BYU Hosts Idaho Tuesday at 7 p.m.

BYU, 9-4, hosts the Idaho Vandals, 3-8, Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center as the second half of a double-header with the BYU women's basketball team. The men's game is not being televised but can be heard on KSL Newsradio 1160 with Greg Wrubell and Mark Durrant calling the action on the Cougar Sports Network.

Third Big West Foe

Idaho is BYU's third Big West opponent this season. The Cougars are 2-0 in those games. They defeated Utah State (69-67) and Boise State (83-67).

Up Next

BYU hosts Texas A&M Corpus Christi Saturday at 7 p.m. The Islanders enter the week with a 6-7 record and play at San Diego State Thursday before coming to Provo.

Game 14 Fast Facts

Teams:

Brigham Young University Cougars (9-4) -- Provo, Utah

University of Idaho (3-8) -- Moscow, Idaho

Date: Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2001

Site: Provo, Utah

Arena:Marriott Center (22,700)

Time: 7 p.m. MST

Series:Idaho leads, 2-1

Last Meeting: Idaho 42, BYU 41 at Los Angeles Invitational (Dec. 30, 1947)

Coaches:

BYU, Steve Cleveland (52-52 in fourth year; same overall)

Idaho, David Farrar (46-48 in fourth year; 107-121 overall)

TV: None

Radio:

KSL Newsradio 1160 AM (Cougar Sports Network)

Pregame Air Time -- 6:30 p.m. MST

Play-by-Play -- Greg Wrubell

Game Analyst -- Mark Durrant

BYU's Probable Starters:

Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG

F 42 Nathan Cooper 6-6 210 Sr. 4.1 4.1

F 25 Eric Nielsen 6-9 215 Jr. 7.2 4.4

F 15 Mekeli Wesley 6-9 240 Sr. 17.2 5.5

G 24 Terrell Lyday 6-3 195 Sr. 14.8 2.8 G 21 Trent Whiting 6-1 185 Sr. 15.5 1.7

Idaho's Probable Starters:

Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG

F 20 Bret Wise 6-7 215 Fr. 3.4 2.4

F 44 Matt Gerschefske6-6 205 Jr. 11.2 3.8

C 13 Chris Monroe 6-8 235 So. 120 4.9

G 5 Adam Miller 6-0 190 Sr. 11.5 2.4

G 11 Bethuel Fletcher6-1 185 Jr. 8.6 3.4

Scouting Idaho

The Vandals return five lettermen but no starters from last year's 12-17 team that tied for third in the East Division of the Big West Conference. Idaho comes into Tuesday's game with a 3-8 record after losing 73-66 to Eastern Washington last Saturday night at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow. The Vandals had trouble on the boards vs. Eastern Washington, grabbing only 22 rebounds to EW's 39. Despite having four players in double figures, the Vandals had trouble with the EW inside, allowing 55 percent shooting in the seven-point loss. The Vandals have wins over Western Montana, St. Martin's College and Montana State. Losses include Wisconsin Green Bay, Gonzaga, St. Louis, Long Beach State, Montana and Montana State. The Vandals recovered from a 68-31 loss at Montana State to defeat the Bobcats a week later at home, 76-74. The Vandals are 1-1 in their last two games. Idaho is 0-4 on the road and 3-4 at home this year. Three players average double figures for the Vandals. Sophomore center Chris Monroe (6-8, 235) scores 12.0, followed by senior guard Adam Miller (6-0, 190) at 11.5 and junior forward Matt Gerschefske (6-6, 205) at 11.2. The Vandals are coached by David Farrar, who is in his fourth year at Idaho with a 46-48 record. He is 107-121 overall.

Series Record

Idaho leads, 2-1

Last Meeting: Idaho 42, BYU 41 at Los Angeles Invitational (Dec. 30, 1947)

BYU Notes

• Wesley led BYU in the last five games with team bests of 19.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 54.2 percent from the floor, 60 percent from behind the three-point arc, and 88.6 percent from the free throw line. He also handed out 1.2 assists per game during the stretch and was named to the Yahoo! Sports Invitational All-Tournament Team.

• He was named to the Yahoo! Sports Invitational All-Tournament Team Dec. 21-23 after averaging 21.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in three games. He was 22-33 (.667) from the floor and 19-23 (.826) from the line while scoring 19, 26, and 19 points in the three games. He made his only three-point attempt. The Cougars defeated

Boise State to open the tournament before losing their second game to nationally ranked Iowa State 77-71. BYU placed fourth in the eight-team tournament after a 70-67 loss to No. 13 USC.

• Wesley had 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds while going 6-9 from the floor and 7-8 from the line in 23 minutes to lead BYU to its 83-67 over Boise State. He had a season-high 26 points, including 15 in the first half, with four rebounds while going 9-14 from the floor and 8-10 from the line in 33 minutes before fouling out in a 77-71 loss to No. 26 Iowa State. Against No. 13 USC, Wesley was again nearly unstoppable in the first half scoring 15 points in 15 minutes. He only played 10 second-half minutes because of four personal fouls. He finished with 19 points on 7-10 shooting, including 1-1 on threes, and was 4-5 from the line while grabbing a team-high six rebounds and handing out two assists in 25 minutes.

• This past week Wesley continued his strong play while leading BYU to two wins, including its first true away win of the season in an 84-75 victory at instate rival Weber State. BYU is now 3-0 this year against instate schools. The Cougars also defeated South Alabama at home Saturday, 64-42. Wesley led BYU in scoring in both games, totaling 17 points on both nights.

• Wesley scored all of his 17 points in the second half at Weber State to give BYU its first win this year when trailing at the half. He added four rebounds in his 32 minutes. Saturday, he grabbed five boards with his 17 points in 22 minutes. For the week, he was a perfect 12-12 from the line and 2-4 on three-pointers. He went 10-25 from the floor in the two games.

• Wesley has made a three in each of the last three games. Wesley has scored in double figures in the last six straight games and 12 of 13 overall.

• Wesley has been the Cougars' top scorer or shared the honor in 10 games, including four of the last five games. Last year he had double figures in 30 of 33 games and led the Cougar in scoring in 17 games.

• With his 17 points Saturday against South Alabama, Wesley passed Andy Toolson (1,388) into 10th place among BYU's all-time scoring leaders. Wesley now has 1,394 career points. He needs 15 points to surpass Jay Cheesman into ninth place. Wesley is sixth all-time at BYU in free throw attempts with 524 and seventh in free throws made with 406. He needs to make 26 more to move past Mike Smith (431) into sixth place and is 79 attempts from passing Fred Roberts into fifth place.

• BYU had five players score in double figures for the first time this year with a balanced effort versus Weber State. Wesley led BYU with 17, followed by Whiting with 15, Lyday with 14, and Nielsen and Hansen with 12 apiece.

• Eric Nielsen recorded his first career double-double Saturday vs. South Alabama with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Nielsen has scored in double figures in three straight games after only reaching 10-plus points once in BYU's first 10 games.

• Steve Cleveland evened his winning percentage at .500 twice in the last two weeks. He went to 50-50 with a win over Boise State in Hawaii before the Cougars suffered back-to-back close defeats to ranked teams. His two wins last week brought his record to 52-52 with the chance to put more wins than losses on his ledger Tuesday when BYU hosts Idaho. Cleveland, who took over a 1-25 program in 1997, won his first game at BYU on the road at SDSU but has not been over .500 since.

• BYU has won all six games at home this year and currently has an 11-game home winning streak dating back to last season. BYU's last home loss was Feb. 17, 2000 vs. New Mexico (78-74).

• BYU shot 45.8 percent from the floor over the last five games, including 37.3 percent on threes, and 84.1 percent from the line. BYU's opponents shot .440, .282 and .655 in those games.

• BYU's defense held South Alabama to only 13 second-half points Saturday and a BYU opponent season-low of 42 total points. BYU trailed at the half, 29-28, but out scored the Jaguars 36-13 in the second half.

• BYU made 30-32 free throws at Weber State, including a string of 24 straight conversions.

• Wesley and Whiting have reached double figures in the last six games and Lyday had a string of four straight games halted with seven-points vs. South Alabama Saturday.

• Lyday had his streak of 15 consecutive games with a made three-pointer come to an end Thursday at Weber State when he missed on his only trey attempt of the game. Lyday played all 40 minutes, scoring 14 points while guarding Wildcat star Jermaine Boyette. Lyday set the BYU record of consecutive games with a trey last year at 21. His 15 game streak is the third best in BYU history behind Andy Toolson at 16.