The Cougars' starters slumped in the loss to Texas Tech. Is it time to change the starting lineup? – Deseret News

KANSAS CITY — Fifth-seeded BYU suffered a demoralizing 81-67 loss to fourth-seeded Texas Tech in the Big 12 quarterfinals on Thursday, but the narrative took a slight turn as an NCAA Tournament bid was announced. It will be dissected, dissected and dismantled in the coming days. .

If BYU can win a game or two in the Big Dance, its 10th loss of the season will soon be forgotten.

How can I improve my cougar shooting? How can they defend better? How can they get a better start?

Well, here's the answer to that third question, which obviously (conveniently?) ignores the fact that BYU won 87-73 against UCF on Wednesday and took a 14-0 lead.

Texas Tech quickly jumped out to a 9-0 lead on Thursday, and BYU never got closer than six points the rest of the way, marking the third time this season the Cougars didn't play with a lead. . Losses at Kansas State and Oklahoma State were the other losses that forced BYU to go wire-to-wire.

Is it time for coach Mark Pope to make a change to his starting lineup? Of course, this does not mean that the current system has collapsed. So why try to fix it?

That's because the Cougars can't afford a start like the one they had Thursday morning in Kansas City, especially when they're the favorite to win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Jumping off opponents quickly to boost their confidence and perhaps draw a crowd behind the underdog could be a problem for the Cougars if BYU doesn't get the desired spot in Salt Lake City.

Senior Jackson Robinson, who deservedly won the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year award last Sunday, put BYU's scoring leader on the floor to score the first point and had starting three-man Trevin Nel off the bench. Now might be a good time to remove it.

Two of BYU's best performers in the Texas Tech loss were Richie Saunders and Faus Traore, although there weren't many. Both players came off the bench in place of Ali Khalifa and Noah Waterman, both of whom briefly missed the game due to lack of exercise and aggravated ankle injuries.

BYU's starters were 1-of-17 from 3-point range in the 14-point loss.

The 19-point deficit at the half, 42-23, was the largest the Cougars have faced this season.

“Unfortunately, Texas Tech just came out with more energy than us,” said starting BYU guard Spencer Johnson.

After Nell injured his foot in BYU's 63-58 Big 12 Game 3 win over UCF in Orlando, Pope had no choice but to start Robinson in the next six games. The Cougars won those six straight games against Iowa State, Texas and West Virginia, but lost to Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, giving up their hopes to No. 1 Houston at the Marriott Center on Jan. 23. lost 75-68.

Sanders and Robinson are two Cougars who can create their own shots. Looks like they need to be on the dance floor more during March Madness.

“This is a tough loss and we are sad,” Sanders said with steely determination. “But we're going to figure it out and take what we've learned moving forward and apply it to the next game. We're very grateful for another opportunity.”

Another train of thought might be that the Cougars have been outstanding this season, even after some tough losses, so they should simply rebuild and keep doing what they've been doing.

After losing at Texas Tech, they almost beat Houston and then waxed Texas. A loss to Oklahoma State followed by a win over Baylor. After losing at Kansas State, they beat Kansas State and TCU and nearly upset Iowa State in Ames. The list goes on.

“We'll be fine,” said Khalifa, who sprained his ankle in the first half of the game against Tech and missed the second half. “This team has been resilient all season. We're going to come together and play better next time.”