Quick hits from BYU-Air Force

After practice on Thursday, BYU coach Dave Rose talked about how excited his team was to get back out on the court after a bye. Today the Cougars showed it, putting on a shooting exhibition en route to a 91-48 win over an over-matched Air Force team. Here are a few thoughts I had during and after the game:

1) I can’t help but think that Air Force must have felt the same way the Cougars did last week against UNLV. Like the Rebels, the Cougars hit nine of their first 13 threes, putting the game away early in the first half. BYU made 12 of 21 from beyond the arc for the game.

2) Steals. BYU had lots of them (15, actually). The Cougars had their hands in the passing lanes all game and kept Air Force from establishing any kind of offensive rhythm. Tyler Haws and Jonathan Tavernari led the Cougars with four steals each, while Jackson Emery and Brandon Davies nabbed two apiece.

3) Playing in front of his parents for the only time this season, Tavernari continued his hot shooting with 19 points against Air Force. He made 6-of-7 shots in the first half (including 5-of-5 from three-point range), and the only shot he missed was a layup where he lost control of the ball on his way to the rim. His only second-half points came via two free throws as he and the other starters spent much of the second half on the bench. After struggling with his shooting stroke early in the season, JT is catching fire just in time for the home stretch. Love him or hate him, Tavernari is the ultimate X Factor for the Cougars.

4) Logan Magnusson logged first-half minutes for the second consecutive game, though his court time today came as BYU was on the the good side of a blowout. The Salt Lake Community College transfer did not take a shot but grabbed two rebounds in nine minutes against Air Force.

5) BYU’s magic number for blowout victories is 91, as in 91 points. Today’s 91-48 win over Air Force was the third most lopsided victory for the Cougars this season. The other two? A 91-34 win over Eastern Washington and a 91-47 blowout of Colorado State earlier this season.

6) One other player who really stood out today was Jackson Emery. He hit 7-of-9 shots (including 4-of-6 from three-point range) and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Emery is always the scrappiest player on the court, but today was the first day in exactly one month that he hit at least 50 percent of his shots.