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Provo • Not entirely pleased with the way the Cougars played in Saturday's 85-77 win over Loyola Marymount at the Marriott Center, BYU basketball coach Dave Rose wasn't in a speculative mood when he fielded the final question of his postgame news conference.
Should Gonzaga be ranked No. 1 when the undefeated Zags visit BYU on Thursday night?
"That's not in my wheelhouse," Rose said, choosing his words carefully. "They haven't lost yet, so if you can get this far in the season without a loss, you probably deserve to be No. 1. But we will see. They will be up there pretty high, I'll bet."
The newest rankings will be unveiled Monday morning, and there's plenty reason to believe No. 3 Gonzaga (22-0) will rise to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 because No. 1 Villanova, No. 2 Kansas and No. 4 Kentucky all lost before the weekend even started.
Then again, Kansas (19-2) bounced back from Tuesday's 85-69 loss at West Virginia by beating Kentucky 79-73 at Rupp Arena on Saturday night in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge, and voters certainly couldn't be blamed for moving the Jayhawks to No. 1 after that impressive road victory.
Gonzaga barely broke a sweat last week in walloping San Diego 79-43 at home and Pepperdine 96-49 in Malibu.
Whatever their ranking, the Zags will roll into the Marriott Center for the 9 p.m. matchup to be televised by ESPN2 as heavy favorites. The Cougars (16-7) will have to play better than they've played all season just to be competitive.
"They are really good, and I think our guys are really excited to play them. I think it is probably as deep and complete of a team as Mark [Few] has had for awhile, and his guards are really aggressive and strong," Rose said. "He's got four inside guys who can really score around the basket. They play fast, hard and aggressive. It is a good team. So we are looking forward to playing them, see how we match up, see where we are."
BYU's most recent problem is turnovers. The Cougars gave the ball away 23 times against Loyola Marymount after committing 18 turnovers in Thursday's 76-68 loss at Santa Clara. BYU averages 14.0 turnovers per game, its opponents 12.1.
"We have been way over our average as far as turning the ball over [lately]," Rose said. "So it is probably a strategy that teams have playing against us, and we will probably see more of it."
Sophomore center Eric Mika said the Cougars are "excited" to face the Zags, but acknowledged how difficult the task could be.
"We have an awesome crowd here in the Marriott Center, and it gets loud," he said. "It is going to be full. They are a heck of a team. I think we are playing a lot better than we have in different parts of the season, and if we bring it, then it is going to be a really good game."
Freshman guard TJ Haws, the team's second-most consistent player the last month, said the Cougars will need all the Marriott Center magic they can muster.
"They are very talented and they play hard," Haws said of Gonzaga, although he was on a church mission in 2015 and 2016 when BYU beat the Zags at the Kennel in Spokane. "We are going to have to come out and have a great effort if anything is going to happen on our end."
Twitter: @drewjay —
Gonzaga at BYU
P Thursday, 9 p.m.
TV • ESPN2
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BYU's turnovers in WCC games
Date Opp. TOs
12-29 Santa Clara 8
12-31 Loyola Marymnt 9
1-5 Saint Mary's 3
1-7 Pacific 11
1-12 San Francisco 13
1-14 San Diego 14
1-19 Pepperdine 13
1-21 Pacific 14
1-26 Santa Clara 18
1-28 Loyola Marymnt 23
Season average • 14.0 turnovers per game