BYU fell to Loyola Marymount 82-68 on Thursday night. Here are my quick reactions:
Losing at home to anyone short of Saint Mary's or Gonzaga? (Or a team like Baylor?) That. Can. Not. Happen.
82 points is a lot. BYU can't give up scores like that and expect to win it. Ireland and Viney were too much.
Noah Hartsock is still the man. 28 points on 11-15 shooting.
The Cougar offense died at the three-point line tonight. Of BYU's 10 players to see the floor, 8 played more than 6 minutes, and 7 of those 8 (everyone but Davies) put up a three. Carlino's 1-7 led the way to the 2-24 finish.
Big picture: BYU absolutely has to beat Gonzaga and St Mary's at home, and reach the WCC title game, to even be in the mix for an at-large bid. If the Cougars can win all three in the Virginia Tech-St Mary's-Gonzaga stretch, they will have done enough to make up for this loss. If not ... it's a tough road. (And Virginia Tech isn't helping, now 0-3 in ACC play and plays ranked Virginia before hosting BYU).