The first time BYU was scheduled to play at Pepperdine on New Year’s Eve, the Cougars found that the game was postponed – due to COVID-19 problems with Waves – 30 minutes on their flight to Southern California and the pilot had to turn the plane around.
At the makeup game in Malibu, BYU changed completely, especially in the second half, before dropping 76-73 to Pepperdine on a crazy Wednesday. The Cougars lost pace at the end of the game.
It is certainly not normal to play a contest that starts at noon Pacific Standard Time on a Wednesday.
“I don’t think any of us would have chosen that time. It is a substitute game; it’s a COVID game, ”said coach Mark Pope. “I think there is a volleyball conflict tonight (at Pepperdine). When we originally played the substitution game, we thought Wednesday would be better than Thursday because it would give us two days of preparation before our Saturday game (against San Francisco), which was canceled. … Clearly, it didn’t work under any circumstances. It was a very bad decision on my part in terms of programming. “
Striker Kolby Lee said Wednesday’s game was strange for more than one reason.
“It’s the first of the year for us – a midday game. That was definitely different. And we played against the same team that we just played on Saturday. It’s a very quick turnaround. We are definitely not used to a game (at the beginning). But (Pepperdine) had to do the same thing. “