BYU basketball notes: San Diego coach expected Cougars' bounce-back

Provo • San Diego coach Bill Grier expected a big effort from BYU on Saturday.

He got it.

Two nights after the Cougars suffered an 18-point loss at Saint Mary's, BYU rolled to an 88-52 win over the Toreros.

Grier talked about the Cougars' loss to Saint Mary's with coach Dave Rose before San Diego's game against BYU.

"I know Dave was disappointed in the way they played against Saint Mary's," Grier said, "and I thought they corrected that in a hurry against us."

Mostly, BYU's defense was better.

San Diego shot 5-for-27 from the 3-point line and only 23 percent in the game.

"We just wanted to make sure our effort defensively was different," said BYU post player Brandon Davies. "We got put on our heels against Saint Mary's, so we wanted to make sure we were the aggressor this game."

Double-edged sword?

BYU played its first-ever West Coast Conference home game against San Diego.

According to Grier, the addition of BYU helps the league, even though coaches might not enjoy playing the Cougars.

"I'm not excited about having to come to the Marriott Center," he said. "But I do believe it's really good for our conference — the profile. Obviously this program has been very, very good."

Grier praised the job Rose has done in creating "a national level program that does nothing but help our conference.

"It doesn't mean I'm excited to play them or I'm real happy about it, but I do think it's good for our league."

Briefly

Davies finished with 21 points and 22 rebounds. It was the first 20-20 game by a BYU player since Mark Handy against Wyoming on March 7, 1975. … Has Rose, who played collegiately at Houston, ever seen a 20-20 game? "I would bet Hakeem Olajuwon did a few times," he said. "But I don't know for sure." … Point guard Matt Carlino did not start the second half. He picked up his third foul with nine-tenths of a second left in the first half. "My fault," said Rose.

luhm@sltrib.com