The BYU Basketball team is working to regroup after a tough loss against San Diego.
Photo Courtesy of BYU Photo
PROVO – Saturday was difficult for the BYU Basketball team. The Cougars fell to the San Diego Toreros – a team that was 1-4 in conference play entering the game – as they struggled to capture any momentum.
It would be easy for players to get hung up on the loss point fingers and hang their heads, but part of the learning experience as a young college athlete is pushing through adversity. The best way to put a bad loss behind a team is add another notch to the win column and that can only be accomplished if everyone is united in the goal.
BYU Head Coach Dave Rose has pushed that message to his team as they enter Thursday night’s contest against the visiting Pepperdine Waves.
“The very most important thing is that we stay together as a group,” said Coach Rose. “After a loss, you get beat and you come back and still have to be a group and come together and stay focused and get on to the next challenge.”
The most important part of staying focused may be relying on your teammates, trust between teammates is essential for a team to be successful down the stretch.
“The most important thing as part of this group is to believe in our system and believe in each other,” added Rose. “When we have really competitive guys who want to take over on their own, we have to stress to them to stay together and stay within the group.”
Rose said that he adds to the equation by building up his players’ confidence, especially after a tough loss.
“You can get down on yourself really quick and confidence is a big part of success,” said Rose. “I feel that a big part of my job is to keep them confident.”
Returning to the Marriott Center provides a good opportunity for the Cougars to get back into the win column as they hold a 10-1 record on their home court.
Pepperdine enters the game with a 5-13 record, are on a three-game skid, and are in sole possession of last place in the WCC with a 1-5 record.
Lamond Murray Jr. leads the Waves with 20.1 ppg while shooting 44% from three-point range while Chris Reyes has provided 15 points and nearly 8 boards in the post.
Tip-off is at 7 pm at the Marriott Center. The game can be heard on the Cougar IMG Sports Network (102.7 FM, 1160 AM, 143 SiriusXM) with Greg Wrubell on the call. It can also be seen on BYUTV and byutv.org.
