BYU to open 2013-14 season with Weber State

Game Notes: BYU vs. Weber State

BYU men's basketball will open the 2013-14 season against Weber State on Friday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. MST in the Marriott Center. The game will be televised live on BYUtv and broadcast live on the Cougar IMG Sports Network on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM.

BYU Cougars (0-0, 0-0 WCC)

• Head Coach: Dave Rose
• Alma Mater: Houston, 1983
• Career Record: 209-66 (9th)
• Record at BYU: Same

Weber State Wildcats (0-0, 0-0 Big Sky)

• Head Coach: Randy Rahe
• Alma Mater: Buena Vista, 1982
• Career Record: 150-75 (8th)
• Record at Weber State: Same

Series Information

• Series Record: BYU leads 28-10
• Last Meeting: BYU won 78-68 in Provo, 12/15/12
• H/A/N: 19-0/9-10/0-0

Game Information

• TV: BYUtv
• TV Talent: Spencer Linton (play-by-play), David Nixon (analysts), Lauren Francom (reporter)
• Live Video: www.BYUtvsports.com
• Radio: Cougar IMG Sports Network, KSL 102.7 FM / 1160 AM, BYU Radio - Sirius XM 143
• Radio Talent: Greg Wrubell (play-by-play), Mark Durrant (analyst)
• Live Audio/Stats: BYUcougars.com

BYU storylines

• In 2013-14, BYU basketball will be looking to extend its program record streaks of eight-consecutive trips to the postseason and eight-straight 20-win seasons. Last year, the Cougars finished 24-12 and advanced to the semifinals of the NIT.
• BYU returns preseason All-American junior guard Tyler Haws, who led the WCC in scoring and was seventh in the nation at 21.7 points per game last season. Haws is only the second Cougar to reach 1,000 career points as a sophomore.
• Sophmore guard Kyle Collinsworth returns from a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Russia. He started 27 games on BYU’s 2010-11 team that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

Dave Rose

BYU head coach Dave Rose has led BYU to its most successful eight-year run since taking over in 2005. His career record of 209-66 ranks him second in BYU history in total victories and first in winning percentage (.760). Rose has been named conference coach of the year three times, district coach of the year twice, led the Cougars to four conference titles, six NCAA Tournament appearances, two NIT appearances, six 25-win seasons and eight 20-win seasons. In 2010, he led BYU to its first NCAA Tournament win in 17 years and the Cougars have also won at least one postseason game in the three seasons since, including a spot in the Sweet 16 in 2011 and a trip to the NIT semifinals in 2013.

Return of Kyle Collinsworth

The 2013-14 season marks the return of sophomore guard Kyle Collinsworth, who spent the last two years serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Russia. As a freshman in 2010-11 he averaged 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting .481 from the field. Collinsworth started 27 games on a BYU team that won a team record 32 games and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

Record streaks

The Cougars will be looking to keep several program-record streaks intact during 2013-14. Coming into the season,  Dave Rose has led the Cougars to eight-straight 20-win seasons and eight-straight postseason appearances, eight-straight seasons with 10-plus conference victories and four-straight seasons with a postseason victory.

Nonconference schedule

BYU’s nonconference slate includes three in-state games, matchups with Big 12 and Pac-12 foes and trips to Kansas City and Springfield, Mass. In all, the Cougars will play six home games, three road games and four neutral site games during the nonconference season. After opening the season at home with Weber State, BYU will play at Pac-12 foe Stanford in the opener of the sixth-annual ESPN Tip-Off Marathon. The Cougars will also play in the College Basketball Experience Hall of Fame Classic with two games at home and two in Kansas City against Texas and either DePaul or Wichita State. BYU will also host Iowa State, North Texas and Prairie View A&M, play Utah State at EnergySolutions Arena, vs. UMass in Springfield, Mass., and at Utah and Oregon.

BYU’s newcomers

This season’s roster includes five newcomers – three freshmen, a junior college transfer and an NCAA Division I transfer. The freshmen are Frank Bartley IV from Baton Rouge, La., Eric Mika from Alpine, Utah, and Luke Worthington from Mequon, Wis. Skyler Halford comes to BYU from Salt Lake Community College and Chase Fischer is a transfer from Wake Forest.

• Bartley prepped last season at Future College Prep in California last season and averaged 19.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.0 blocks while leading his team to the West Coast Prep title.
• Mika earned third-team All-America honors last season while leading Lone Peak to the MaxPreps.com national title and the 5A Utah state title. He averaged 16.4 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.
• Worthington averaged 13.6 points and 10.0 rebounds while leading Homestead High School to a 13-7 record. He was named first-team All-North Shore Conference and all-state honorable mention.
• Halford was a first-team NJCAA All-American and averaged 17.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.6 steals at SLCC. He led SLCC to the SWAC and Region 18 titles.
• Fischer played two season at Wake Forest after a successful prep career at Ripley High in Ripley, W.Va. He averaged 4.5 points and 1.1 rebounds and shot .422 from three last season.

Rose in season and home openers

Under Dave Rose, BYU basketball is 5-3 in season openers and 7-1 in home openers. After dropping his first two season openers in 2005 and 2006, Rose led BYU to four-straight season-opening wins before falling 69-62 at Utah State in 2011-12. Last year, BYU defeated Tennessee State 81-66 in the season/home opener. Rose lost his first home opener (also the season opener in 2005) but has since won the last six home openers.

Rose vs. the state

BYU basketball coach Dave Rose has compiled a record of 27-6 vs. in-state opponents since taking over in 2005-06. He has the best winning percentage (.818) of any coach vs. in-state teams during that time and is tied for the most wins (Utah State’s Stew Morrill is 27-9 vs. in-state teams since 2005-06 for a .750 winning percentage). BYU hosts Weber State on Nov. 8 to open the season, plays Utah State at EnergySolutions Arena on Nov. 30 and visits Utah on Dec. 14.