Can the Cougar hoopsters crack the Top 25?

I’m not sure what to make of BYU’s 6-0 start considering the strength of the Cougars’ schedule. However, I was impressed with the Cougars’ win at Idaho State. The Bengals are a decent team that has lost three games in overtime. They play tough hard-nosed basketball, and the Cougars didn’t panic in a tough environment and in a physical and scrappy game. What impressed me most – other than how well they shared the ball – was how the Cougars pulled away in a time in the game, following the mini-scuffle with Lee Cummard, Jonathan Tavernari and ISU’s Donnie Carson, in which many road teams panic. In fact, Cummard noted that the game was the type that the Cougars would have lost in the past – so even he saw progress and maturity in the victory. Coach Dave Rose liked how his team played as a team through the adversity and how one guy didn’t think he had to be the hero or stablizer.
So, looking at the schedule the Cougars realistically could be 10-0 when they head down to Phoenix on Dec. 20 to play No. 19 Arizona State at University of Phoenix Stadium. Most likely Saturday’s game with Utah State at EnergySolutions Arena is their toughest game between now and then.
Should BYU take a 10-0 mark down to Arizona, will the Cougars be ranked? My bet is they’ll be pushing the bubble if they keep winning because a few teams ahead of them in voting are likely to lose before then. Tough schedule or not, pollsters are not going to ignore a 10-0 record. Right now the Cougars are in the 31st spot in the polls, so they do have five or six teams to jump. But I think if they win their next four games, they’ll be playing leap frog in the polls. And with the verdict still out on exactly how good this BYU team is, everyone is looking ahead to that ASU game as the telling sign. Win or lose, BYU must play well in Phoenix or all of its previous wins will lose some meaning.

On BYU’s schedule: The critics need to keep one thing in mind. Other teams do not like to play the Cougars in the Marriott Center, so the truth of the matter is that BYU wants the nation’s best to come to Provo, but most of them won’t. And the Cougars are subject to invites to the more prestigious national tournaments. Fortunately, they did get an invite to the one-day event in Phoenix or their schedule would look even weaker.

As for the Idaho State scuffle – which seems to be what most people want to talk about regarding that game – this is how I saw it. On a fast-break layup by Jimmer Fredette, Tavernari and Cummard were trailing the play and Tavernari was accidentally bumped into ISU’s Carson from behind. Thinking nothing of it, Tavernari and Cummard then turned to begin their pre-foul-shot huddle when Carson came charging back at Tavernari and shoved him in the back. That action turned Cummard and Tavernari back around and had a couple of Cougars come charging off the bench. Had some teammates not held him back, Tavernari might have extended the scuffle beyond that and found himself out of the game. Also, had ISU coach Joe O’Brien not continually thrown fuel on the fire with his sideline stomping and yelling, some of which was directed at BYU’s coaches and players, the crowd and Bengal players might have let the scuffle pass. But I think O’Brien was searching for anything to keep his team fired up. Then Cummard ignited things again when he, after being called for a rebound foul, tried to slap the ball out of the hands of an ISU player. That really got the Bengal crowd steamed at the Cougar star.
But honestly, from everything I saw, the officials should have assessed a technical on Carson, because he’s the one who really started the incident.