BYU basketball: Anson Winder's hustle gives Y. a lift

PROVO — After suffering a humbling 14-point loss to Saint Mary's on Jan. 28, BYU coach Dave Rose decided to make some changes.

At the time, the Cougars had dropped back-to-back home games for the first time since the 2004-05 season, and their hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight year were slipping away.

One of those changes included shaking up the starting lineup, as Rose replaced junior shooting guard Brock Zylstra with redshirt freshman Anson Winder.

That move paid immediate dividends.

In the next game against Gonzaga, Winder played a big role for the Cougars. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Las Vegas native forced a couple of steals early on that led to points, which helped propel BYU to a much-needed 83-73 victory over the Bulldogs. Winder finished with 10 points, five assists and three steals.

"We've done a few things philosophically, as well as just the change of personnel," Rose said. "Defensively, it's really given us a good lift, especially at the start of games. We get our hands on a lot more balls. We've been able to deflect a lot of passes and score in transition. I just think that's been a great change for us. Hopefully we can build on it and see where it takes us."

Rose said Zylstra, who is nursing an injured ankle, is "questionable" for today's game at the Marriott Center against Pepperdine (4 p.m., MST, BYUtv).

While Winder is grateful to be a starter again — he started six straight games earlier in the season as a point guard before Matt Carlino was eligible — he said he just wanted to provide what his team needed.

"When (Rose) put me in the lineup, I definitely just wanted to do what got me there — play hard defense and get out on transition," said Winder. "I think that's helped for the most part. I just want to keep it going."

Winder added that he maintains a similar mindset as a starter as he did as a reserve. "It's the same mentality, do whatever I can to help the team win — diving for balls, making assists, getting steals, whatever," he said.

Meanwhile, Zylstra has performed well in his new role, too.

In last Saturday's 79-60 win at Portland, Zylstra came off the bench and scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and had one steal, despite playing 17 minutes in the second half on an injured ankle. Zylstra played 28 minutes, compared to 16 for Winder.