BYU basketball: Cougars ready for Bengals

PROVO — For most of last season the BYU Cougars were among the best shooting basketball teams in the country.

So far, through two exhibition games and one game that counts, the Cougars have failed to find that same hot hand. Against Trinity Western the Cougars shot only 39 percent, and in last weekend's win over Bradley they upped that average to only 40 percent. From 3-point range things have been even more challenging, where the Cougars are hitting only 29 percent of the their shots.

"I've told my teammates that I'm just getting all of my misses out of the way," guard Jackson Emery joked after going 2-of-14 through BYU's first two exhibition games.

Joking aside, however, coach Dave Rose says the Cougars will start making more shots once they start taking better shots. He wants his players to make better decisions when they're in transition, and execute better when they're in a half-court set. That's been the Cougars' focus the past two days of practice in preparation for tonight's game at the Marriott Center against the Idaho State Bengals.

"We shot more than 50 percent last year, and that's something that we want to do again, and part of that is running good plays and getting open shots," sophomore guard Jimmer Fredette said.

Rose says the Cougars have specific assignments in their set offense that at times are being neglected. The purpose of those guidelines, he said, is to ensure that shots are being taken when the other players expect the shots to be taken — which not only helps with shooting rhythm but improves the chances for an offensive rebound.

"We've taken a lot of not great shots in the past three games ... but if we take good shots we'll be able to get a lot more second chances and our percentage will go up," Fredette said.

The Cougars know that the cold-shooting start is no reason to panic just yet. They shot only 43 percent in their opener last year, and then went on to shoot nearly 55 percent over the next six games.

"The beauty of the thing is that (the season) is a marathon, not a sprint, and we're just barely taking off," senior forward Jonathan Tavernari said.

Three years ago the Bengals almost snapped BYU's long home winning streak when they took the Cougars into overtime at the Marriott Center. The last two meetings, however, have been lopsided in BYU's favor. Still, the Cougars' 85-65 win in Pocatello last season was a heated and physical game, and most of the players from that Bengals team are back and looking for revenge.

"I think you remember how competitive the games have been," Rose said of the two teams. "And I expect (another) really competitive and hard-fought game."

The key to another win for the Cougars, Fredette said, is proper execution of their offensive sets down the stretch.