Cougars Face Rival Utes Saturday at the Marriott Center

PROVO -- Coming off its road win at UNLV Monday, BYU will host 26th-ranked Utah Saturday in the Marriott Center. Tip off is set for 1:07 p.m. Mountain. The game is an ESPN Regional contest that can be viewed locally on KJZZ-TV, channel 14. Rich Waltz and Irv Brown will call the action. The game can be heard on KSL Newsradio 1160 AM with Greg Wrubell and former Cougar Mark Durrant calling the action.

Up Next

After Saturday's afternoon game with Utah, BYU stays in Provo to host Wyoming and Colorado State next week. Tip off for the Wyoming game Thursday will be at 7:30 p.m., as part of a double header with the BYU women's basketball team. Saturday's game with the Rams will tip off at 7 p.m.

Last Time Out

Terrell Lyday scored 30 points, grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds and tied a career high with six steals to lead BYU to a 77-75 upset win over UNLV Monday. Lyday score 30 points for the second straight game, making 10-17 shots, including 5-10 from three-point range, and all five free throws. Lyday scored a career-best 35 at Utah State. Mekeli Wesley scored 17 points while Michael Vranes added nine and Todd Christensen eight. Christensen, who started his second straight game at the point in place of Matt Montague, hit a big three with 3:04 left in the game to extend BYU's lead to four at 70-66. Montague played 24 minutes off the bench and dished out a team-high seven assists while scoring a season-best six points. He made two clutch free throws with less than a minute to keep the Cougars in front. BYU led at the half 42-32. BYU shot 48 percent to the Rebels' 39 and made 10-19 threes.

Quick Facts

BYU (12-2) vs. Utah (12-3)

Saturday, Jan. 15 • Marriott Center (22,700) •Provo, Utah• 1 p.m. Mountain

ESPN Regional (KJZZ-TV in Salt Lake City)

BYU's Probable Starters

F 25 Eric Nielsen 6-8 205 So. 4.3/4.0 F 15 Mekeli Wesley 6-9 230 Jr. 18.2/6.1 G 24 Terrell Lyday 6-3 190 Jr. 17.6/4.0 G 4 Todd Christensen 6-1 185 Jr. 6.8/0.7

G 13 Michael Vranes 6-3 190 So. 8.6/4.4

Utah's Probable Starters

F 13 Hanno Mottola 6-9 250 Sr. 21.6/5.4 F 50 Alex Jensen 6-7 225 Sr. 13.7/6.7 C 52 Nate Althoff 6-11 260 Jr. 9.7/4.7 G 3 Gary Colbert 6-1 175 So. 4.5/3.2 G 32 Jeremy Killion 5-11 190 Sr. 10.7/1.9

BYU Coach: Steve Cleveland

Record at BYU: 33-39 (3rd year)

Overall Div. I record: Same

Utah Coach: Rick Majerus

Record at Utah: 250-67 (11th year)

Overall record: 349-119 (15th year)

Series Record: 113-112 BYU

Game Time: 1:07 p.m. Mountain

Broadcast Plans

Television:

Network: ESPN Regional

Local Station: KJZZ, Channel 14

Air Time: 1 p.m. Mountain

Play-by-play: Rich Waltz

Commentary: Irv Brown

Radio:

Network: Cougar Sports Network

Station: KSL Newsradio 1160 AM

Air Time: 6:30 p.m. Mountain

Play-by-play: Greg Wrubell

Commentary: Mark Durrant

Scouting Utah

Utah is 12-3 overall, including a 10-0 home record and 2-3 road mark. The Utes have won 10 of their last 11 games and are coming off road win at San Diego State Monday. At SDSU, Hanno Mottola only scored four points but center Nat Althoff had team highs of 20 points and seven rebounds. During a run of nine straight wins, the Utes defeated Utah State (77-42), Oregon State (87-77) and nationally ranked Texas (79-73) and defeated Washington State (78-66) on the road. Utah's lone loss in that stretch was at Louisville (75-55). The Utes other two losses were to Kentucky (56-48) in the Preseason NIT and at Weber State (84-72). Common preseason opponents with BYU are Utah State (home win), Weber State (road loss) and Southern Utah (73-56 home win). BYU defeated Southern Utah and Weber State at home and won at Utah State last Saturday. Utah returns four starters and eight letterwinners from last year's 28-5 team that went unbeaten in conference play and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Utes boast two of the best forwards in the country in Mottola (6-9 Sr.) and Alex Jensen (6-7 Sr.). Althoff (6-11 Jr.) fills the center position and Jeremy Killion (5-11 Jr.) the shooting guard slot with and Gary Colbert (6-1 So.) playing the point position vacated with the departure of Andre Miller. Tony Harvey (6-5 Sr.) is a key contributor off the bench at both guard spots. Mottola leads the Utes with a 21.6 average in seven games since coming back from an injury. Jensen adds 13.7 and a team-best 6.7 rebounds while Killion scores 10.7 and Althoff 9.7. Colbert dishes 4.4 assists per game and scores 4.5 points. The Utes lead the MWC in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, rebound margin, rebounding defense, and assist/turnover ratio. Utah ranks seventh in the nation in field goal percentage and second in three-point shooting (BYU is ranked third).

Series Notes

This will be the 226th meeting between the two rivals with BYU having a one-game edge in the series 113-112. Utah is BYU's second longest standing opponent (Utah State oldest). Utah has won the last 10 meetings, it's longest win streak in the series, including three games last year. The Cougars' last victory was a 64-57 home win in January 1995. Coach Cleveland is 0-5 against the Utes in his two previous seasons. BYU is 63-44 at home against Utah. BYU's biggest win in recent history over the Utes was a 96-65 win at the Delta Center during the 1994 WAC Tournament.

Recent Meetings

BYU lost all three games to Utah last year -- in Salt Lake (75-54) Jan. 9, in Provo (71-46) Feb. 6, and in Las Vegas at the WAC Tournament (81-62) Mar. 4. BYU was out shot by the Utes in all three games as the Cougars shot 35 percent or worse in the first two meetings and made 43 percent in Las Vegas. The Cougars were out rebounded by the Utes in the three games by an average of 10.7 rebounds per game. Mark Bigelow led BYU's effort in the first game in Salt Lake City with team highs of 13 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. He was also BYU's top scorer (11) and rebounder (7) in Provo. Silester Rivers played a strong game at the WAC Tournament, scoring 23 points inside and grabbing a team-best five rebounds. Bigelow added 14 points, Wesley 13 and Christensen eight in the last outing and Michael Vranes a team-high five assists.

In-State Stats

BYU is 3-0 this year against in-state teams with a 92-64 win over Southern Utah, a 66-53 Cougar Classic victory over Weber State and last Saturday's 82-73 win at Utah State. Utah is 2-1 this year with a road loss at Weber State (84-72) and home wins over USU (77-42) and SUU (73-56). Overall, BYU is 113-112 against Utah, 131-85 against Utah State, 16-9 against Weber State and 3-0 against Southern Utah for a combined 263-206 (.561) in-state record.

BYU in Mountain West Conference Stats

Team (as of 1-11-00)

Scoring Offense, 3rd (75.8)

Scoring Defense, 3rd (63.9)

Scoring Margin, 2nd (11.9)

Free Throw Percentage, 1st (71.5)

Field Goal Percentage, 3rd (.474)

Field Goal % Defense, 1st (.373)

3 pt. Percentage, 3rd (.426)

3 pt. % Defense, 1st (.290)

Rebounding Offense, 4th (36.4)

Rebounding Defense, 3rd (35.2)

Rebounding Margin, 7th (+ 1.1)

Blocks, 8th (1.9)

Assists, 4th (16.0)

Steals, 5th (8.0)

TO Margin, 4th (1.1)

Asst./TO Ratio, 4th (1.1)

Individual (as of 1-11-00)

Scoring:

Wesley, 4th, (18.2)

Lyday, 6th (17.6)

Rebounding:

Wesley, 7th (6.1)

Rivers, 15th (5.0)

Field Goal Percentage (min 3 per game):

Wesley, 10th (.515)

Free Throw Percentage:

Cooper, 1st (.853)

Wesley, 8th (.767)

Lyday, 10th (.754)

3 pt. Percentage:

Christensen, 4th (.489)

Lyday, 7th (.455)

Vranes, 10th (.429)

3 pt. FG Made:

Lyday, 3rd (2.50)

Christensen, 12th (1.57)

Assists:

Montague, 2nd (4.43)

Steals:

Lyday, 3rd (2.14)

Asst./TO Ratio:

Montague, 4th (1.82)

Vranes, 6th (1.65)

BYU in National Stats (as of 1-10-00)

Won-Lost Percentage, 15th, (12-2, .857)

3 pt. percentage, 3rd (42.6)

Mountain West Conference Preseason Polls

Coaches

1. Utah 63

2. New Mexico 54

3. UNLV 44

Wyoming 44

5. Colorado State 35

6. BYU 28

7. San Diego State 12

Air Force 12

Media

1. Utah (28first-place votes) 224

2. New Mexico 181

3. UNLV 155

4. Wyoming 148

5. Colorado State 116

6. BYU 97

7. San Diego State 57

8. Air Force 32

BYU Starting Lineups

UCR Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

SUU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

Ariz. Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

Den. Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

ASU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

TSU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

WSU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

SCSU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

USA Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

FIU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Rivers, Wesley

UCSB Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Rivers, Wesley

UCI Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

USU Christensen, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

UNLV Christensen, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

BYU's record when . . .

BYU leads at half 10-0

Opponent leads at half 1-2

Score tied at half 1-0

BYU leads with 5 minutes left 11-1

Opponent leads with 5 min. left 0-1

BYU leads with 1 minute left 11-0

Opponent leads with 1 min. left 1-2

Score tied with 1 minute left 0-0

Game goes into overtime 1-0

BYU out rebounds opponent 9-0

Opponent out rebounds BYU 3-2

BYU and opponent tie in rebounds 0-0

BYU shoots 50 % or better 7-0

Opponent shoots 50 % or better 0-1

BYU out shoots opponent 11-0

Cougar Start among Best in Past 20 Years

BYU has achieved a 12-2 record for only the fourth time in the past 20 years and is off to its best start since 1991-92 when the Cougars also started the season with a 12-2 mark. Only two teams have started 13-2 or better -- the Michael Smith-led 1987-88 team and the Danny Ainge-led 1980-81 squad. BYU's best start was a 17-0 beginning in 1987-88 when the Cougars won their first 17 games and achieved a No. 2 national ranking. The 1980-81 team went on to the school's best NCAA finish, making the Elite Eight.

BYU + Thomas & Mack = 12

BYU's win Monday at UNLV equaled its total from last year when BYU compiled a 12-16 record. Last year's 12th win came in BYU's 27th game, a 90-74 upset of TCU at the Thomas & Mack Center in the WAC Tournament. This year's 12th win was also earned at the Thomas & Mack Center but it came in BYU's 14th game.

The Long Time Since No. 13

The last time BYU achieved its 13th win in a season was on Feb. 10, 1996 (an 81-71 win at Wyoming) in the Cougars' 22nd game of the 1995-96 season.

Streaks

BYU has a five-game win streak, it's second of the season. The Cougars have won 10 of their last 11. BYU is a perfect 7-0 at home this year and has won eight consecutive times at home including last year's regular season-ending win over UTEP (85-64). All eight wins have been by double-digit margins.

BYU has won its last four straight road games. The last time BYU won four straight road games was in 1992-93, when the Cougars has a six-game road streak. BYU's three straight non-conference road wins was a first since the 1991-92 season.

Playing at Home

BYU is a perfect 7-0 at home this year. The Cougars are averaging 79.4 points per game in the Marriott Center and a whopping 20-point margin of victory. BYU is making 51.5 percent of its shots, including 40.6 percent of its three-point attempts, in the Marriott Center this year. The Cougars are pulling down 37.6 rebounds per game to their opponents 32.9. Wesley is scoring a team-best 17.9 points, followed by Terrell Lyday at 14.7, Michael Vranes at 10.0 and Nathan Cooper at 9.9. BYU's last home loss was to New Mexico (85-64) last year.

Numbers on the Road

BYU is 5-2 on the road this year, having more than doubled the number of wins it achieved in the opponent's home arena last year (2-10 in road games last year). The Cougars have won their last four road games and are scoring 72.1 in away games for a 3.7 scoring margin. On the road, BYU is shooting .436, including .442 on threes, and .704 from the free throw line. BYU is being out rebounded 37.6-35.3. Terrell Lyday leads the Cougar scoring effort on the road with a 20.6 average after scoring a career-high 35 last Saturday at Utah State and 30 at UNLV Monday. Mekeli Wesley averaged 18.6 points and a team-best 5.9 rebounds.

Defense

The Cougars are rank first in the Mountain West Conference in both field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense. They have held their opponents to a collective 37.4 shooting percentage and a 27.9 percentage on three-pointers. The Cougars have held the opposition to below 40 percent shooting in 10 of 14 games this year. In BYU's two losses, however, Arizona shot .544 and South Alabama .490. BYU is 11-0 when it out shoots its opponent. BYU is holding opponents to 63.9 points per game. While collectively good, individually BYU has had outstanding defensive efforts, including Terrell Lyday helping hold Eddie House of Arizona State to a 0-16 night -- the only time House has gone without a field goal in his career.

On the Boards

BYU is pulling down 36.4 rebounds per game while its opponents are grabbing 35.2. The Cougars are 9-0 when they have out rebounded their opponents and 3-2 in games were the opposition totalled more boards. Mekeli Wesley leads BYU with 6.1 rebounds per game, including a team-best 65 defensive boards. Silester Rivers has a team-high 24 offensive rebounds.

Offense

BYU has shot better than 50 percent from the floor in seven of its 14 games. The Cougars have shot below 40 percent twice -- 36.5 percent in a loss at nationally ranked Arizona and a season-low 29.6 in a win at UC Santa Barbara. The Cougars are shooting 47.4 percent from the floor, including 42.6 percent on threes, and 71.5 percent from the line. Three regular players are shooting better than 50 percent. Silester Rivers is making a team-best 56.7 percent from the floor, Todd Christensen 52.5 and Mekeli Wesley 51.5. Nathan Cooper has made all but five free throws (29-34) for a team-best 85.3 percent. The Cougars score 75.8 points per game.

Three-Point Range

BYU is ranked third in the nation in three-point percentage in the latest rankings released Jan. 10. The Cougars are shooting 42.6 percent (92-216) from three point range this year. Four players are shooting 40 percent or better individually, led by Todd Christensen (22-45) who is making nearly 49 percent of his attempts. Terrell Lyday (35-77) has made 45.5 percent, Michael Vranes (18-42) 42.9 percent and Mekeli Wesley (10-22) 45.5 percent. Six players have made a three-pointer, led by Lyday's team-high 30. Nathan Cooper has made five and Matt Montague two. Eric Nielsen (0-2), Silester Rivers (0-1) and the departed Morgan Smith (0-1) are the only other Cougars to attempt a shot from behind the arc. BYU's opponents are shooting 29 percent from three-point range. BYU is making 6.6 threes per game compared to 5.1 by its opponents.

Player Notes

Mekeli Wesley

Wesley is BYU's leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 18.2 ppg and 6.1 rpg. He has been BYU's top scorer in seven games this season and has scored in double figures in 12 of BYU's 14 games. He scored 17 points and had four rebounds at UNLV Monday. He scored 11 points and had a team highs with eight rebounds and three assists in last Saturday's win at Utah State. He scored 18 points and pulled down six boards against UC Irvine. He had six rebounds and scored a game-high 24 points, 16 in the second half, at UCSB -- the seventh time he has scored 20 or more points. He had eight points and seven rebounds at Florida International. He had a game-high 20 points at South Alabama. He averaged 21 points and nine rebounds to earn MWC Player of the Week honors (Dec. 7-11) and was named the Cougar Classic MVP for the second time in his career (also as freshman). After averaging three rebounds per game in first three contests, he averaged 7.4 over the next eight. He recorded his first double-double of the year (fourth of career) with 24 points and 10 rebounds in win over Texas Southern. He scored a season-high 26 points in back-to-back games this year versus Denver and Arizona State (he scored 31 points twice as a freshman).

Michael Vranes

Vranes is pulling down 4.4 rebounds per game and is third on the team in scoring at 8.6 ppg. He is second on the team with 3.1 assists per game from his shooting guard spot (averaged 2.9 last year as point guard). He has made a trey in nine games and has scored in double figures in five games, including four of the last eight. He is 18-42 (.429) on treys. He had nine points and four boards at UNLV and had nine points, five rebound and two assists last Saturday at Utah State. He had 11 points, five rebounds and five assists against UC Irvine. Vranes matched a career high with a team-best nine rebounds at UCSB. He also had team-high three assists despite three points on 1-9 shooting. He scored eight of his 12 points in overtime at FIU. He totalled 10 points, six rebounds and a season-high seven assists vs. South Carolina State. He had a season-high 15 points along with five rebounds vs. Weber State.

Terrell Lyday

Lyday averages 17.6 points, second on the team, and team-high 32.6 minutes. He has scored in double figures in 12 of BYU's 14 games and has made a three-pointer in all 14 games this season on his way to a team-high 35 three pointers (35-77, .455). Last year he made more than 100 treys for Fresno City College. He has excelled defensively also, guarding the other team's best perimeter player. He helped hold Arizona State's high scoring Eddie House to a five-point night on 0-16 shooting, the only time he has not scored a field goal in his career. House has the top two scoring games in the nation this year (61 and 46). Lyday made 5-10 threes, scored 30 points and had a career-high 11 rebounds and tied a career-best with six steals at UNLV Monday. It was his first double-double of the year. He was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week (Jan. 3-8) after averaged 28.5 points and shooting better than 60 percent from the floor and on threes in two BYU wins. He carried BYU to a win at Utah State with a career-high 35 points, including six three pointers, and scored a game-high 22 points to lead a BYU comeback win over UC Irvine. He had career-best six steals at UCSB, despite an off night scoring (2-11 for eight points and held scoreless in the first half for the first time this year). He scored 26 points at FIU and had 15 points against South Alabama, where he was a perfect 4-4 on three-point attempts. He joined Wesley on the Cougar Classic All-Tournament team Dec. 10-11 and is showing why he was recruited by Coach Steve Cleveland out of Fresno City College to help replace production lost by the LDS Church mission departure of freshman sensation Mark Bigelow (15 ppg last year). He scored 18 points against Arizona and had 17 vs. ASU.

Eric Nielsen

A returned LDS missionary to Russia, the sophomore is averaging 4.3 points and 4.0 rebounds. Nielsen returned to the starting lineup against UC Irvine after a two-game stint off the bench. He averaged 5.4 points (52.8 percent) and 4.0 rebounds in 24.6 minutes as a starter in the first nine games. After scoring 10 and 12 points in first two games, he has not reached double digits in the past 12 outings. He got in foul trouble and played only 10 minutes at UNLV (2 pts, 4 rebounds). At Utah State he was held scoreless for the first time this year, going 0-3 with four rebounds while defending USU's larger post players. He had four points, three rebounds and a season-high three assists against UC Irvine. At UCSB, he had three points and equaled a career-best seven rebounds. He was married to BYU All-American volleyball player Anna-Lena Smith Dec. 30 in Mesa, Ariz. Coming off the bench at Florida International, he had two points and two rebounds while fouling out in 16 minutes. He had eight points at South Alabama and at Denver. He scored a season-high 12 points versus Southern Utah and had 10 in the season-opener against UC Riverside.

Todd Christensen

Regarded as the best shooter on the team, Christensen has made 32-61 attempts (.525), including 22-45 (team-best .489) from behind the arc. He averages 6.8 ppg in 16.7 minutes. He is sharing point guard duties after playing shooting guard most of last year. He had his second start at UNLV and had eight points, including a clutch three-pointer to put the Cougars up four late in the game. Christensen started at Utah State and scored seven early points to help BYU shot 57 percent in the first half. He played 15 minutes, being limited some because of foul trouble. He had three points against UC Irvine Wednesday. Christensen scored 13 points, including a four-point play at UCSB. Against UCSB and Florida International he was 9-16 (.562) from the floor, 6-11 (.545) on treys, and 3-3 from the line while averaging 13.5 ppg. He scored all of his 14 points in the first half at FIU (4-5 treys in 11 minutes). He had season-best three assists at South Alabama in 12 minutes. He had a season-high 16 points, including 5-8 threes, vs. South Carolina State. He scored 10 at Denver.

Silester Rivers

Rivers averages 8.0 points (4th on team) and 5.0 rebounds (2nd on team) per game. He has a team-high 24 offensive boards and is shooting a team-best 56.7 percent (FG). He has scored in double figures six times this year and has led the team in rebounds three times (6 vs. UC Riverside, 9 at Denver, 11 at FIU). Rivers had three points (3-4 FTs) and five rebounds at UNLV. He had a strong outing Saturday at Utah State, scoring 15 points with some nice post play and pulling down seven rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. Rivers came off the bench against UC Irvine after starting the two previous games. Despite being weakened by the flu, he contributed five points and six rebounds in 11 minutes. He started his second straight game against UCSB but was 0-2 with four rebounds in 17 minutes. He played a season-high 31 minutes in his first start at Florida International and had double-double 10 points and season-high 11 rebounds. He scored eight points in 12 minutes at South Alabama. He scored game- and season-high 17 points against South Carolina State. Coming off the bench in the first nine games he averaged 8.8 ppg and is 4.3 rebounds, including 10 points versus Arizona State and 14 points in back-to-back games to open the year against UC Riverside and Southern Utah.

Nathan Cooper

He is coming off the bench this year after starting 23 of BYU's 28 games last year. He is averaging 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 20.6 minutes and making 43 percent of his shots and team-best 29 of 34 free throws (.853). He has made a trey in four games. He was forced to play the 4 position at UNLV with foul trouble to Eric Nielsen and Silester Rivers. He played 22 minutes and had two points and one rebound. He played 15 minutes at Utah State, scoring one point and adding two boards and two assists. He and Michael Vranes received the coaches game ball for their effort against UC Irvine. Cooper had 14 points and four rebounds in a season-high 31 minutes. He scored BYU's first basket at UCSB five minutes into the contest and sparked an 8-0 run with a steal, forcing a turnover and handing out an assist. He finished with three points and three boards. He had five points, six rebound effort at FIU. He set a career high with seven assists at South Alabama. He scored a season- and team-high 15 points against Weber State, the third time he has reached double figures.

Matt Montague

The only true point guard on the BYU roster, he has team-leading 62 assists (4.4 apg). He is averaging 2.7 points and 3.1 rebounds. He has been plagued by a achilles injury all year. After starting the first 12 games, he has come off the bench in the last two games. He scored a season-best six points and had seven assists at UNLV. At Utah State he played 25 minutes off the bench and had four points and two assists. He was limited to only 10 minutes because of his achilles against UC Irvine and did not record an assist for the first time this year. Montague did not take a shot but made three clutch free throws down the stretch at UCSB. He had two points, four rebounds and eight assists in team- and personal career-high 41 minutes at FIU. He shared team-high five rebounds with Wesley at South Alabama while handing out four assists. He matched his season high with five points vs. South Carolina State and made his second three-pointer of the year (2-6 on the season). After receiving stitches to repair a cut above his eye against ASU, Montague returned and led BYU on a 14-1 run. He dished out a season-high nine assists vs. Weber State and helped hold Wildcat guard Eddie Gill to 2-14 shooting.

Dan Howard to Redshirt

Center Dan Howard, a 7-0 freshman, will take a medical redshirt year this season. He had surgery on his right knee after the Denver game. He played in BYU's first four games and was 3-3 (1.5 ppg) and averaged 2 rebounds in 4.8 minutes.

Comparing Statistics
                            BYU     Utah
SCORING
Points per game            .75.8    72.3
Scoring margin            + 11.9  + 12.9
SHOOTING PERCENTAGES
Field goals                 .474    .501
3-pointers                  .426    .433
Free throws                 .715    .710
REBOUNDING
Rebounds per game          .36.4   .32.5
Rebounding margin          + 1.1   + 3.9
ASSISTS
Assists per game            16.0    17.7
TURNOVERS
Turnovers per game          14.7    14.1
Turnover margin            + 1.1   + 0.1
BLOCKS
Blocks per game              1.9     2.7
STEALS
Steals per game              8.0     7.3
BYU Combined Team Statistics (Through games of Jan 11, 2000)
All games
  DATE            OPPONENT             W/L    SCORE  ATTEND
  ------------    -------------------- ---    -----  ------
  11/20/99        CALIFORNIA-RIVERSIDE W      91-62    7546
  11/24/99        SOUTHERN UTAH        W      92-64    4518
  12-1-99      at Arizona                L    62-86   14345
  12/4/99      at Denver               W      81-58    1507
  12/7/99         ARIZONA STATE        W      78-67    5867
  Dec 10, 1999    TEXAS SOUTHERN       W      76-61    6541
  12/11/99        WEBER STATE          W      66-53    9862
  12/18/99        SOUTH CAROLINA STATE W      76-43    7584
  12-21-99     at South Alabama          L    63-64    1785
  12/21/99     at Fla International    W  OT  83-75     953
  12-29-99     at UC Santa Barbara     W      57-48    2891
  1/5/00          UC IRVINE            W      77-66    9574
  Jan 08, 2000 at Utah State           W      82-73   10270
 *01/10/00     at UNLV                 W      77-75   12597
 * denotes conference game
     RECORD:                OVERALL      HOME        AWAY       NEUTRAL
     ALL GAMES...........   (12-2)      (7-0)       (5-2)       (0-0)
     CONFERENCE..........   (1-0)       (0-0)       (1-0)       (0-0)
     NON-CONFERENCE......   (11-2)      (7-0)       (4-2)       (0-0)
## SUMMARY              GP-GS   Min   FG%  3PT%   FT%  R/G  A/G STL BLK PTS/G
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
15 WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14-14  30.1  .515  .455  .767  6.1  1.7  19   7  18.2
24 LYDAY, Terrell...... 14-14  32.6  .482  .455  .754  4.0  1.6  30   5  17.6
13 VRANES, Michael..... 14-14  25.9  .410  .429  .500  4.4  3.1  17   0   8.6
02 RIVERS, Silester.... 14-2   18.1  .567  .000  .632  5.0  0.6   9   6   8.0
42 COOPER, Nathan...... 14-0   20.6  .431  .250  .853  3.3  2.3   7   1   6.9
04 CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 14-2   16.7  .525  .489  .692  0.7  1.1   8   1   6.8
25 NIELSEN, Eric....... 14-12  22.1  .469  .000  .636  4.0  0.8   8   5   4.3
31 MONTAGUE, Matt...... 14-12  26.7  .310  .333  .783  3.1  4.4  12   0   2.7
05 ROBERTS, Marc.......  7-0    4.6  .400  .000  .833  0.6  0.3   0   1   1.3
50 NIELSEN, David......  6-0    3.3  .200  .000  .857  0.5  0.2   1   0   1.3
10 ALLEN, John.........  6-0    3.7  .667  .000  .667  1.0  0.2   1   0   1.0
40 HOWARD, Dan.........  4-0    4.8 1.000  .000  .000  2.0  0.0   0   0   1.5
33 SMITH, Morgan.......  5-0    2.6  .125  .000 1.000  0.6  0.2   0   0   1.2
34 ELLSWORTH, Joe......  3-0    2.0  .333  .000  .000  1.0  0.0   0   1   0.7
20 TAGGART, Nick.......  3-0    1.7  .000  .000  .000  0.0  0.0   0   0   0.0
   Total............... 14           .474  .426  .715 36.4 16.0 112  27  75.8
   Opponents........... 14           .373  .290  .709 35.2 12.7 101  30  63.9
SCORING              GP   FG-FGA   FG%  3FG-FGA  3PT%   FT-FTA   FT%   PTS PTS/G
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   88-171  .515   10-22   .455   69-90   .767   255 18.2
LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   80-166  .482   35-77   .455   52-69   .754   247 17.6
VRANES, Michael..... 14   43-105  .410   18-42   .429   17-34   .500   121  8.6
RIVERS, Silester.... 14   38-67   .567    0-1    .000   36-57   .632   112  8.0
COOPER, Nathan...... 14   31-72   .431    5-20   .250   29-34   .853    96  6.9
CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 14   32-61   .525   22-45   .489    9-13   .692    95  6.8
NIELSEN, Eric....... 14   23-49   .469    0-2    .000   14-22   .636    60  4.3
MONTAGUE, Matt...... 14    9-29   .310    2-6    .333   18-23   .783    38  2.7
ROBERTS, Marc.......  7    2-5    .400    0-0    .000    5-6    .833     9  1.3
NIELSEN, David......  6    1-5    .200    0-0    .000    6-7    .857     8  1.3
ALLEN, John.........  6    2-3    .667    0-0    .000    2-3    .667     6  1.0
HOWARD, Dan.........  4    3-3   1.000    0-0    .000    0-2    .000     6  1.5
SMITH, Morgan.......  5    1-8    .125    0-1    .000    4-4   1.000     6  1.2
ELLSWORTH, Joe......  3    1-3    .333    0-0    .000    0-1    .000     2  0.7
TAGGART, Nick.......  3    0-0    .000    0-0    .000    0-0    .000     0  0.0
Total............... 14  354-747  .474   92-216  .426  261-365  .715  1061 75.8
Opponents........... 14  308-825  .373   72-248  .290  207-292  .709   895 63.9
                                  REBOUNDS
TOTALS               GP   MIN  OFF  DEF  TOT   PF  FO    A   TO  A/TO  HI
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   422   21   65   86   43   0   24   26   0.9  26
LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   457    4   52   56   23   0   23   37   0.6  35
VRANES, Michael..... 14   363   19   43   62   28   1   43   26   1.7  15
RIVERS, Silester.... 14   253   24   46   70   42   0    9   26   0.3  17
COOPER, Nathan...... 14   289   14   32   46   35   1   32   15   2.1  15
CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 14   234    0   10   10   27   0   15   10   1.5  16
NIELSEN, Eric....... 14   310   20   36   56   38   1   11   17   0.6  12
MONTAGUE, Matt...... 14   374    4   39   43   19   0   62   34   1.8   6
ROBERTS, Marc.......  7    32    1    3    4    2   0    2    5   0.4   4
NIELSEN, David......  6    20    1    2    3    4   0    1    3   0.3   6
ALLEN, John.........  6    22    0    6    6    2   0    1    1   1.0   2
HOWARD, Dan.........  4    19    3    5    8    4   0    0    2   0.0   6
SMITH, Morgan.......  5    13    1    2    3    0   0    1    2   0.5   2
ELLSWORTH, Joe......  3     6    0    3    3    0   0    0    0   0.0   2
TAGGART, Nick.......  3     5    0    0    0    0   0    0    0   0.0   0
Total............... 14  2819  131  378  509  267   3  224  206   1.1  92
Opponents........... 14  2827  185  308  493  289   -  178  222   0.8  86
   TEAM STATISTICS                          BY          OPP
   --------------------------------------------------------
   SCORING.......................         1061          895
     Points per game.............         75.8         63.9
     Scoring margin..............        +11.9            -
   FIELD GOALS-ATT...............      354-747      308-825
     Field goal pct..............         .474         .373
   3 POINT FG-ATT................       92-216       72-248
     3-point FG pct..............         .426         .290
     3-pt FG made per game.......          6.6          5.1
   FREE THROWS-ATT...............      261-365      207-292
     Free throw pct..............         .715         .709
   REBOUNDS......................          509          493
     Rebounds per game...........         36.4         35.2
     Rebounding margin...........         +1.1            -
   ASSISTS.......................          224          178
     Assists per game............         16.0         12.7
   TURNOVERS.....................          206          222
     Turnovers per game..........         14.7         15.9
     Turnover margin.............         +1.1            -
     Assist/turnover ratio.......          1.1          0.8
   STEALS........................          112          101
     Steals per game.............          8.0          7.2
   BLOCKS........................           27           30
     Blocks per game.............          1.9          2.1
   WINNING STREAK................            5            -
     Home win streak.............            7            -
   ATTENDANCE....................        51492        44348
     Home games-Avg/Game.........       7-7356       7-6335
     Neutral site-Avg/Game.......            -          0-0
   BY PERIOD     1st  2nd  OT     Total
   ------------ ---- ---- ----     ----
   Team........  492  555   14  -  1061
   Opponents...  407  482    6  -   895
Category Leaders
The Automated ScoreBook
BYU Category Leaders (Through games of Jan 11, 2000)
All games
FG PERCENTAGE         FG ATT   Pct              FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS   G  Att  Att/G
----------------------------------              -----------------------------------
HOWARD, Dan.........   3   3 1.000              WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14  171   12.2
ALLEN, John.........   2   3  .667              LYDAY, Terrell...... 14  166   11.9
RIVERS, Silester....  38  67  .567              VRANES, Michael..... 14  105    7.5
CHRISTENSEN, Todd...  32  61  .525              COOPER, Nathan...... 14   72    5.1
WESLEY, Mekeli......  88 171  .515              RIVERS, Silester.... 14   67    4.8
LYDAY, Terrell......  80 166  .482
NIELSEN, Eric.......  23  49  .469              FIELD GOALS MADE      G Made Made/G
COOPER, Nathan......  31  72  .431              -----------------------------------
VRANES, Michael.....  43 105  .410              WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   88    6.3
ROBERTS, Marc.......   2   5  .400              LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   80    5.7
ELLSWORTH, Joe......   1   3  .333              VRANES, Michael..... 14   43    3.1
MONTAGUE, Matt......   9  29  .310              RIVERS, Silester.... 14   38    2.7
                                                CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 14   32    2.3
3-POINT PERCENTAGE   3FG ATT   Pct              3-POINT FG ATTEMPTS   G  Att  Att/G
----------------------------------              -----------------------------------
CHRISTENSEN, Todd...  22  45  .489              LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   77    5.5
WESLEY, Mekeli......  10  22  .455              CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 14   45    3.2
LYDAY, Terrell......  35  77  .455              VRANES, Michael..... 14   42    3.0
VRANES, Michael.....  18  42  .429              WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   22    1.6
MONTAGUE, Matt......   2   6  .333              COOPER, Nathan...... 14   20    1.4
COOPER, Nathan......   5  20  .250
                                                3-POINT FGS MADE      G Made Made/G
                                                -----------------------------------
                                                LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   35    2.5
                                                CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 14   22    1.6
                                                VRANES, Michael..... 14   18    1.3
                                                WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   10    0.7
                                                COOPER, Nathan...... 14    5    0.4
FT PERCENTAGE         FT ATT   Pct              FREE THROW ATTEMPTS   G  Att  Att/G
----------------------------------              -----------------------------------
SMITH, Morgan.......   4   4 1.000              WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   90    6.4
NIELSEN, David......   6   7  .857              LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   69    4.9
COOPER, Nathan......  29  34  .853              RIVERS, Silester.... 14   57    4.1
ROBERTS, Marc.......   5   6  .833              VRANES, Michael..... 14   34    2.4
MONTAGUE, Matt......  18  23  .783              COOPER, Nathan...... 14   34    2.4
WESLEY, Mekeli......  69  90  .767
LYDAY, Terrell......  52  69  .754              FREE THROWS MADE      G Made Made/G
CHRISTENSEN, Todd...   9  13  .692              -----------------------------------
ALLEN, John.........   2   3  .667              WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   69    4.9
NIELSEN, Eric.......  14  22  .636              LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   52    3.7
RIVERS, Silester....  36  57  .632              VRANES, Michael..... 14   17    1.2
VRANES, Michael.....  17  34  .500              RIVERS, Silester.... 14   36    2.6
                                                CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 14    9    0.6
                                                COOPER, Nathan...... 14   29    2.1
POINTS                G  Pts  Pts/G             POINTS AVERAGE        G  Pts Avg/G
-----------------------------------             ----------------------------------
WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14  255   18.2             WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14  255  18.2
LYDAY, Terrell...... 14  247   17.6             LYDAY, Terrell...... 14  247  17.6
VRANES, Michael..... 14  121    8.6             VRANES, Michael..... 14  121   8.6
RIVERS, Silester.... 14  112    8.0             RIVERS, Silester.... 14  112   8.0
COOPER, Nathan...... 14   96    6.9             COOPER, Nathan...... 14   96   6.9
CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 14   95    6.8             CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 14   95   6.8
NIELSEN, Eric....... 14   60    4.3             NIELSEN, Eric....... 14   60   4.3
MONTAGUE, Matt...... 14   38    2.7             MONTAGUE, Matt...... 14   38   2.7
ROBERTS, Marc.......  7    9    1.3             HOWARD, Dan.........  4    6   1.5
NIELSEN, David......  6    8    1.3             NIELSEN, David......  6    8   1.3
ALLEN, John.........  6    6    1.0             ROBERTS, Marc.......  7    9   1.3
HOWARD, Dan.........  4    6    1.5             SMITH, Morgan.......  5    6   1.2
SMITH, Morgan.......  5    6    1.2
REBOUNDS              G  Reb  Reb/G             ASSISTS               G  No.    A/G
-----------------------------------             -----------------------------------
WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   86    6.1             MONTAGUE, Matt...... 14   62    4.4
RIVERS, Silester.... 14   70    5.0             VRANES, Michael..... 14   43    3.1
VRANES, Michael..... 14   62    4.4             COOPER, Nathan...... 14   32    2.3
LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   56    4.0             WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   24    1.7
NIELSEN, Eric....... 14   56    4.0             LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   23    1.6
REBOUND AVERAGE       G  Reb  Avg/G             STEALS                G  No.    S/G
-----------------------------------             -----------------------------------
WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   86    6.1             LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   30    2.1
RIVERS, Silester.... 14   70    5.0             WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   19    1.4
VRANES, Michael..... 14   62    4.4             VRANES, Michael..... 14   17    1.2
NIELSEN, Eric....... 14   56    4.0             MONTAGUE, Matt...... 14   12    0.9
LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   56    4.0             RIVERS, Silester.... 14    9    0.6
OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS    G  No.  Avg/G             BLOCKED SHOTS         G  No.  Blk/G
-----------------------------------             -----------------------------------
RIVERS, Silester.... 14   24    1.7             WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14    7    0.5
WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   21    1.5             RIVERS, Silester.... 14    6    0.4
NIELSEN, Eric....... 14   20    1.4             LYDAY, Terrell...... 14    5    0.4
VRANES, Michael..... 14   19    1.4             NIELSEN, Eric....... 14    5    0.4
COOPER, Nathan...... 14   14    1.0             COOPER, Nathan...... 14    1    0.1
                                                ROBERTS, Marc.......  7    1    0.1
DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS    G  No.  Avg/G             ELLSWORTH, Joe......  3    1    0.3
-----------------------------------             CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 14    1    0.1
WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   65    4.6
LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   52    3.7             MINUTES               G  No.  Min/G
RIVERS, Silester.... 14   46    3.3             -----------------------------------
VRANES, Michael..... 14   43    3.1             LYDAY, Terrell...... 14  457   32.6
MONTAGUE, Matt...... 14   39    2.8             WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14  422   30.1
                                                MONTAGUE, Matt...... 14  374   26.7
                                                VRANES, Michael..... 14  363   25.9
                                                NIELSEN, Eric....... 14  310   22.1
FOULS                 G  No.  Per/G             TURNOVERS             G  No.   TO/G
-----------------------------------             -----------------------------------
WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   43    3.1             LYDAY, Terrell...... 14   37    2.6
RIVERS, Silester.... 14   42    3.0             MONTAGUE, Matt...... 14   34    2.4
NIELSEN, Eric....... 14   38    2.7             VRANES, Michael..... 14   26    1.9
COOPER, Nathan...... 14   35    2.5             RIVERS, Silester.... 14   26    1.9
VRANES, Michael..... 14   28    2.0             WESLEY, Mekeli...... 14   26    1.9
FOULOUTS              G  No.
----------------------------
NIELSEN, Eric....... 14    1
COOPER, Nathan...... 14    1
VRANES, Michael..... 14    1