UNM did what SDSU couldn't:

Make shots when they needed them. SDSU shot 31.8 from the field in the 2nd half and 15.4% from three in the 2nd half. UNM shot 56.7% from the floor and 46.7% from three in the 2nd half.



The Lobos made shots and the Aztecs didn't.

We played Defense against SDSU. Amazing what happens when you make an effort.

SDSU had open shots too, they just missed them. But yes, I would agree that our defensive effort was better vs SDSU.

I understand they were probably tired from the SDSU game, but a top ten team should be good enough to take down NM at their place. I guess everyone loses though so re group and win out!

A true top 10 team doesn't suck like we did today. We aren't a top 10 team but I refused to allow myself to believe it. We are back to what I thought we were in December. A decent team, but the girl in the 2nd half on Wednesday was right.

BYU didn't do with New mexico what they did against SDSU and that was play defense. NM got layup after layup during the whole game and when BYU decided to stop the layups, it was easy to kick it out to the 3 point shooters who were WIDE open. I don't know if the SDSU game took all the energy out of them or what but BYU's defense was horrible in this game. Too bad, BYU would have been in the top 5 with a win at NM, now they either drop or stay the same. Most likely will drop.

BPcougs wrote:
I understand they were probably tired from the SDSU game, but a top ten team should be good enough to take down NM at their place. I guess everyone loses though so re group and win out!

You really don't think we were good enough to win today? We didn't get run out of the gym. We didn't get killed. We didn't play like we didn't belong. We had a good chance today. UNM got up for a big game, they took their best shot and it landed. But we were good enough to take them down, we just didn't.

kitic77 wrote:
SDSU had open shots too, they just missed them. But yes, I would agree that our defensive effort was better vs SDSU.

and this is the problem with playing the zone. You get burned big when a team heats up. I've noticed that BYU collapses on a post player with the ball way too aggressively which throws the balance of the zone off and leaves the perimeter vulnerable. UNM made BYU pay. SDSU (and CSU) couldn't capitalize.

When we were up 13 we went into cruise control thinking UNM would just roll over. I realize Jimmer was probably way tired and frustrated, but him sitting on the bench gave UNM an opportunity.



Credit UNM for shooting well in the 2nd half. They also took care of the ball after half time, whereas we didn't. Only thing that was keeping us in the game at the half were all the turnovers UNM had.



UNM also played their game. They crashed the boards hard rather than leaving a few guys to stop BYU's fast break like SDSU did. That killed SDSU as it allowed us to get the boards. BYU can play a half court offense; we just don't like to. UNM did what they did and BYU couldn't hang.

I didnt say they werent good enough to win, i said a top 10 should never lose to a mediocre team like NM. Especially with a 13 point lead in the 2nd half.

What I saw was a very tired BYU team in the 2nd half - they looked much like SDSU did in Provo. They just didn't have the energy to play the kind of defense thay needed to. They may have been tired because of the Wednesday game. They may have been responding to the higher altitude a little. They also probably were outmaneuvered by NM's deeper bench. Whatever the cause, they were tired, and it showed in their shooting (including free-throws) and defense.

Another thing UNM did well was deny the entry pass to Davies in the 2nd half. They were very physical with their post defense and the refs let them push, pull and drape themselves all over Davies and he couldn't get the ball.



Throw in UNM taking good care of the ball in the second half - which didn't lead to steals and easy transition baskets for us - and every other teammate struggling to make shots and the inside/outside game with Jimmer and Brandon simply wasn't there.

I was very frustrated after that loss and had to step away for a day or two to cool off. I was disappointed that BYU lost a 13 point lead on the road, but it happens. Couple that with BYU playing lights out for the first half of conference play and needing to be up for UNLV, CSU, SDSU, and finally UNM all in a month's span with 3 of those games on the road. If you told me going into the season that BYU would be 3-1 against those 3 teams and I would have said, "I'll Take it." BYU truly tired out in the last ten minutes against UNM and UNM started hitting the open 3s. Jimmer was too tired to shoot and the rest of the gang went cold.



I credit Rose some for not making adjustments in the last 15 mins to stem the tide when UNM got on their roll. But losing to UNM on the road is not bad considering BYU has had to play 4 of the top 5 teams on the road in the first half of conference play.



Since the team actually moved up in the polls, that's a good sign as well and should keep BYU thick in the mix for a 2d seed.



Lastly, BYU has 4 road games out of 9 to close the regular season. 3 of those are against Wyoming, Air Force, and TCU, the weak sisters of the MWC. SDSU is the only road game where BYU won't be favored. The schedule favors BYU to go 14-2 in conference and possibly even 15-1. I will take that.

BPcougs wrote:
I didnt say they werent good enough to win, i said a top 10 should never lose to a mediocre team like NM. Especially with a 13 point lead in the 2nd half.

signed, Duke (unless you consider them a non-top 10 team...and I would say St. John is just as 'mediocre', aka, just as good, as UNM), Villanova and Syracuse.

Seriously, what do you want? Would you rather BYU have lost to SDSU and then beaten UNM because you would have been able to understand it a bit better with SDSU being a top 5 team and UNM being 'mediocre'? I'd take the win over SDSU and a loss @ UNM over a loss to SDSU and a win @ UNM any day of the week and apparently so would all the experts (Lunardi moving BYU up to a 2 seed from a 3, BYU moving up in the polls). Did the loss sting? You bet it did but put some perspective on your 'hurt feelings' post and I'm sure you'll agree with most of the other posts following the game. The cougs probably blew it @ UNM but it isn't being viewed that way. UNM got up for the game and played extremely well in the second half.

With byu holding a 13 point lead in the second half they probably should have won but UNM had some unexpected people step up for them and they proved to be the difference. Move on and look forward to the next week of games. We have a special team to watch this year that had one rough game in the last 11! 2 losses in 22 games is better than 98% of the rest of the country can say.

Let's see, Duke lost to a "mediocre" team on the road. Syracuse lost to a bad team at home, by 22 points.



BYU lost on Saturday because they stopped making shots and getting steals. That's the bottom line. It didn't help that UNM got points on 15 of 16 trips down the court at one point. Sometimes that happens on the road. It's just what happens in college basketball.

Pay refs.

If you saw BYU play vs Wake Forest and ASU last year, then you know that Jimmer (and the rest of the team, for that matter) don't get the 'respect' from officials that other top-10 teams do. Is it the SOLE reason we lost? No, we could always have played better (no team ever plays a perfect game). But did we play well enough to beat a team like UNM had the calls been a little different? I think so.