BYU's Perfect Start to the Season: Four Wins in Five Nights

Every college coach would be happy to start the season with a win streak, and Dave Rose is no exception. His BYU Cougars have rolled up four early season victories, and BYU fans may soon forget the loss of Trent Plaisted and Sam Burgess.  Even with a mix of return missionaries and new faces, the Cougars are continuing to roll through early season opponents.

First up Tuesday night were the Pepperdine Waves.  This game turned into a second half blowout after BYU took an 11-point lead at the half.  The final score was 82-53. This was BYU's first road win of the year.

Jonathan Tavernari scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard Jimmer Ferdette chipped in 16 points and five assists.  Lee Cummard turned in a more subdued performance, firing up 13 points while pulling down five rebounds.

Thursday night, BYU hosted the Basketball Travelers Classic, a round robin tournament that had four teams playing three games in as many nights. First up for BYU was the North Florida Ospreys.

North Florida was overmatched from the opening tip-off.  The Ospreys had only three players that were taller than 6'7", and it showed.  Out-rebounded by 17 and down as many as 33, the Ospreys were steamrolled in the Marriott Center, 74-41.

Tavernari again led BYU, ripping the Ospreys with 25 points, and Lee Cummard helped with a workman-like seven points and 12 rebounds.

Next up were the Rice Owls.  Rice, much better than North Florida, still couldn't do much against the hot-shooting Cougar team.  At one point in the first half BYU was 9-13 from the three-point line and they finished 12-22 (.545).  Anytime your team shoots 55 percent from the three-point line, it's going to be a long night for the other team.

Rice actually matched up in terms of size with BYU, only losing the rebounding battle by five.  But BYU's offense looked like poetry in motion. With 22 assists and fantastic play from the perimeter, BYU easily dispatched Rice 83-52.  Tavernari led all scorers again, scoring 18, and Cummard and Ferdette each contributed 13.

Late Saturday night was the concluding game of the tourney, and this was BYU's biggest challenge. Simulating conference tournament play with three games in three nights, Coach Rose hoped to give this BYU team a taste of what it would be like in early March.

The Cal Poly Mustangs were ready and willing to give BYU a tough challenge. Cal Poly was led by F-C Titus Shelton and hot-shooting guard Shawn Lewis.  Shelton gave the Cougars fits, scoring 22 points and blocking three shots.  Lewis was a deep threat, hitting three of seven from the three-point line and ending with 15 points.

But BYU's home court advantage was too much. Led by Lee Cummard's huge 28 points and nine rebounds and Chris Miles' career-high 24 points and six rebounds, BYU overcame a late game run by the Mustangs and pulled away for a 76-64 victory.

Watching all three games, it was obvious that BYU was never in real danger of losing any of its games. It was also a great time for future Cougar stars to get significant minutes.  Charles Abouo, Jackson Emery, and Noah Harstock were able to get valuable playing time in the first two victories and should be valuable additions to this Cougar team as the season progresses.

One other observation is that Dave Rose has this team playing efficiently early in the season.  I personally have been following the Cougar program closely for several seasons, and I have yet to see the "motion" offense run as well as I'm witnessing this year.

But this Cougar team has yet to face a serious challenge and now is looking at three road contests, beginning with Idaho State on Nov. 29 and ending with Utah State on Dec. 6.  The Dec. 6 game is actually in Salt Lake City (Energy Solution Center) and is already a sellout.

Road games are much more difficult, but this Cougar team has a chance to prove how good they really are in the post-Plaisted era.