Dick Harmon: Loss to Baylor was learning experience

It is rare the Cougars can get a Big 12, Big Ten or ACC team to come to Provo. They simply refuse the invite. Drew refused at first and then hedged for a while until he and Rose agreed to an early Saturday game in mid-December after finals.

BYU led Baylor for most of 30 minutes of a 40-minute slugfest. The Cougars outrebounded the Bears 44-31 and had a solid game plan to guard the middle and make the Bears beat them from the arc. They did with 13 treys.

Credit Baylor.

BYU cannot afford to lull in offense like they did against a Baylor and expect to win. They did this same thing against Wake Forest in Provo a couple of years ago. In all three BYU losses this year, they've hit a dead spell, lost a lead and couldn't get it back. It's called sustainability of high-level play.

Carlino will knock off the rust and he proved on Saturday he will be something to watch for Cougar fans. His double-crossover, 3-point shot over Baylor's 6-foot-7 Quincy Acy was Jimmer-like. He made half his shots (7-of-14), but, more importantly, he is an Alpha Dog on this BYU team.

Dave Rose can always use another strong, testy bark.

Email: dharmon@desnews.com