Get ready for a high-scoring, fast-paced game when the BYU Cougars and Ole Miss Rebels take center court at University of Daytona Arena. The Cougars and the Rebels both have punishing offense that can break people’s brackets. But they’ll have to get through this play-in game first.
Which of these two teams takes a step further in the national tournament? Read on as we give you everything you need to know heading into this game.
The BYU Cougars are one of the two big boys down at the West Coast Conference. They won seven straight games to end the regular season, including a 73-70 upset over the South’s No. 2 seed Gonzaga. But the Zags would have their revenge in the WCC Championship Game with a 91-75 blowout of BYU.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]But it’s a bad idea to sleep on the Cougars in this tournament given how good of a team they are offensively. They’re ranked in the top five of the nation in points per game (83.6) and assists per game (16.8), 15th in rebounds per game (38.5) and 46th in field goal percentage (47 percent).
Senior guard Tyler Haws has been on a tear in his final year at BYU. He’s averaging 21.9 points per game (fourth in the entire nation) and should be a handful for an Ole Miss side which allows 67.5 points per game, 200th in the nation.
But Haws is just one part of the equation. Three other Cougars are averaging in double-digit points this season. Chase Fischer, in particular, could explode for several big threes against a leaky three-point defense from Ole Miss (205th in the nation). Fischer is shooting 41 percent from three-point range this season and is burying about three three-pointers per game.
The Cougars are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games as favorites.
Defense has caused Ole Miss plenty of problems, especially at the end of the season. The Rebels allowed a whopping 73.8 points per game over a 1-4 SU/ATS stretch entering the tournament.
But the Rebels won’t go down without a fight. They can fight fire with fire as one of the best offenses in the nation. They’re ranked 52nd with 72.6 points per game.
The Rebels have a three-headed backcourt monster with Stefan Moody, Jarvis Summers and Ladarius White all averaging 11 or more points this season. They should be able to exploit BYU’s leaky defense (72.6 points per game, 315th in the nation).
Moody, the team’s leading scorer at 16.3 points per game, can score plenty of points. He’s far from efficient, though, as he’s making just 39 percent of his field goal attempts. His percentage has been even lower heading into this play-in game, shooting just 26 percent in his last five games (including 18 percent from beyond the arc).
Still, Moody could be left open if the Rebels can display excellent ball movement. Ole Miss, as a whole, is shooting 52 percent from two-point range when left unmarked. They could do just that with Summers making the plays. He’s averaging 4.6 assists per game this season, and should be able to find the open passing lanes against BYU. The Cougars are allowing 14.1 assists per game, 305th in the nation.
Ole Miss is 4-7 in NCAA tournament games.
Writer’s Prediction
BYU and Ole Miss are both high-scoring teams with questionable defense. Take the total to goover 157.5. But if you want to pick a side, then BYU (-4) is the way to go.
