BYU vs. Loyola Marymount – What you need to know

BYU basketball may have beaten LMU by 11 in their first meeting of the season, but LMU sure gave BYU all they could handle.

The Cougars ended the second half down by 10 with a score of 50-40. Being down by 10 points at the half may not be the most glaring statistic. The Cougars gave up 50 points in the first half to a sub-500 team. However, the Cougars did get their act together in the second half and they were playing LMU on their home floor.

BYU didn’t struggle at all on offense putting up 91 points and boasting two players with 20 points or more. The Cougars need to be prepared though for another tough WCC match up. The WCC is visibly stronger this year and the seemingly harmless teams like LMU, Pepperdine and Portland continue to show up for their matchups against the Cougars.

Keys to watch for the Lions

Look for the Lions to try to limit the easy shot. In the last game, the Cougars definitely had their way in the second half outscoring the lions by 11 points. The Lions will try to limit the scoring of Chase Fischer and Kyle Davis who had their way against the Lions the last time they met this year. The Lions will also try to even out the rebounds being that the Cougars out rebounded them by 10 in the last game.

Keys to watch for the Cougars

Watch for the Cougars to try to take away the three point shot and limit Adom Jacko and Steve Haney. The Lions only shoot 34 percent as a team from behind the arc, but the Cougars allowed 11 made three pointers in their last contest with the Lions. On top of that, Jacko scored 26 points and Haney added another 18 with 5-10 three-point shooting. The Cougars will also keep a closer eye on Haney who only averages 10.9 points but was allowed to soar above that average last time around.