BYU, Saint Mary's to meet for 1st time in WCC tournament
It seems strange considering the level of success BYU and Saint Mary?s have enjoyed in the West Coast Conference, but the two teams have never met in the WCC tournament.
That changes Monday (9:30 p.m. MST, ESPN2) when the No. 3 seeded Cougars and No. 2 Gaels collide in the WCC semifinals at Orleans Arena.
BYU (22-10) has not won a WCC tournament title since joining the league in 2011-12. The last time Saint Mary?s (27-3) captured a tournament championship was 2012.
Meanwhile, BYU hasn?t forgotten the last time it played the No. 20 ranked Gaels. Saint Mary's dominated the Cougars in a 70-57 victory in Provo on Feb. 18.
For BYU, it was a demoralizing setback that saw the Cougars trail by as much as 25 in the second half.
?You can have your spirit broken when you?re frustrated,? BYU coach Dave Rose said afterward. ?We?re really uncomfortable playing from behind.?
A little more than two weeks since that game, the Cougars have won three consecutive games, including a stunning upset at then-No. 1 Gonzaga, followed by last Saturday?s 89-81 quarterfinal victory over Loyola Marymount.
Is BYU better equipped to challenge Saint Mary?s this time around?
?We?ve been with this lineup and this group and this rotation for about 3? weeks now,? Rose said. ?It?s the third time that we?ve reinvented ourselves as far as who we?re starting, who we?re bringing off the bench and how we manage that. Just experience-wise, we?re a couple of weeks more experienced with some success. Hopefully, we?re more prepared to play them.?
Saint Mary?s cruised past No. 10 seed Portland Saturday night in its quarterfinal matchup, 81-58. Calvin Hermanson drilled five 3-pointers and scored 21 points while Jock Landale chipped in 19 points and collected 12 rebounds.
"It's a lot of fun when we're like that, really dangerous," Hermanson said. "When our offense is clicking, it's a thing of beauty."
Saint Mary's is No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 56.1 points per game.
"We struggled for a while, I thought,? Saint Mary?s coach Randy Bennett said. ?We turned it over and didn't shoot it well. We were just kind of inconsistent. Then the last 10-12 minutes we really played well."
This season, the Cougars have dealt with some disappointing losses. BYU has also experienced some personnel issues due to season-ending injuries to the only seniors on the roster, forward Kyle Davis and guard L.J. Rose.
?For sure, there?s been a lot of ups and downs,? said forward Yoeli Childs. ?But the important thing is that the guys have stuck together. That?s huge for a team full of young guys. No matter what happens, we?re going to stick together.?
?We?re playing with a lot of confidence right now,? said guard Nick Emery. ?That?s what?s cool about our guys ? we?re sticking together. We lost a few games there, and sometimes teams can go one way or the other. We?re learning from our mistakes and we?re wanting to get better. We?re playing poised and we?ve got to keep it going.?
Against Saint Mary?s, BYU?s youth and depth will be tested.
?Coach keeps bringing up that I?m one of the oldest guys on the team after losing L.J. and Kyle,? Emery said. ?That?s the fun part. We get to learn every day about how to become better. This team has a lot of fight and we?re competitive guys. Now we?re finally putting that together and showing what we can actually do. We?re going to continue to get better from here.?
Landale leads Saint Mary?s in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.8 points and 9.3 boards per game. Hermanson, who has had big games against BYU, averages 12.7 points per game while Joe Rahon, the WCC Defensive Player of the Year, averages 9.6 points per game.
Before the BYU-Saint Mary's game, top-seeded Gonzaga takes on No. 4 seed Santa Clara in the other semifinal. Monday's winners will meet for the championship, and the WCC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, Tuesday night.
It seems strange considering the level of success BYU and Saint Mary?s have enjoyed in the West Coast Conference, but the two teams have never met in the WCC tournament.
That changes Monday (9:30 p.m. MST, ESPN2) when the No. 3 seeded Cougars and No. 2 Gaels collide in the WCC semifinals at Orleans Arena.
BYU (22-10) has not won a WCC tournament title since joining the league in 2011-12. The last time Saint Mary?s (27-3) captured a tournament championship was 2012.
Meanwhile, BYU hasn?t forgotten the last time it played the No. 20 ranked Gaels. Saint Mary's dominated the Cougars in a 70-57 victory in Provo on Feb. 18.
For BYU, it was a demoralizing setback that saw the Cougars trail by as much as 25 in the second half.
?You can have your spirit broken when you?re frustrated,? BYU coach Dave Rose said afterward. ?We?re really uncomfortable playing from behind.?
A little more than two weeks since that game, the Cougars have won three consecutive games, including a stunning upset at then-No. 1 Gonzaga, followed by last Saturday?s 89-81 quarterfinal victory over Loyola Marymount.
Is BYU better equipped to challenge Saint Mary?s this time around?
?We?ve been with this lineup and this group and this rotation for about 3? weeks now,? Rose said. ?It?s the third time that we?ve reinvented ourselves as far as who we?re starting, who we?re bringing off the bench and how we manage that. Just experience-wise, we?re a couple of weeks more experienced with some success. Hopefully, we?re more prepared to play them.?
Saint Mary?s cruised past No. 10 seed Portland Saturday night in its quarterfinal matchup, 81-58. Calvin Hermanson drilled five 3-pointers and scored 21 points while Jock Landale chipped in 19 points and collected 12 rebounds.
"It's a lot of fun when we're like that, really dangerous," Hermanson said. "When our offense is clicking, it's a thing of beauty."
Saint Mary's is No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 56.1 points per game.
"We struggled for a while, I thought,? Saint Mary?s coach Randy Bennett said. ?We turned it over and didn't shoot it well. We were just kind of inconsistent. Then the last 10-12 minutes we really played well."
This season, the Cougars have dealt with some disappointing losses. BYU has also experienced some personnel issues due to season-ending injuries to the only seniors on the roster, forward Kyle Davis and guard L.J. Rose.
?For sure, there?s been a lot of ups and downs,? said forward Yoeli Childs. ?But the important thing is that the guys have stuck together. That?s huge for a team full of young guys. No matter what happens, we?re going to stick together.?
?We?re playing with a lot of confidence right now,? said guard Nick Emery. ?That?s what?s cool about our guys ? we?re sticking together. We lost a few games there, and sometimes teams can go one way or the other. We?re learning from our mistakes and we?re wanting to get better. We?re playing poised and we?ve got to keep it going.?
Against Saint Mary?s, BYU?s youth and depth will be tested.
?Coach keeps bringing up that I?m one of the oldest guys on the team after losing L.J. and Kyle,? Emery said. ?That?s the fun part. We get to learn every day about how to become better. This team has a lot of fight and we?re competitive guys. Now we?re finally putting that together and showing what we can actually do. We?re going to continue to get better from here.?
Landale leads Saint Mary?s in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.8 points and 9.3 boards per game. Hermanson, who has had big games against BYU, averages 12.7 points per game while Joe Rahon, the WCC Defensive Player of the Year, averages 9.6 points per game.
Before the BYU-Saint Mary's game, top-seeded Gonzaga takes on No. 4 seed Santa Clara in the other semifinal. Monday's winners will meet for the championship, and the WCC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, Tuesday night.
