PROVO — When BYU guard Alex Barcello was told Monday that his team ranks No. 3 nationally in 3-pointers made this season, a broad smile broke over his face.

“I didn’t know that we were third in the country, but it doesn’t surprise me,” he said. “I think every single guy on this team can shoot. I trust anyone on this team to make an open shot or a contested shot. We have a team full of shooters.”

In last Saturday’s 83-50 drubbing of UNLV, seven different Cougars knocked down at least one 3-pointer, and as a team, BYU was 14 of 27 from distance. Barcello and Dalton Nixon were 3 of 3 and Connor Harding was 3 of 5.

Nixon, who made just one of 16 3-point attempts last season, has hit 15 of 31 this season.

BYU has connected on a total of 115 3-pointers and it ranks No. 7 in the country in 3-point field goal percentage at 42%. 

Players and coaches explain that BYU’s impressive 3-point shooting is a product of hard work, analytics and the use of a device called the ShotTracker, which keeps record of the number of shots made. 

“We’re going to make shots. That’s what we do. We make shots and we believe we’re going to make shots. We don’t judge ourselves by shots made as much as shots owned. If you own your shot, then you’re going to make a large portion of them” — BYU coach Mark Pope

“We’re going to make shots. That’s what we do. We make shots and we believe we’re going to make shots,” said coach Mark Pope. “We don’t judge ourselves by shots made as much as shots owned. If you own your shot, then you’re going to make a large portion of them.”

Pope said “owning” shots means “not letting anything distract you from your approach to shooting it.”

No doubt, Pope is confident in his team’s ability to take, and make, 3-pointers.

“We’re going to miss shots. We’re going to have games where we don’t shoot it great,” he said. “But we’re not going to have that many of them because we’re pretty good at owning our shots. Our guys have bought into it pretty well.”

Next up for BYU is another team that has been both prolific and efficient when it comes to 3-point shooting: Nevada.

While the Cougars are No. 12 in 3-pointers made per game (10.5), the Wolf Pack are No. 7 (10.7).

The Cougars host the Wolf Pack Tuesday (7 p.m., MST, ESPNU).

Nevada, which is riding a five-game winning streak, ranks No. 7 in 3-pointers made with 107, and it is No. 18 in 3-point field goal percentage at 40.5 percent.

Nevada’s Jazz Johnson reacts after sinking a three-point basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Boise State in the Mountain West Conference men’s tournament Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Las Vegas. | Isaac Brekken, AP

“They shoot the 3 as well as anybody we’ve played,” Pope said. “They’re averaging 99 points in the last two games they’ve played. That’s an explosive team.”

Senior guard Jazz Johnson leads Nevada in scoring, averaging 18.3 points per game. Johnson is very familiar with BYU — he played for two seasons at West Coast Conference member Portland, where he averaged 15.8 points per game as a sophomore before transferring to Nevada. 

“Jazz is a player we haven’t seen yet and that makes me nervous, meaning this genre of player that lives to race as fast as he can off screens and bang shots,” Pope said. 

“They have some great guards. They can score the ball really well,” Barcello said of Nevada. “We’ll have to continue to get back in transition defense and continue to play hard on the defensive end. Defense translates into offense.” 

A year ago, BYU opened the season at No. 7 Nevada. The Cougars had a slim lead early in the second half, but the Wolf Pack took over in the final 10 minutes to earn an 86-70 victory. 

Steve Alford, the former coach at Iowa, New Mexico and UCLA, was hired as Nevada’s new coach this season. 

“He’s a great coach. He’s going to do great things there,” Pope said. “He’s really smart. It’s a well-coached team.”

The Wolf Pack started the season with a loss at home to Utah, and they’ve also lost to USC and Davidson. Nevada has beaten Loyola Marymount, Texas-Arlington, Fordham, Valparaiso, Bowling Green, Santa Clara and Air Force.

Cougars on the air

Nevada (7-3) at BYU (7-4)

Tuesday, 7 p.m. MST

Marriott Center

TV: ESPNU

Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7