I'm watching the first round of the NIT and I'm not sure who the announcer is, but they were talking about UCLA. Then one of them said "I can't wait for the match up of Texas A&M and UCLA, thats going to be a good game" Thats a paraphrase but he didn't give the Cougs a breath. I wish I knew who it was so I could see his face when the Cougs beat the aggies!

Texas A&M is NOT a good 3 point shooting team. They shoot 16.5 per game and make 5.75. Only two players on the team take them and make them with any consistency - Carter and Kirk. Carter you have to watch out for; Kirk's hot and cold and mostly makes them when he is wide open. Either way, this team is used to scoring only 17 points a game from the 3 spot. Force them to shoot the 3 as a team and they will miss. Trust me - A&M has no desire to make this a 3 point shooting contest. That equals a loss.

BYU, on the other hand, has 4 players on the floor at a time that can shoot contested 3s. And they shoot these contested 3s better than A&M does. They shoot 20 per game and make more than 8. That is good three point shooting, no matter how you cut it.

rackem wrote:

stjohnsmythe,

Dave must be looking at #s that I can't read.
Both BYU and A&M shoot 46% from the field. A&M has 20 games where they have scored over 70 points. A&M averages .358 from the 3 point line and are .637 from the line. You gotta have shooters to put up those kind of numbers.
Just because Rivals say something, the #'s don't lie.

GO Cougs.

A&M has won only 1 game in conference play when the other team has scored over 70 points. And that was the game they played out of their minds - against Texas. That's a telling statistic. A&M will slow the game WAY down. That is there only hope. This is a pound it, keep it slow team.

BYU, on the other hand, is 10-0 in conference play when scoring over 70 points. You do not want to have a high scoring affair with BYU.

Texas A&M will rely on their defense. BYU will win that battle.

I was just reading through Rivals.com, they had breakdowns of all the games. Here's what they said about BYU

BACKCOURT: Murdock is the setup man. He makes good decisions with the ball and rarely commits turnovers. Burgess bided his time before emerging as a starter in his final season, and he's an above-average outside shooter. The key to the backcourt is Cummard, who was so good this season he was named Co-Mountain West Player of the Year. He's a terrific shooter from inside the arc and outside, and he's a solid defender. Fredette is a 3-point specialist off the bench.
FRONTCOURT: Plaisted is the Cougars' leading scorer and rebounder, and he showed the nation what he's capable of in consecutive games in November against North Carolina (24 points and 17 rebounds) and Louisville (21 and 12). Tavernari is streaky shooter who led the Cougars in 3-pointers. When he's on, he's tough to guard because he has one of the quickest releases in the game. Despite a lack of bulk, Collinsworth is a good rebounder.
X-FACTOR: Depth. This team goes only seven deep. It could have problems with teams that want to push the pace and play pressure defense.
THE BUZZ: The Cougars are a potential sleeper. They surround a good post player with some top-notch 3-point shooters. They're also more athletic than they get credit for. A Sweet 16 run isn't out of the question.

My favorite part was

A Sweet 16 run isn't out of the question.

For everyone keeping track at home, that would mean beating UCLA!

Go get em' Cougars!

CBS Sportsline has a good preview of the game and how the two teams matchup.

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/edge/west/BYU/TXAM

Their analysis of BYU seemed very accurate, and their comparison of the statistics was thorough. They give BYU the edge in all categories except one in which the teams are tied. Overall edge goes to BYU.

A&M looks like a good rebounding and defensive team. The Aggies will have to shoot very well to win.