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Tonight is the middle game in the BYU Holiday Classic. Three games in three nights against pretty competitive teams is something I haven’t seen in Provo for quite a while. We’ve had a number of Saturday and Monday games which is kind of like a back to back game for BYU since they don’t practice on Sunday. However, three games in a row is a challenge for any school.

After defeating Liberty handily last night (which I guess should be expected since BYU was a 20 point favorite), Broadus said the following in regards to tonights opponent, Oral Roberts, “We knew they’d be tough even before tonight.”

When I read this I remembered the trite phrase that coaches and players have to throw into every interview, “We can’t look past the next opponent. The next game is all that matters and what we’re preparing for.” At least something to that effect. It’s so embedded in competition that I was competing in an online “idea warz” competition and I sarcastically answered the following:

What was the one idea you feared going up against at the start of the Golden Hammer Tournament?

I didn’t look ahead. I just took it one matchup at a time. The final round is Film Funder. I’m completely focused on Film Funder. Nothing else matters. It’s all about this week. If I don’t take care of business this week then there won’t be a next week. I don’t care what the media says. People will talk what they want to talk. My focus is on this week. Film Funder is my focus now.

I can see how this mentality certainly rings true in football when you play one game a week. However, does it apply to basketball? Does it apply to a 3 games in 3 days basketball tournament? It seems like Broadus was saying that “we” (which I translate to him, the players, and the coaches) have already looked ahead to Oral Roberts.

If BYU wins 3 games in 3 days, then I hope Broadus will point out that the reason they won those 3 games. They didn’t focus only on the next game, but instead understood when to think about the current game and when to think about future games. I wouldn’t count on it, but it caused me to stop and think.