College Hoops Preview: BYU vs. #7 Nevada

College Basketball

College Hoops Preview: BYU vs. #7 Nevada

• Matchup: Brigham Young Cougars (0-0, 0-0) @ #7 Nevada Wolfpack (0-0, 0-0)
• Date: Nov. 6, 2018
• Time: 11 p.m. (est)
• Network: CBSSN
• Location: Reno, Nevada, USA
• Venue: Lawler Events Center
• Seating Capacity: 11,536

The Nevada Wolfpack start the season at their highest preseason ranking in school history. Finding themselves near the top five, this team has pretty large expectations entering the season. Two reasons are for that, one of which being their success in last season’s NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack knocked off both Texas and defensive juggernaut Cincinnati in exciting fashion, before falling to the Cinderella team in Loyola-Chicago.

The successful run and exciting games put Nevada on the map in a big way. The other reason Nevada finds themselves in the top seven to begin the season is that of their experience. The Wolfpack return pretty much everyone from their team a season ago, but the Brigham Young (BYU) Cougars pose as a perfect ‘test game’ to open the new season.

We’re Back

As mentioned above, Nevada returns a lot of players. The two most notable are twins Caleb and Cody Martin, hailing out of North Carolina. Both Martin twins were top three in team total points last season, along with being among the team leaders in rebounds, assists and blocks. Nevada also returns the other top three scorer from a season ago in Jordan Caroline.

Perhaps the most overlooked, though, is guard Lindsey Drew. Nevada wasn’t terrible, but their weak link last season was team defense. The reason Drew’s return is so valuable is that he was one of four players who recorded over 20 blocks last year. He is the best defensive player on the perimeter for Nevada, as his return is as crucial as the three mentioned above.

The Wolfpack offense will be difficult to contain for teams this season, as they ranked 18th in points per game last year (82.6). They also found themselves among the nation’s top-30 teams in assists per game (16.2). With an experienced team looking to only get better on both sides of the court, Nevada is a solid sleeper for Final Four considerations.

A Possible Sleeper in the West?

BYU won over 20 games last season, before falling in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). What kept the Cougars out of last year’s March Madness was their lack of schedule. BYU was able to defeat #20 St. Mary’s, ultimately knocking the Gaels out of March Madness, along with taking out Utah early in the season. BYU has upset potential everytime they face a powerhouse, but this game may be more difficult than expected.

BYU only returns one of their scoring leaders from last year’s team in Yoeli Childs. Elijah Bryant is now gone, leaving the Cougars with only one of last year’s players to score over 600 total points. The Cougars are a bit difficult to figure out. They ranked 56th nationally in points allowed per game last year (67.8) but were horrendous on the glass.

The Cougars were ranked below 300 in rebounds per game (32.7) and things don’t seem to be better for this season. Bryant, who is now gone, led the Cougars in rebounds last year which will require Childs to exert more energy on the glass this season. BYU has no true center on their roster either, with their tallest player being senior forward Luke Worthington. Worthington is far from a solidified big man though, with only 98 total rebounds last year and less than 10 total blocks on the season.

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Photo Credit: Loyola-Chicago via Flickr