PROVO -- In their first-ever meeting against Utah Valley State College, the BYU Cougars defeated the Wolverines 84-65 Saturday night in the Marriott Center with four players scoring in double figures.

Rafael Araujo led the Cougars with 24 points, followed by Mike Hall with 19, Luiz Lemes with 15 and Mark Bigelow with 12. Araujo grabbed 12 rebounds to post his first double-double of the season, pulling down four clutch offensive boards.

BYU coach Steve Cleveland was impressed with Hall's activity in the contest.

"Mike Hall deserves the game ball tonight," Cleveland said. "He's been really steady and is so strong. He can take the ball to people and finish. He did a really good job defensively."

In the second half the Cougars led by as many as 21 points. The Cougars gained the 21-point advantage when Hall ignited a 10-0 run with a trey with 7:32 left to play in the second half. Hall also came up big for the Cougars on defense as he held UVSC's Ronnie Price to only two points in the second half. Price scored 24 in the first half, going 4-for-4 in from three-point range before BYU made the switch to have Hall guard Price as the Cougars began the second half of play.

"I was really impressed with Utah Valley," Cleveland said. "They came out and competed, but it wasn't anything less than I expected. They competed right to the end."

Jon Bell got the Wolverines on the board first as he made the first two points of the game. UVSC's effort to hold its early lead was ousted when the Cougars went on a 9-0 run early in the first half. The 9-0 run ended for BYU when Jared Jensen was caught with a foul that sent UVSC's Ryan Toolson to the line only to walk away with two more points for the Wolverines.

Another Cougar tide arose as Araujo put down a two-handed dunk followed by a forced UVSC travel by freshmen Michael Rose. Lemes drew a foul and made the layup to put the Cougars up 24-11.

The Cougars shot 44.8 percent followed by a close Wolverine 42.9 percent in the BYU victory.

With the win BYU improves to a 2-1 record on the season while USVC falls to 0-3 on the year. In its next competition, the Cougars will face Boise State Tuesday at 7:30 MST in Idaho.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Utah Valley State College vs Brigham Young University
11/29/03 7:05 p.m. at Marriott Center
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Utah Valley State College 0-3
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
22 BELL, Jon........... f  4-10   0-0    0-0    2  2  4   4   8  0  2  0  3  22
45 RAVENBERG, Brett.... c  0-1    0-0    0-0    0  3  3   3   0  0  0  1  0  10
10 TOOLSON, Ryan....... g  2-9    1-5    2-2    1  1  2   1   7  2  3  0  0  36
24 PRICE, Ronnie....... g  8-17   4-8    6-7    0  2  2   1  26  2  5  0  0  39
32 THOMAS, Pierre...... g  4-5    0-0    4-4    0  1  1   0  12  1  2  0  0  19
04 SHARP, Morgan.......    1-3    0-2    0-0    1  0  1   5   2  0  1  0  1  13
23 WESLEY, Russell.....    1-3    0-0    0-0    4  1  5   4   2  1  2  0  0  17
25 HECK, David.........    2-4    0-1    0-0    1  3  4   3   4  2  0  1  1  17
30 LEE, Carl...........    2-4    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   3   4  2  1  0  2  13
40 CELESTINE, Clem.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   5   0  1  0  0  0  14
   TEAM................                         4  1  5
   Totals..............   24-56   5-16  12-13  13 17 30  29  65 11 16  2  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-22 45.5%   2nd Half: 14-34 41.2%   Game: 42.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-7  57.1%   2nd Half:  1-9  11.1%   Game: 31.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 12-13 92.3%   2nd Half:  0-0   0.0%   Game: 92.3%    1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Brigham Young University 2-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 HALL, Mike.......... f  7-14   1-4    4-5    6  2  8   1  19  2  2  1  0  33
03 BIGELOW, Mark....... f  4-11   1-5    3-4    3  2  5   2  12  2  0  1  1  28
55 ARAUJO, Rafael...... c  6-13   1-3   11-13   4  8 12   0  24  0  1  0  1  26
00 WOODBERRY, Kevin.... g  2-4    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   4   4  3  2  0  1  29
04 LEMES, Luiz......... g  4-7    1-2    6-9    2  1  3   3  15  2  2  0  2  21
02 ROSE, Mike..........    1-2    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   0   2  0  2  0  0  13
10 NASHIF, Terry.......    0-2    0-2    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  1  1  0  0  16
12 ROBERTS, Marc.......    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   0   0  0  0  0  0   6
41 MEADS, Garner.......    2-4    0-0    2-4    0  1  1   0   6  0  0  0  1  12
52 JENSEN, Jared.......    0-0    0-0    2-2    0  1  1   2   2  1  1  1  0  16
   TEAM................                         2  1  3
   Totals..............   26-58   4-18  28-37  18 20 38  13  84 11 11  3  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-31 41.9%   2nd Half: 13-27 48.1%   Game: 44.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-13 23.1%   2nd Half:  1-5  20.0%   Game: 22.2%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 12-15 80.0%   2nd Half: 16-22 72.7%   Game: 75.7%    5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Duane Allen, Kenneth Wilson, Kim Nielsen
Technical fouls: Utah Valley State College-TEAM. Brigham Young
University-None.
Attendance: 13624
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Utah Valley State College.....   36   29  -   65
Brigham Young University......   41   43  -   84
Points in the paint-UVSC 20,BY 34. Points off turnovers-UVSC 10,BY 25.
2nd chance points-UVSC 9,BY 22. Fast break points-UVSC 0,BY 4.
Bench points-UVSC 12,BY 10. Score tied-3 times. Lead changes-7 times.

PROVO, Utah -- BYU (1-1) hosts cross-town Utah Valley State College (0-2) Saturday in the Marriott Center at 7 p.m. in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The game is not being televised. The radio broadcast can be heard on KSL Newsradio 1160 and the Cougar Sports Network, beginning with a one-hour pregame show. KSL's Greg Wrubell will call the play-by-play action with Mark Durrant providing analysis. Live audio and stats links are available on the basketball page of the official BYU athletics website, byucougars.com. Live audio is also available on BYU Radio on the Dish Network and at byuradio.org.

FAMILY PASS AVAILABLE FOR SATURDAY'S GAME

A family pass is being offered for the first-ever BYU vs. UVSC men's basketball game this Saturday. A family of five can attend Saturday's game for $15. Fans wanting to take advantage of the promotion must pick up a voucher at any Utah County location of Hogi Yogi / Teriyaki Stix or Ken Garff. The voucher must be redeemed at the BYU Ticket Office to obtain tickets to the game. The game starts at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center. The game is not being televised. Fans can contact the BYU Ticket Office at 800-322-BYU1, 378-BYU1 or online at BYUtickets.com.

UP NEXT

BYU takes its second road trip of the season to face Boise State Tuesday in a 7:30 p.m. MST contest being televised by SportsWest Productions on KSL-TV in Salt Lake City.

GAME #3 FAST FACTS

BYU COUGARS (1-1, 0-0 MWC) vs. UVSC WOLVERINES (0-2, independent)

SATURDAY, NOV. 29, 2003

MARRIOTT CENTER (22,700)

PROVO, UTAH

7 p.m. MST

Coaches:

BYU, Steve Cleveland (109-79 in seventh year; same overall)

UVSC, Dick Hunsaker (26-9 in second year; 166-74 Div. I in ninth year overall)

Series: First meeting

TV: None

Radio:

KSL Newsradio 1160 AM (Cougar Sports Network)

Pregame Air Times: 6 p.m. MST

Play-by-Play: Greg Wrubell

Game Analyst: Mark Durrant

Web:

Live audio link available at byucougars.com/basketball_m/ (select 2002-03 schedule) and via BYU Radio on Dish Network and byuradio.org.

UTAH VALLEY STATE WOLVERINES

Utah Valley State College joins the Division I ranks as an independent this season after 32 years as a junior college program. The Wolverines earned a 577-363 record in the JC ranks. Former University of Utah assistant Dick Hunsaker took over the Wolverine program last season and led them to a 26-7 record in their last year at the JC level. A graduate of Weber State University, Hunsaker has three starters among the four lettermen returning from last year's team while adding 12 newcomers to the roster. As might be expected, UVSC is a young team with no seniors, three juniors, four sophomores and nine freshmen. Jon Bell (6-6, F), Ronnie Price (6-1, G) and Pierre Thomas (6-3, G) are the three starters returning while Russell Wesley (6-3, F), brother of former Cougar standout Mekeli Wesley, also returns. Bell was named to the Region All-Tournament team last year and Price earned honorable mention All-Region honors. Price scored 15.3 points last season as the team's top returning scorer. This year, Bell has led the team in scoring in the first two games with 15 against Kennesaw State and 23 at Boise State. He is shooting an impressive 76 percent from the floor and adding 5.5 rebounds per contest. After Bell's 19.0 scoring average is Price among the team leaders with a 14.0 average and a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game. Price has taken the most shots, 37 compared to Bell's 21, but has not been as efficient, making only 9 of his 37 attempts for a 24 percent field goal average. He is 2-for-17 on 3-point attempts. As a team, UVSC shoots .377 from the floor and .111 from long range while allowing its opponents to shoot a combined .496 from the floor and .378. on treys. UVSC shoots .636 from the line while scoring 55.5 points per game. UVSC has allowed 79.0 points.

UVSC GAME 1 RECAP

OREM -- Utah Valley State dropped its season opener to visiting Kennesaw State University 78-43. Kennesaw made four of its first five shots and the Fighting Owls led UVSC 10-0 five minutes into the game. The Wolverines battled back to 10-6 with baskets by Jon Bell and Pierre Thomas. Bell scored twice inside in route to a game-high 15 points. But Bell, UVSC's only player in double-digits on the night, could not overcome the Fighting Owls impressive outside shooting. The Owls answered UVSC's mini-run hitting their next four shots, including a 3-pointer, by Cardale Talley, and Kennesaw led 17-7 with 11:26 left in the first half. Kennesaw State built its 10-point lead on 8-9 shooting. UVSC meanwhile, was getting shots but on this night they didn't fall. Kennesaw finished the first half shooting nearly 60 percent, including and 5-9 form 3-point range. UVSC was 8-22 for a 36 percentage in the first half. Kennesaw didn't cool down much in the final half. The Owls shot 46 percent in the half to finish at 52 percent for night. UVSC dropped to 33 percent in the final half and 35 percent on the night. The Fighting Owls out-rebounded UVSC for the game 46-23. Things don't get any easier for Utah Valley State (0-1) as the Wolverines take on Boise State University on Monday on the Broncos home floor. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Kennesaw State University..... 39 39 - 78

Utah Valley State............. 17 26 - 43

KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY

TALLEY,Cardale 6-10 0-0 14; MCCOY,Reggie 5-6 2-4 12; FISHER,Darrell 4-4 0-0

11; HILL,Terrence 3-9 4-4 11; LUQUE,Rey 3-5 0-0 6; MCDONALD,Kevin 3-7 0-0 6;

THOMPSON,Tommy 2-7 0-0 5; THOMPSON,Justin 2-3 0-0 4; DAVIS,Will 2-2 0-0 4;

PATTERNSON,Taylor 1-4 0-0 3; KNIGHT,Kenan 0-1 2-2 2; INGLE,Isreal 0-2 0-0 0.

Totals 31-60 8-10 78.

UTAH VALLEY STATE

BELL,Jon 6-7 3-6 15; PRICE,Ronnie 2-14 1-2 6; TOOLSON,Ryan 2-7 2-2 6;

THOMAS,Pierre 2-6 2-5 6; WESLEY,Russel 2-4 0-0 4; MILSON,Abray 1-1 0-0 2;

BURDITT,Derek 1-4 0-1 2; SHARP,Morgan 1-6 0-0 2.

Totals 17-49 8-16 43.

UVSC GAME 2 RECAP

BOISE, Idaho -- A solid Utah Valley State defense limited Boise State University to 33 percent shooting in the first half and 45 percent for the game Monday in the BSU Pavilion but it wasn't quite enough as the Wolverines dropped to 0-2 with an 80-68 loss. UVSC led 32-31 at the half but a field-goal drought from the 18:28 to the 14:13 let Boise State build a 44-36 lead. UVSC played even the rest of the way and was still down just seven, 75-68, with 1:40 remaining. UVSC was led in scoring by Jon Bell's 23 points and Ronnie Price's 22 points. Jermaine Blackburn led Boise State with 25.

UTAH VALLEY STATE............. 32 36 - 68

BOISE STATE................... 31 49 - 80

UTAH VALLEY STATE (0-2)

Bell, Jon 10-14 3-4 23; Price, Ronnie 7-23 7-7 22; Burditt, Derek 2-6 2-4 7;

Toolson, Ryan 3-9 0-0 6; Thomas, Pierre 2-7 0-0 4; Wesley, Russell 1-4 1-2

3; Sharp, Morgan 1-1 0-0 3; Milson, Abray 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-65 13-17 68.

BOISE STATE (2-0)

Blackburn, Jermaine 9-14 4-4 25; Haynes, Aaron 6-13 3-3 15; Karl, Coby 3-7

5-7 13; Skiffer, Joe 3-6 2-2 8; Lane, Eric 3-4 0-0 7; Defares, Bryan 3-7 0-0

6; Nabors, Booker 1-4 2-2 4; Ellis, Jason 1-3 0-0 2; Harris, Franco 0-3 0-0

0. Totals 29-61 16-18 80.

UVSC INFO

Location: Orem, Utah

Founded: 1941

Enrollment: 25,000

Nickname: Wolverine

Colors: Forrest Green, Gold and White

Home Arena: Mckay Center (8,500)

Conference: Independent

Athletic Director: Mike Jacobsen

Head Coach: Dick Hunsaker

Alma Mater: Weber State University '77

Best Time to Call: Contact SID

Office Phone: (801) 863-8670

Overall DI Record (Years): 166-72 (8 years)

Record at School (Years): 26-7 (1 year)

Assistant Coaches: Curtis Condie, Sheldon Jones

2002-2003

Overall Record: 26-7

Conference Record: 13-6

Final Ranking/Post Season Finish: 2nd in Region

2003-2004

Letterman Returning/Lost: 4/9

Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2

Leading Scorer Returning

Ronnie Price (G, 6-1, 185, Jr.) 15.3 ppg

Leading REBOUNDER Returning

Jon Bell (F, 6-6, 180, So.) 7.4 rpg

Series History

Series Record: First Meeting

Media Relations

Basketball Contact: Todd Fairbourne

Office: (801) 863-8599

E-mail: fairboto@uvsc.edu

Fax: (801) 863-8813

Press Row: (801) 319-4357

Web Site: www.wolverinesports.net

BYU'S NEXT OPPONENT

BYU VS. BOISE STATE SERIES INFORMATION

Overall Series Record: BYU leads 5-2

BYU Record in Provo: 3-1

BYU Record in Boise: 1-1

BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 1-0

BYU Record under Steve Cleveland: 1-1

BYU Record in Overtime Games: N/A

Longest BYU Win Streak: 4 (1976-95)

Longest Boise State Win Streak: 2 (1996-97)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 16, 83-67 in 2000

Largest Boise State Margin of Victory: 16, 83-67

in1997

Most Points Scored by BYU: 86 in 1995

Most Points Scored by Boise State: 83 in 1997

Date Opponent Score W/L

12-01-76 Boise State 76-75 W

12-18-82 at Boise State 68-67 W

12-23-83 Boise State 66-54 W

11-25-95 Boise State 86-71 W

12-13-96 Boise State* 58-65 L

12-06-97 at Boise State 67-83 L

12-21-00 vs. Boise State' 83-67 W

*Cougar Classic

'Yahoo Invitational in Laie, Hawaii

COUGAR CAPSULE

The Cougars are the preseason favorite to win the Mountain West Conference this year, returning four starters from last year's 23-9 co-championship team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Four-year starter Mark Bigelow and fellow senior Rafael Araujo were both named to the Preseason All-MWC Team and are MWC Player of the Year candidates. Bigelow is the team's top returning scorer at 13.9 ppg while Araujo pulled down a team-best 8.9 rebounds last year. Senior guard Kevin Woodberry and junior forward Jared Jensen also return as starters for BYU coach Steve Cleveland. Key newcomers include junior transfer Mike Hall and freshmen Mike Rose and Garner Meads. In the Cougars' first two games of the season four players are averaging double figures. Hall is scoring a team-leading 16.5 ppg, followed by Rose (13.0)), Araujo (10.5) and Woodberry (10.0). Araujo is pulling down a team-best 6.0 rebounds followed by Hall (4.5). Lemes leads the team in assists (4.5 apg).

LAST OUTING -- COUGARS FALL ON LATE TIP-IN BUCKET AT CAL

BERKELEY -- Amit Tamir's tip-in with 5.8 seconds left gave Cal a 47-46 win, thwarting BYU's comeback effort Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion. The Cougars fought back from an eight-point deficit to take a 46-45 lead late in the game behind the scoring of JC transfer Mike Hall, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half.BYU had a chance to extend its one-point lead when senior guard Kevin Woodberry was fouled with 21 seconds left in the game, but Woodberry missed the front end of a one-and-one to set up Tamir's game-winning score. The Cougars' late-game run was sparked by Terry Nashif, who hit a three-pointer with 8:20 left in the game to cut the Bears lead to 43-38. Mark Bigelow would then hit a layup to bring the Cougars within three. Hall scored three baskets to cap off the Cougars' 11-2 run. A defensive game throughout, BYU shot 38 percent from the floor and held the Bears to a 33 percent success rate on their shots. BYU and Cal also had trouble holding onto the ball with BYU turning the ball over 21 times while Cal committed 18 turnovers. The Cougars' big men were limited by foul trouble throughout the night. Rafael Araujo, who finished the game with nine points and seven rebounds, was on the bench for most of the second half after fouling out with just over nine minutes left in the game. "We fought through it and put ourselves in a position to win the game," BYU coach Steve Cleveland said. "But we didn't lose this game in the final seconds. We lost this game in the first half with 13 turnovers." BYU falls to 1-1 with the loss while the Bears improve to 1-1.

NONCONFERENCE VICTORY STREAK IN THE MARRIOTT CENTER

The Cougars have defeated 35 straight non-conference opponents in the Marriott Center since starting the streak with a 61-59 win over Utah State on Jan. 2, 1999. The last non-league foe to win in Provo was the California Bears, who edged BYU 71-70 on Dec. 19, 1998.

JC EXPERIENCE

BYU is playing UVSC, a longtime two-year junior college program, for the first time in the Wolverine's first season as a Division I team. Three of BYU's four coaches and several Cougar players have experienced the change from junior college to Division I play. Steve Cleveland was head coach at Fresno City College prior to taking over at BYU. Associate Head Coach Dave Rose was the head coach at Dixie State College and was assisted there by current Cougar assistant coach John Wardneburg. Six players on BYU's team have played at a junior college program. Ricky Bower played at Ricks before playing at Wisconsin and then BYU. Mike Hall and Kevin Woodberry both played a year at Dixie State College after Division I experiences, Hall at Pepperdine and Woodberry at Portland, before coming to BYU. Rafael Araujo and Luiz Lemes logged two season at the JC level prior to coming to Provo. Araujo played at Arizona Western and Lemes at Eastern Oklahoma State. Sophomore Joshua Burgess played at Irvine Valley College last season.

HALL SHOWS PROMISE OF POTENTIAL IN FIRST TWO OUTINGS

Junior College All-American Transfer Mike Hall from Dixie State College has shown why he was recruited by BYU. The junior guard is scoring a team-leading 16.5 points and is second in rebounds at 4.5 boards per outing. He has been consistent, scoring 16 points in the opener against Southern Utah and totaling a team-high 17 at Cal. He has taken a team-high 21 shots while connecting 14 times for a 66.7 percent success rate from the floor. He is a perfect 4-4 from the line and 1-3 on threes. While carrying the offensive load at Cal, he also showed his defensive versatility by guarding Cal post players with a significant size advantage much of the second half during BYU's comeback bid. Hall spent a redshirt season at UVSC before going to Dixie.

ROSE BLOOMS IN COLLEGE DEBUT

It didn't take long for freshman Mike Rose to put his name in the BYU record book. In his college debut, the true freshman guard out of Houston set a new BYU single-game record with eight 3-pointers while scoring a game-high 26 points to lead the Cougars to an 88-54 win over Southern Utah University. His 26 points is the most scored by a BYU freshman since Mark Bigelow totaled 33 points at Washington State in 1998. Rose's eight 3-pointers broke the BYU record of seven threes in a game, previously set by Nick Sanderson (1992) and Danny Bower (1998). Rose's performance behind the arc was just shy of tying the Marriott Center's record of nine 3-pointers in a game held by Utah State's Jay Goodman (1990). Rose also dished out six assists with only one turnover and added two rebounds and one steal in his 22 minutes off the bench. He made 61.5 percent of his 3-point attempts, going 8-of-13 from behind the arc, and finished 9-for-16 (.563) overall from the floor against Southern Utah's match-up zone. He scored 17 points in 11 first-half minutes on 6-of-8 shooting, including 5-of-7 on threes. He broke the school record with 7:01 left in the second half on a three taken several feet behind the arc. Rose played limited minutes without taking a shot at Cal.

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR ...

-- Will BYU continue to shoot well in the Marriott Center. The Cougars shot 58.2 percent from the floor, including 46.2 percent on threes, and 92.3 percent from the line in their opening win over Southern Utah. The Cougars connected on 12 treys, just two shy of the school record of 14 set last year against Southern Utah.

-- Will the Cougars continue their 35 game nonconference home victory streak. BYU has not lost to a non-league foe since December 1998 when it lost to Cal when Mark Bigelow was a freshman.

-- Will Mark Bigelow have his first big game of the season. The senior leader is shooting just 25 percent from the floor after the first two games while averaging 6.0 points per game. He is BYU's top returning scorer from a year ago with a career scoring average in his four years of 14.4 points per game.

-- Will Mark Bigelow pass Marty Haws on BYU's career scoring list. Bigelow needs 14 points to move into 13th place on the Cougar all-time points list.

-- Will the BYU post, particularly center Rafael Araujo, dominate with a significant size advantage over UVSC's post players.

-- Will Mike Hall have his third straight double-digit scoring outing. Hall has scored 16 and 17 points, respectively, in the first two games.

-- Will Mike Rose play significant minutes. Rose played 22 minutes in the opener against SUU's zone and put up 26 points. Against the pressure man-to-man perimeter defense applied by Cal, the freshman played only four minutes, committing two turnovers without attempting a shot.

IN THE MARRIOTT CENTER

BYU is 1-0 at home this year. BYU finished last season 13-1 at home in 2002-03. Lone senior Travis Hansen concluded his three seasons as a Cougar having lost only once at home. BYU earned a 44-1 record in Hansen's three years at BYU -- the best three-year home record in school history. The second-best home record over three years was a 39-2 mark from 1979-81 in Danny Ainge's final three seasons. BYU has won 49 of its last 50 games at home and is 44-1 over the last three seasons. The 44-1 record is the school's best-ever three-year home record. BYU won a school-record 44 straight home games in the Marriott Center before losing to Utah, 79-75, on Jan. 25. The streak was the longest active streak in the country over part of last season and this season. BYU continues its string of nonconference home wins. The Cougars have defeated 35 straight non-conference opponents in the Marriott Center since starting the streak with a 61-59 win over Utah State on Jan. 2, 1999. The last non-league foe to win in Provo was the California Bears, who edged BYU 71-70 on Dec. 19, 1998.

CURRENT BYU WIN/LOSS STREAKS ...

At home 6-0

On the road 0-1

On a neutral floor 0-2

At home vs. Nonconference 35-0

At home vs. MWC 5-0

On the road vs. Nonconference 0-4

On the road vs. MWC 2-0

On a neutral floor vs. Nonconference 0-2

On a neutral floor vs. MWC 0-1

BYU PICKED AS FAVORITE TO CLAIM 2004 MWC CROWN

Bigelow, Araujo selected to preseason All-MWC team

The Mountain West Conference released its men's basketball preseason media poll and all-conference team at the league's media day being held at the Denver Marriott Tech Center. The league media selected BYU to claim the Mountain West Conference men's basketball title with 144 total points and 13 of the possible 19 first-place votes. Utah was picked second with 138 points and was the only other team to garner first place votes with six. Defending MWC Tournament Champion Colorado State came in third with 107 points, followed by UNLV fourth with 97. Wyoming placed fifth with 73 points, followed by San Diego State (55), New Mexico (36), and Air Force (35). BYU has earned a share of the conference titles in 2001 and 2003, but this is the first time in more than 10 years the Cougars have been the preseason MWC favorites. The Cougars and Utes shared the conference's regular season crown last season with 11-3 records. BYU went 23-9 overall and fell to Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Utah finished the 2002-03 season 25-8, defeating Oregon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Kentucky in the second round. The Mountain West Conference has sent six of its eight teams to the postseason each of the past two seasons and is the only league in the country to have sent 75 percent of its members to the postseason two straight years. BYU seniors Mark Bigelow and Rafael Araujo were selected to the preseason first-team All-MWC team. Other athletes picked were Utahs Tim Frost and Nick Jacobson, Air Force's Tim Keller and the top MWC returnee Matt Nelson from CSU.

BYU IN THE POLLS

BYU is listed as 31st in this week's USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll and tied for 39th in this week's Associated Press Poll.

BIGELOW COULD MOVE UP SCORING LIST VS. UVSC SATURDAY

Despite a slow start in point production from BYU's top returning scorer, senior Mark Bigelow has moved into 14th place on BYU's all-time scoring list past Joe Nelson (1,317 points from 1947-50). Bigelow needs 14 points to surpass the 1,337 points scored by Marty Haws (1987-90) to move into 13th place. Bigelow should steadily climb the list in his final season with the chance to finish his career among the top four scorers in Cougar hoops history.

COUGARS COMING OFF SUCCESSFUL SUMMER TOUR TO AUSTRALIA

Getting an early jump on the upcoming season, BYU participated in a six-game tour of Australia against professional teams in Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns. "Four years ago when we went to Europe it helped us get a head start on the season," BYU Coach Steve Cleveland said. "This was a nice opportunity to implement our system and give the players some good experience. Everyone got a chance to play significant minutes." BYU earned the first of four consecutive postseason tournament berths under Cleveland in 2000 after its summer 1999 trip to England, Croatia and Italy. The NCAA allows a foreign tour once every four years. The team was also allowed 10 additional practice days to prepare for the trip. All of last year's returning players were allowed to make the trip, including redshirt freshmen Austin Ainge and Garner Meads. Newcomers Mike Hall and Michael Rose, along with returning missionary Derek Dawes, were not eligible for the trip. The Cougars played six games in seven nights, posting a 4-2 record. Senior Mark Bigelow led the team, scoring 21.6 points in 27 minutes per game. Senior center Rafael Araujo added 14.0 ppg and a team-high 7.7 rpg in 20 minutes of action. Redshirt freshman Garner Meads scored 9.3 ppg and pulled down 6.0 rpg. The tour also includes visits to the Sydney Opera House, Taronga Zoo, Manly Beach and the Great Barrier Reef.

2002-03 RECAP

In 2002-03, BYU earned its fourth straight postseason berth and second NCAA bid in the last three years while claiming a share of the Mountain West Conference regular season title for the second time in the last three years. Playing among the nation's toughest schedules, including 11 different conferences on its non-league slate, the Cougars finished the year with a 23-9 overall record, going 11-4 through the pre-conference schedule before earning a share of the MWC regular season title with Utah at 11-3. The Cougars went 1-1 at the MWC Tournament before losing to No. 5-seed Connecticut at the NCAA Tournament in Spokane, Wash. BYU went 13-1 at home and 10-8 away, including a 4-3 neutral record and 6-5 road mark. The Cougars had the MWC's top defense and also won the preseason Paradise Jam title in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. BYU was led by senior guard Travis Hansen, junior swingman Mark Bigelow and junior center Rafael Araujo. Hansen, one of two first-team All-MWC consensus players, led the team in scoring (16.8) and blocks (20) and was second in assists (2.4) and rebounds (4.8). Bigelow, a third-team All-MWC selection, was second in scoring (13.9), third in rebounding (3.7) and the team's top three-point shooter (63). Araujo, a third-team All-MWC pick, was the third-leading scorer (12.0) and top rebounder (8.9). Sophomore forward Jared Jensen, who received All-MWC honorable mention, added 7.5 points and 3.3 rebounds while JC transfer Kevin Woodberry averaged 6.3 points and 2.5 assists at the point.

NBA DRAFT

BYU's lone departing senior in 2003, guard Travis Hansen, was selected 37th overall in 2003 NBA Draft and has signed a two-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks. BYU rates second among Mountain West Conference teams with 42 NBA Draft selections after UNLV's 49.

NATION'S LARGEST INCREASE IN ATTENDANCE

In 2002-2003, BYU averaged the 17th largest crowd in the nation at 14,468. The NCAA announced that BYU achieved the nation's largest average increase over the prior season (an average increase of 5,838 per game more than the 8,630 that attended games in 2001-2002 during the middle of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. BYU's 22,702 attendance vs. CSU in its last home game was the largest crowd since 1992 and the 21st largest crowd in school history.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TRADITION

BYU appeared in its 20th NCAA Tournament with its at-large invite in 2003. BYU coach Steve Cleveland has guided the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament twice (in the last three years) in his six years at the helm since taking over a program that was 1-25 the season before his arrival. He has led BYU to postseason play in each of the last four years.

STEVE CLEVELAND

Steve Cleveland enters his seventh year at the helm of the Cougars in 2003-04. During his tenure at BYU, Cleveland has proven to be a first-rate recruiter, an excellent coach and player developer, and above all, a winner. He was honored as the MWC Coach of the Year in 2002-03, as voted by the league's coaches and media members, after guiding BYU to a share of the MWC regular season title and a 23-9 record. He has guided BYU to four straight postseason appearances and three 20-win seasons in the last four years. Only two other BYU coaches have ever achieved more 20-win seasons.