First of all I think a lot of people on this board seemed to think that BYU was going to get blown out by SDSU last night. They did not and the game was very competitive.

Second, lets get the gorilla in the room right out in the open. Officiating in the game. Overall the game was officiated fairly well. Officials will miss calls and they missed some on both teams. But the two calls at the end of the first overtime were calls that should not have been missed. On the game tying three-pointer after the Kaufusi block it was a clear travel. Fischer grabbed the ball and had his pocket picked and the SDSU player took multiple small steps to get behind the line. In some ways I might excuse the call since the officials were in what could be called a transition mode with BYU getting the ball. But you had two officials on that side of the court, the trail and the lead, and one of them should have made the call. The second call, or lack of call, on the mugging of Haws is simply inexcusable. My guess is that if you show that video to Randy McCall he will admit that he should have blown the whistle. I think his mindset was that he did not want an off the ball foul to decide the game and on that he is wrong.

Now lets look at BYU. First coaching. I think Dave Rose did a good job of tightening up his rotation. I think he made a major mistake of trying to open the game with a man-to-man defense against a team like SDSU. They have a very quick and athletic team. Overall they were not billed as a good shooting team (they did shoot well against BYU) and we should have forced them into jump shots from the outset. I think Dave would call the time out at the end of the first overtime if he had to do it over again but that is really nit picking.

Haws played a good game once he quit forcing the issue. I think at times Tyler gets frustrated and tries to do things that are not his strength. He missed some early shots that he is normally money on and I think he felt the pressure to score once we got down early. His three-point shooting has definitely improved this season and this will make him even more dangerous.

Collinsworth was the best player on the floor last night. He scored 21 points, had 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and more importantly only turned it over 2 times. He look far more explosive than he has in the first couple of games. He hit 6-8 FTs and if he does that this year he will be on the floor at the end of close games and that is a positive for BYU.

Fischer did not have a great game. He shot the ball poorly and he too forced the issue by driving into the teeth of the SDSU defense. One of the weaknesses of BYU guards is none of them are really strong ball handlers.

Winder played the game we have come to expect. He gave us 14 points off the bench, played some solid defense and played under control.

The big guys gave us what we have come to expect. Austin played defense and rebounded but again shows no real offense. Against athletic teams he will eventually foul out of games. Worthington was not able to stay with the SDSU big men. They don’t have a lot of basketball inside skills but they attack the basket and he was overmatched.

Kaufusi played OK but at this point in his career he is in for defense (rim protecting) and rebounding. He has very little in offensive skills. I was guilty of buying into some of the hype I had heard from friends who watched him during the summer. He is still very raw and will benefit from coaching more than any other player on the team..

Neilsen was a bit of a surprise. He has basketball skills and some toughness. He has always been known as a shooter and he showed that ability last night. I suspect he has earned more minutes in the future.

The rest of the players that got in the game were only token appearances. Bartley for a few seconds at the end. Nixon played a few minute and was quickly exposed for his major weakness, lack of foot speed. He is a good shooter and against lesser athletic teams he can be effective but against any quick and athletic forward he becomes a liability. Toolson was in and quickly back out.

Overall I was impressed with the play of the team. They got down by 11 points early and did not give up. Over and over they teetered on the edge of being blown out and pulled it together and got back in the game. The three point shooting is much better this year. Even Collinsworth sank one. I do not think they are going to beat out Gonzaga for the WCC title but they will also not get blown out by the Zags.

I suspect that as the season moves forward we will see less and less of guys like Sharp and Halford. They are seniors and I think Rose would rather play the younger players to continue their development.