BYU Loses Again to Texas A&M: Another Early Exit

BYU loses again, nothing new...


Texas A&M 79 BYU 66, no big surprise.

It seems to be like day light savings. Set your clock ahead, watch BYU choke in the conference tournament, and then watch them exit in the first round of the NCAA tournament. BYU hasn't gotten a "good" draw for many years; however, that isn't an excuse. Other teams are able to overcome a bad seed, poor play location, or even hostile crowds. Yet, BYU isn't able to overcome. The brighter the lights the quicker that BYU falters.

This year, BYU never got their game going. BYU went down early, and didn't seem to fight back. Sure Texas A&M were hitting big shots, but BYU wasn't doing anything to disrupt the streak of Texas A&M's shotting. How many free throws did A&M shot in the first half? Four, with two of those in the first nineteen minutes. That is it. If a team is on fire, "let see how many shots they can make on their back?" In a tournament teams just can't play soft, but that is BYU's M.O.

It wouldn't be a big deal for BYU if this year was something out of the ordinary. Nope, BYU has played the same type of game every year. Texas A&M came out of the gate last year and went up 11, and BYU couldn't overcome. Xavier couldn't miss from the outside, and BYU didn't do anything to slow them down. BYU actually got off to a big lead against Syracuse before Gerry McNamara caught fire and lead his team to a victory.

From the start of the season it was obvious that the BYU system of basketball is a hit or miss business. If BYU's outside shot is falling they can hang with anyone in the country. This can be seen in both the Arizona State and Wake Forest games this season. BYU had a lead, but couldn't maintain the lead once the shots stopped falling.

BYU system of offense seems to be almost at the level of a gimmick. The gimmick that is used by BYU ensures that they can compete year in year out in the Mountain West Conference. BYU can plug in your standard BYU player and succeed, but have trouble when it comes to any tournament.

1993, 1993 looms large in BYU's basketball fans minds. 1993 was the last time that BYU won a tournament game. That date will have to be burned into the mind of every BYU fan for another year at least for BYU to get another shot at erasing the date.