and creates matchup problems.
"I mean, [Wiltjer] is one of the best 3-point shooters in the country, and then Sabonis is as good of a low-post scorer as there is, too," Rose said. "You look at their stats, especially in league [games], the two of them are tremendous offensive players. They've got really good complementary players to go with them."
Wiltjer, 6-foot-10, is 17th in the country with a 21.5 scoring average, and 10th in the country in free-throw percentage, 90 percent.
Sabonis is 10th in field goal percentage (65.7), 14th in double-doubles (eight) and nine in rebounding (11.0 rpg.)
"It will be a great challenge," said Davis, who has six double-doubles himself. "It will be fun to play against two great players, and I think it will be a team effort [guarding them]. It won't be one guy who has the responsibility of locking down either one of those. It is going to take every one of us to stop them, because they are scoring a ton of points."
The Cougars have won three straight since falling 85-74 to second-place Saint Mary's, but have just three returners — Kyle Collinsworth, Fischer and Corbin Kaufusi — who were part of the big win last year.
"When you compare the two teams, I think that we've made some real strides over the past few weeks and hopefully we can play a competitive game. I look forward to it," Rose said. "For us to be where we are right now, in some ways, our guys should feel positive in just our opportunities that are in front of us, because we still have a lot to play for and hopefully we can find some consistency in the league schedule and how it plays out."
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU vs. Gonzaga
P At McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Wash.
Tipoff • Thursday, 7 p.m. MST
TV • ESPN2
Radio • 1160 AM, 102.7 FM and Sirius XM 143
Records • BYU 12-5, 3-1 WCC; Gonzaga 13-3, 5-0 WCC
Series history • Gonzaga leads 9-4
Last meeting • Gonzaga 91, BYU 75 (March 10, 2015)
About the Cougars • They are riding a three-game winning streak after dropping their WCC opener 85-74 at Saint Mary's. … Freshman Nick Emery has made 42 3-pointers and is tied for third among BYU freshman in that category. Fellow freshman Zac Seljaas (38) is tied for sixth.
About the Bulldogs • The are 3-1 against the Cougars in Spokane, but lost 73-70 to BYU last February, a loss that snapped a 41-game home winning streak. … They are led in scoring by senior F Kyle Wiltjer (21.5 ppg.) and in rebounding by sophomore F Domantas Sabonis (11.0 rpg.). … Starting guards Josh Perkins, Eric McClellan and Bryan Alberts are all 6-foot-3 or taller. … They are coming off an 85-74 win over Portland last Saturday.