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BYU proves themselves a contender in the WCC with 112-103 win over Stanford

Tyler Haws

Brigham Young’s Tyler Haws shoots against Stanford during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Nov. 11, 2013, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

AP

Tyler Haws popped off for 31 points, and Matt Carlino chipped in with 25 of his own, as BYU went down to Palo Alto and knocked off the Stanford Cardinal, 112-103.

Yup, you read that score right.

It was 112-103.

Nothing weird happened, either. This wasn’t a quadruple-overtime game, it was just good, old-fashioned, uptempo basketball.

And that’s why you should be concerned about BYU this season.

There is a lot of talent on that basketball team. You should already know about Tyler Haws by now. He’s one of the best scorers in the country, having dropped 60 points in his first two games. But he’s far from alone, as point guard Matt Carlino, a UCLA transfer, is finally starting to live up to the reputation that he had coming out of high school. He’s still a score-first player, but he seems to be making some better decision this year.

BYU’s big freshman post Erik Mika is the real deal as well. He runs the floor extremely well, a must for anyone on the Cougars, and he’s got a soft touch and an honest-to-god back-to-the-basket game. The x-factor is Kyle Collinsworth, an athletic playmaker at the small forward spot that returned from his mission seemingly better than ever. Two games into the season, he’s averaging 12.5 points, 9.5 boards and 6.5 assists. That ain’t bad.

Dave Rose’s club isn’t doing this against nobodys, either. The Cougars ran through a really good Weber State team on Friday night, one that’s the favorite in the Big Sky by a good margin. Stanford will compete for an NCAA tournament spot come March, and BYU went down into their place and ran all over them on national TV.

There are still question marks here -- what happens on the nights BYU can’t run? Can this team get enough stops? What about when threes aren’t dropping -- but no team in the country can boast two wins as impressive as BYU’s right now. It’s early, I know, but the early returns lead me to believe that BYU can compete with Gonzaga or the WCC title. At the very least, the battle between the Cougs and the Zags will be must-see TV.

As far as Stanford is concerned, losing Andy Brown is really hurting them right now. Johnny Dawkins is trying to tinker with his rotation, but right now it isn’t working. Brown was supposed to be his starting small forward, and without him, it’s obvious Dawkins doesn’t trust his perimeter depth. That’s why the Allen twins don’t get minutes.

What Dawkins has done instead is go to a big lineup, one that features two post players with Josh Huestis, one of the nation’s best energy guys and offensive rebounders, at the three. Aaron Bright comes off the bench and Anthony Brown starts. It’s a massive front line, but it didn’t do enough good tonight. It will be interesting to see how long Dawkins sticks with that decision.

Follow @robdauster