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Las Vegas • When it comes to conference tournaments, the numbers don't lie for the BYU men's basketball program and 12th-year head coach Dave Rose.
The Cougars have been mediocre in them, failing to win a tournament since 2001 — when Steve Cleveland was head coach and Rose a fourth-year assistant on the staff.
Third-seeded BYU (21-10), which opens the 2017 West Coast Conference tournament Saturday at 2 p.m. MST against sixth-seeded Loyola Marymount (15-14), is 33-29 in conference tournament games all-time, and 14-11 under Rose. He is 0-5 in tournament finals.
The main reason BYU hasn't won the WCC tournament since its first appearance here in 2012 can be summed up in one word: Gonzaga.
The Cougars have been eliminated by the Zags in four of their five WCC tournament appearances at Orleans Arena, twice in the semifinals and twice in the championship game. Gonzaga fans take over the venue the first weekend in March, gobbling up the bulk of the tickets when they go on sale months earlier and creating a home away from home for the nationally prominent program.
In 2013, BYU was bounced by San Diego after star guard Tyler Haws suffered a concussion in practice a few days before the game. Other than that, it has been Gonzaga waving goodbye to BYU.
In fairness, Rose's teams have been snakebit when it comes to injuries in Sin City; Star forward Noah Hartsock suffered a knee injury prior to the 2012 tournament, Haws clearly wasn't himself in 2013, star point guard Kyle Collinsworth suffered a torn ACL in the 2014 championship game (Gonzaga had a comfortable lead) and valuable guards Anson Winder and Skyler Halford were limited in the 2015 championship game loss to the Zags.
Rose said the Cougars are in "pretty good condition" this year, although senior starters Kyle Davis (knee) and L.J. Rose (knee) are definitely out and freshman forward Yoeli Childs is still recovering from an ankle sprain that limited him in BYU's stunning 79-71 upset of No. 1 Gonzaga last week.
"Our depth has been an issue there," Rose said. "There have been times we have gone into the tournament and have not been at full strength, haven't been really healthy. I just believe you really need a lot of guys to be able to combat this three-game tournament."
With the day before the semifinals being a Sunday, not being able to practice has also been an issue.
The Cougars are again really thin, getting little in the way of scoring from their reserves since L.J. Rose opted for surgery before the 99-83 loss to Pepperdine on Feb. 9. Loyola Marymount is just the opposite, as coach Mike Dunlap often gets contributions from 11-12 guys.
"There is always a real urgency by every other team to try to save their season by winning it, and you got to be ready for that, too. That's a real thing," Rose said. "You can't be surprised by it, and then get into that thing and think, 'oh, all right, I will correct it next time.' Because there is no next time. You get one shot at it, and if you don't get it done, you don't advance."
Certainly, BYU won't advance to the NCAA Tournament if it doesn't break through in Vegas. The headline-grabbing win over Gonzaga probably made the Cougars national darlings for a few days, a good bet for the NIT and boosted their confidence. But it also gave LMU some fuel to bring down a team it has lost to eight straight times.
"You get to tournament time and the lights turn on. Every team is playing at their best," BYU guard Nick Emery said. "It is a different game. … We are on this high right now and we have got to keep that and stay consistent and play the best we can this tournament."
The Cougars are 6-5 in WCC tournament games, after going 15-11 in Mountain West tournaments and 12-13 in West Athletic Conference (WAC) tournaments. They've been much better than that in regular-season games in all three leagues, adding to the perplexity of why they haven't been more successful in March.
"Well, the guys have to play well, and you have to have a lot of them play well," Rose said. "I think if I were to critique our guys, I would say we need more guys playing at a higher level in order to get this done. You can't do it with just one or two or three guys. You have to have a group of guys that go all the way down the bench that pull in and help you get something like this done."
If they don't, the championship drought will continue for BYU.
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU vs. Loyola Marymount
P At Orleans Arena, Las Vegas
Tipoff • 2 p.m. MST
TV • ROOT, BYUtv
Radio • 1160 AM, 102.7 FM, Sirius XM 143
Records • BYU 21-10, 12-6 WCC; LMU 15-14, 8-10 WCC
Series history • BYU leads 12-4
Last meeting • BYU 85, LMU 77 (Jan. 28, 2017)
About the Lions • They have won three in a row, including a 67-66 win over Pacific last Saturday. … They have lost eight straight games to BYU. … They are led in scoring by guard Brandon Brown (13.6 ppg) and in rebounding by forward Shamar Johnson (4.4 rpg).
About the Cougars • They return to the court for the first time since stunning No. 1-ranked Gonzaga 79-71 in Spokane last Saturday. … Sophomore center Eric Mika was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team on Thursday and is averaging 20.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. Mika leads the nation in free-throw attempts and is ninth in double-doubles.