This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • While most of us were enjoying turkey and the fixings on Thursday and some leftovers — or rushing from one store to another — on Friday, BYU's basketball team was practicing at the Marriott Center, trying to find some team chemistry that it somehow lacks.
That's what a seven-point win over an opponent it should have defeated handily will do to a team.
After downing Mississippi Valley State 75-68 on Wednesday night, the Cougars (3-1) return to action on Saturday night against Belmont (4-2), as their schedule turns more difficult. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
Despite their record, all is not well with the Cougars, coach Dave Rose acknowledged after the win over a team with an RPI of 349 out of 351 teams nationally.
"We just need to kind of find an identity to this team right now," Rose said. "We have played some teams that, physically, we are bigger than. So we have been able to do some things pretty well just because of our physical presence. But we have to start to rely on our system and each other and play with more urgency, more confidence. That will be our challenge. We will try to find the right group that can do that for a consistent 40 minutes."
The Cougars have played the fourth-easiest schedule in the country, but that changes dramatically. BYU's next six opponents — Belmont, Utah, Weber State, Utah, Colorado and Central Michigan — are all in the RPI's top 150.
"I really don't think too far ahead, but our practice tomorrow needs to be a lot better than how we played today, and hopefully we can improve and progress. I think we are a better group than we played for 40 minutes," Rose said after the Cougars needed some late heroics to hold off the Delta Devils.
"We played some minutes tonight that [were] what I really think this group can be, and hopefully we can find a way to do that for 40 minutes. Right now we are not capable of doing that. They will need help from the coaching staff, they will need help from each other, and individually they will need to step up and be a little bit more urgent."
Belmont upset Marquette in its season opener in Milwaukee, and have been to the NCAA Tournament seven times in the past 10 years. They lost 79-67 to Virginia in a Round of 64 NCAA game last year and have won of the better players in the Ohio Valley Conference in forward Evan Bradds, who leads the team in scoring (21.0 ppg.) and rebounding (8.0 rpg.).
Who would have thought a Rose-coached team would have trouble scoring? But that's one of the Cougars' issues as they look to replace the scoring of Tyler Haws with a scoring-by-committee approach that has ebbed and flowed.
"Offensively, it seems like there are two things going on," Rose said. "One, it feels a little bit like the guys are fighting our system. And then they are fighting each other at times, and so we need to find a way to get everybody playing together all the time. It is a young group, and young groups take time."
Defensively, the Cougars have limited teams to 61.0 points per game and 31.3 percent shooting, but those have been weaker teams, which changes the rest of the season.
"Consistency is a real issue in everything that you do, in your execution, in your pace of play, in your urgency defensively," Rose said. "To get that consistent effort to be able to play under control and execute well is kind of a fine line. This group needs to find it. They are not there yet."
Twitter: @drewjay —
Belmont at BYU
P Saturday, 7 p.m., Marriott Center, Provo
TV • BYUtv
Radio • 1160 AM, 102.7 FM and Sirius XM 143
Records • BYU 3-1, Belmont 4-2
Series record • First meeting
Last meeting • N/A
About the Cougars • Freshman G Nick Emery got his first career start in Wednesday's 75-68 win over Mississippi Valley State and had 18 points and a career-high seven steals. … They have won nine straight home games, dating back to the 2014-15 season … They are 40th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 61.0 points per game.
About the Bruins • They upset Marquette 83-80 in their season opener and are coming off an 80-55 win over Kennesaw State on Tuesday. Their losses were to Arizona State and Evansville. … Coach Rick Byrd is in his 30th year and has a 623-314 record at the school in Nashville, Tenn. … They are led in scoring by 6-foot-7 F Evan Bradds at 21.0 ppg.