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BYU basketball: A lot is riding on Cougars' next 2 games

Cougs are a top 20 team | 6:47 a.m. Feb. 28, 2008

Bookem Dano!

CALBLUE | 7:42 a.m. Feb. 28, 2008

The win over the Lobos was great and they hit some pressure free throws but if they do not improve overall with the FT shooting it will be hard for them to win the MWC Tournament or go very far in the NCAA Tournament.

Hopeful | 8:07 a.m. Feb. 28, 2008

It looks like this BYU team is NCAA tournament bound. It would sure be fun to see them hitting on all cylinders and winning a couple of NCAA games. If they're really a top 25 team that's what they need to do.

Comments continue below

Enough already | 8:49 a.m. Feb. 28, 2008

It seems there was a lot of complaining about the non-call in the last second of overtime yesterday. Anyone whining about that must not have watched the game. If you are one of the elite teams in the conference and you have an 8-point lead AT HOME with 6 minutes left, then you can't complain about a bad call with less than a second left in OT. Plus, you had a three-point in OT with the ball with just over a minute left. You had opportunities to put the game away, no refs needed!

Of course these fans are the only ones guilty of whining about officiating costing them a game at the end. No Cougar fans ever complained about how we lost at SDSU because the final few minutes the refs gave it to them. We all remembered that we had a sizeable lead with about 6 minutes left and we choked down the stretch.

There are too many possessions in a game, too many opportunities to win a game, to blame a loss on a few bad calls, especially when you had a 3-possession lead late in the game. Fans, get a clue. Boylen, get a clue.

wii | 10:39 a.m. Feb. 28, 2008

If BYU could will out through the conference tournament they may get out of that painful 7-10 bracketing that they usually end up in.

PeanutY | 11:56 a.m. Feb. 28, 2008

Nobody, but nobody has a fair shot at winning the MWC tournament on the home court of UNLV. Not BYU, San Diego State, New Mexico or even Utah. It's unfair for every team in the league. Look at the disparity between the 29 point win over BYU on their home court and the 26 point advantage on BYU's home court. To make it fair, the MWC tournament needs to rotate among all the teams of the conference and not give UNLV a decided advantage. Let's see what happens when UNVL goes into the Pit to play. There needs to be some equality in the league and not give any one team an advantage!

Bob | 12:32 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

Maybe the team at the bottom of the conference should host the MWC tourney each year. That would give the underdog a leg up and level the playing field for the top teams.

WYO Cougar Fan | 12:33 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

GO COUGARS!! What a season! Love it!

Money Talks | 1:28 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

Alternate locations have been tried for the MWC tourney. Why didn't the league stick with it? Because fan attendance dropped way down. UNLV is centrally located for the MWC schools and fans. Now maybe this new TV deal can help bring in some revenue that would balance out the revenue lost by change of venue for the MWC tourney, assuming it works better than the last two years of TV fiasco-ness.

MWC Tournament | 1:42 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

Wat a joke?....they should of left the tourney in Denver.....

Dinosaur | 3:05 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

Remember the old WAC days when the conference winner was allowed to host the tournament? I thought that worked pretty well. It made winning the conference be worth something. It wouldn't work well if Air Force won because their arena only holds 5,000. The tournament at Las Vegas is always well attended and is a money maker for the conference. We need to give them credit for that. However, no other conference in the NCAA allows an advantage like UNLV has in always hosting the tournament.

Craig | 3:17 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

Salt Lake City is more centrally located to the conference than is Vegas. BYU, Utah, CSU, Air Force and Wyoming are all closer to SLC than they are to Vegas, while SDSU and UNLV are closer to Vegas. UNM and TCU are about the same distance away from SLC as they are from Vegas. Hold the tournament at the Delta Center.

MWC TOURNEY | 3:52 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

THE BIIGEST ADVANTAGE OF HAVING UNLV IN THE CONFERENCE IS..... LAS VEGAS. There is no other choice for the Conference tournament...PERIOD! There is no better city in the world to host an event than LAS VEGAS! It has more direct flights from more cities than any other airport and everybody loves to go there. BYU travels extremely well and is always well represented in Vegas. I have been to every game the last 4 years that the tourney has been held in Vegas and it is a great time. Life is not fair, it's not supposed to be fair. Put your big boy shorts on and beat the Rebels on their home floor. Maybe that will give our Conference champ the seed they deserve!

BB | 3:56 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

If the MWC wants to keep the tournament in Vegas thats fine, as long as they move it out of the Thomas and Mack Center(seats 18,776)and into someplace like the MGM Grand Garden Arena(seats 17,157. That way they can keep it in Vegas but make it more fair.

BB | 4:31 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

If the MWC really wants to keep the tournament in Las Vegas they need to move it out of the Thomas and Mack Center(seats 18,776) and into someplace like the MGM Grand Garden Arena(seats 17,157) that would allow them to keep it in Las Vegas and take away at least part of the homecourt advantage they get in the Thomas and Mack Center.

keep it in Vegas | 4:58 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

Fans complain about an unfair court in Vegas. It's not as bad as a real home game because other fans are taking away UNLV seats. Teams look forward to the trip to Vegas.

A new 20k seat arena is going to be built (owned by Ballys) for a future NBA team. It will be done in 3 years (maybe). The MWC can move to there and it will be balanced enough. Until then, the Orleans Arena would love to have the MWC probably (BYU played UL and UNC there earlier). It's really a weird seating setup, though. MGM or Mandalay won't work because they are too connected to Casino action.

Reason, Logic | 5:24 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

Enough of this same old argument about the location of the MWC tournament. First off the MGM arena holds about 5,000 and the Orleans holds about 8,000, those would be the only other places in Vegas to have it. Let's be real the reason the tournament is in Vegas is because it is Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world! Plus the Thomas and Mack is the nicest arena in the MWC. SLC does not even compare to Vegas, actually outside of Utah, SLC is know as Americas most boring city. Therefore a tourament in Vegas gives fans a reason to attend the tournament. Plus BYU has a huge following in Vegas and it is a short 5 hour drive from provo so please stop complaining about the location of the tournament. The tourament in denver was a huge mistake. Also the biggest advantage of having UNLV in the MWC is that they have by far the best traditional basketball program, national champ., several final fours, dozens of sweet 16's (including last year). they actually give the MWC some national cred in basketball, something BYU cannot claim.

what reason,logic? | 6:31 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

where do you get your info? the MGM seats way more than 5,000, their own website lists it as 3X that.

Mike | 6:31 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

5 hour drive my butt! I've done it in 4 1/2. I think that we ought to put the tournament in Vernal. That way, it is a pain for everyone to get to. If you want a neutral court, how about Idaho State in Pocatello? Maybe Ricks College (oops I mean BYU-Idaho)? Put it in Salt Lake. Better yet, I like the idea of the winner of the conference hosting the tournament.

Reason, Logic | 6:25 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

Reason and logic doesn't think much about reason and logic. A neutral court for the conference championship is crucial. While I agree that Vegas is one of the more central locations for it I do think it is an incredible advantage for the Rebels. You can't have any team in the conference having all home games during a conference championship. That is ridiculous, and not very logical.

Buddy boy | 7:19 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

It's not even just the home court advantage. UNLV gets the best practice time and the Conference leaders seem to get the worst. Check last years practice schedule if you don't believe me. And to say UNLV has the best basketball tradition may be true. They have the best money has been able to buy.

Z | 7:27 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

"Reason and Logic" is awesome. Of course, which ever team happens to reside in the city with the most direct flights should host the tournament every year.

Forget the fact that it makes the regular season almost meaningless. Forget that if it were held at the Marriott Center, the rest of the league would have a complete fit. In fact, forget anything substantive or equitable at all. It's all about the direct flights, casinos and booze. Makes perfect sense. Just like making an exclusive deal with a television station no one has ever heard of.

The conference needs a neutral floor and everyone knows it. Every year that UNLV fails to win the regular season title, but then wins the tourney (which I believe will happen yet again this year) it will hasten the end of this ridiculous situation, and then "reason and logic" can begin explaining how it makes perfect sense that the moon is made of cheese.

Reason, logic | 11:33 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

I've been in the MGM arena several times and it is not 18,000, plus it is not made for basketball. Z who wants to travel to provo to watch a basketball game, us non mormons that watch basketball like to drink beer and enjoy ourselves. The marriott center does not even sell cafinated beverages, good luck getting non mormons to travel to provo, Americas most close minded city, plus that arena is a dump. And it would be impossible to have a totally neutral site, if in SLC the utes and cougs would have an advantage. Lets face it, BYU fans just complain because the last time they won an NCAA tournament game the three point line didn't exist. In response to Bubble boy ya maybe UNLV did have some problems with rules violations in the past but at least our football players don't get caught violating major rules of morality, by the way that name is appropriate if you reside in Utah cause that's what utah is, a bubble.

Bc | 11:39 p.m. Feb. 28, 2008

I grew up watching BYU almost religiously. I swear my Dad is one of the biggest Cougar fans I know of. I went to ASU and now live in Pac-10 country in Phx. The Mt. West Conference from the outsiders point of view is second rate and an afterthought. A horrible TV deal should take a lot of the blame. It's actually a good thing that UNLV has such a huge home court advantage for the tournament, otherwise only the Conference Champion would make the Big Dance. No other league location makes sense. How about having the tournament down here in the Valley of the Sun? My Dad has rallied up all his sons this year to make the trip to Lost Wages to cheer on the Cougs. If BYU wants a higher seed and a chance to win at least one game in the Tourny, then they've got to beat the Rebels on their home floor. I agree with the rest of you, Reason & logic was touting what he most lacks and most desires.

Hey Reason, Logic | 2:01 p.m. March 1, 2008

I am from Vegas and you are wrong about seating capacity. I have been to MGM plenty of times too. I would believe the website when the say they have around 17,000. Also Orleans seats 9,500.

Joe | 2:21 p.m. March 1, 2008

While living in Orlando last year I had the chance to go to the ACC tournament in Tampa. Obviously they can afford to send their teams to a nice, neutral site. That would be the way to go. For the MWC maybe the Pond in Anaheim--easy to get to, a lot to do, and a great place to watch hoops (I saw Utah punk Arizona there in the sweet 16). I agree that the T&M is not the place, even if Vegas is. Quite unfair for the rest of the conference...

Go BYU!

Rotate the MWC Tourney | 3:24 p.m. March 3, 2008

Anyone for the tournamnet at the Mariott Center? (crickets chirping) Hmm... that's what I thought, no one would think thats fair if we perpetualy held in in Provo, BYU would have a huge advantage. Having the tourney in UNLV's place, the same huge advantage. Just rotate it around everyone's home court (mediocre idea) or find a good neutral court in a big city like Salt Lake or even Las vegas (better idea)

hoping that BYU will pull it out in Las Vegas!

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