Games 1-3 - BYU Opens Season at Maui Invitational

BYU FACES NO. 3 NORTH CAROLINA IN FIRST OF THREE GAMES AT THE MAUI INVITATIONAL

BYU opens its 2004-05 regular season Monday when it faces No. 3 North Carolina at the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. The Cougars and Tar Heels tip off at 4 p.m. HT (7 p.m. MST) in a nationally televised contest on ESPN2 being played at Lahaina Civic Center. An annual tournament hosted by Chaminade University, the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational boasts a strong field in 2004 with No. 3 North Carolina, No. 13 Louisville, No. 15 Texas and No. 25 Stanford being joined by BYU, Tennessee, Iowa and host Chaminade. The Cougars will play either Stanford or Tennessee in the second round on Tuesday.

BYU GAME #1 FAST FACTS

BYU COUGARS (0-0) vs. NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (0-0)*

MONDAY, NOV. 22, 2004

LAHAINA CIVIC CENTER

MAUI, HAWAII

4 p.m. HT (7 p.m. MST)

Coaches:

BYU, Steve Cleveland (129-87 entering eighth year; same overall)

UNC, Roy Williams (19-11 entering second season; 437-112 overall entering 17th season)

Series: North Carolina leads 3-0; Last meeting in 1993 (UNC 97, BYU 65 in Charlotte, N.C.)

TV: ESPN2; Sean McDonough calls play-by-play with Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas providing commentary

Radio: KSL 1160, BYU Sports Network; Greg Wrubell calls play-by-play with Mark Durrant adding commentary

Web: Live audio is available at byucougars.com/basketball_m/ (select 2004-05 schedule)

*North Carolina opens its regular season Friday vs. Santa Clara in Oakland, Calif.

BYU AT A GLANCE

BYU coach Steve Cleveland lost the services of five of the eight players who played double-digit minutes for him a year ago, including four of his top five scorers, but his roster includes eight lettermen, six from last year's NCAA Tournament team, and adds a top-20 recruiting class. His young squad includes seven sophomores and three freshmen. While the relative youth of the BYU roster leaves some unanswered questions, the Cougars do have a good idea of what to expect from returning All-MWC guard and MWC Defensive Player of the Year Mike Hall. Joining Hall with starting experience is senior center Jared Jensen and sophomore forward Garner Meads. Senior point guard Terry Nashif has made seven starts over his career. With some talented newcomers, the Cougars have the depth and talent to develop as a team and earn a sixth straight postseason bid. The Cougars were picked fifth in the MWC poll by the league's media, but they hope to earn their fourth NCAA invite in the last five years and challenge for the MWC title.

LOOKING AT NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina opens the season vs. Santa Clara Friday at the Pete Newell Challenge in Oakland, Calif. Predicted to place second in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Tar Heels are ranked No. 3 in the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and are rated No. 4 in the Associated Press rankings. Under the direction of second-year coach Roy Williams, UNC returns all five starters for the second consecutive season and features three preseason Wooden Award candidates in junior swingman Rashad McCAnts, junior forward Sean May and junior guard Raymond Felton. WIth the talented trio, WIlliams can put on the floor ACC's leading scorer (McCants, 20.0 ppg), rebounder (May, 9.8 rpg) and assist man (Felton, 7.1 apg) from last season -- the first time in ACC history that one team has had three different players lead in three categories. Also returning from last year's 19-11 NCAA team are three experienced seniors in guards Jackie Manuel and Melvin Scott as well as forward Jawad Williams. The three seniors enter the season with a combined 272 college games and 2,400 points to their credit. The Tar Heels return virtually all their production from last year as the four players lost from a year ago only conributed a total of 36 of UNC's 2,464 points. The talent on the floor is guided by one of college basketball's best coaches. Williams begins his 17th year overall in his second season at UNC. He is the winningest active coach by winning percentage in the nation and ranks fifth all-time in college basketball history with a .796 success rate (437-112 record). UNC won the Maui Invitational in its last trip in 1999.

BYU SERIES RECORD VS. ...

North Carolina

Overall Series Record: North Carolina leads 3-0

BYU Record in Provo: N/A

BYU Record at North Carolina: 0-1

BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 0-2

BYU Record Under Steve Cleveland: N/A

BYU Record in Overtime Games: N/A

Longest BYU Win Streak: N/A

Longest North Carolina Win Streak: 3 (1976-present)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: N/A

Largest UNC Margin of Victory: 32, 97-65 in 1993

Most Points Scored by BYU: 93 in 1976

Most Points Scored by North Carolina: 113 in 1976

LOOKING AT THE SECOND ROUND

BYU will play either No. 25 Stanford or Tennessee in the second round. A win Monday would put the Cougars in a 4:30 p.m. HT (7:30 p.m. MST) matchup on ESPN while a loss will put BYU in a 11 a.m. HT (2 p.m. MST) contest with no television coverage.

POTENTIAL SECOND-ROUND OPPONENT STANFORD

No. 25-ranked (coaches poll) Stanford, like North Carolina, opens the season at the Pete Newell Challenge in Oakland, Calif. The Cardinal play Bay-area foe San Francisco on Friday before heading to Hawaii. Stanford returns three starters and a total of 10 lettermen from last year's 30-2 team that won the Pac-10 title with a 17-1 record. First-year coach Trent Johnson does have some holes to fill as the team's top three scorers -- Josh Childress, Matt Lottich, and Justin Davis -- are gone. Johnson, who coached Nevada to the Sweet 16 last year and has a 79-74 record in six seasons, will look to preseason first-team All-Pac-10 pick Chris Hernandez to fill the void. Stanford is picked to finish third in the Pac-10 behind Arizona and Washington.

BYU vs. Stanford

Overall Series Record: BYU leads 4-1

BYU Record in Provo: 2-0

BYU Record at Stanford: 1-1

BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 1-0

BYU Record under Steve Cleveland: 1-0

Longest BYU Win Streak: 3 (1970-present)

Longest Stanford Win Streak: 1

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 21, 85-64 in 1970

Largest Stanford Margin of Victory: 16, 94-78 in 1969

Most Points Scored by BYU: 95 in 1969

Most Points Scored by Stanford: 94 in 1969

POTENTIAL SECOND-ROUND OPPONENT TENNESSEE

Tennessee returns all five starters and a total of nine lettermen from last year's 15-14 NIT team. The Volunteers, who have earned a postseason berth six of the last seven years, return 88 percent of their scoring and 86 percent of their rebounding from last year. Tennessee is led by senior guard Scooter McFadgon, who was fourth in the SEC in scoring at 17.6 ppg last year, forward Brandon Crump, who averaged 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds last year, and guard C.J. Watson, who was second in the SEC with 5.0 assists per game while adding 11.5 points per outing. Tennessee coach Buzz Peterson will likely have freshman Chris Loften in his starting lineup. The 6-foot-3 guard was Kentucky's Mr. Basketball with a 26.7 scoring average. Peterson (North Carolina, 1986) enters his fourth year at Tennessee (47-42; 152-92 overall in nine seasons).

BYU vs. Tennessee

Overall Series Record: Tennessee leads 2-0

BYU Record in Provo: N/A

BYU Record at Tennessee: 0-2

BYU Record at Neutral Sites: N/A

BYU Record Under Steve Cleveland: N/A

BYU Record in Overtime Games: N/A

Longest BYU Win Streak: N/A

Longest Tennessee Win Streak: 2 (1957-present)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: N/A

Largest Tennessee Margin of Victory: 16, 81-65 in 1980

Most Points Scored by BYU: 68 in 1957

Most Points Scored by Tennessee: 83 in 1957

LOOKING AT THE THIRD ROUND

BYU could face No. 13 Louisville, No. 15 Texas, Iowa or host Chaminade in the third round on Wednesday. Three of the four games on Wednesday will be televised, with the title game airing on ESPN and the 3rd-4th and 5th-6th deciders appearing on ESPN2.

POTENTIAL THIRD-ROUND OPPONENT LOUISVILLE

Louisville returns four players with starting experience, including three starters from last year's 20-10 team in guards Taquan Dean and Larry O'Bannon and forward Francisco Garcia. Forward Ellis Myles, a three-year starter who sat out last season due to an injured knee, is also back for the Cardinals. Coach Rick Pitino's team is the favorite to win Conference USA according to the league's coaches. Louisville is ranked 13th by the in the nation by the coaches and 14th by the Associated Press. Pitino is in his fourth year at Louisville with a 64-30 record entering the team's opener at BYU-Hawaii on Saturday. Pitino is 416-154 overall entering his 19th year.

POTENTIAL THIRD-ROUND OPPONENT TEXAS

No. 15-ranked Texas returns three starters and six lettermen from last year's 25-8 team that finished second in the Big 12 Conference. The Longhorns finished the season ranked 10th in the coaches poll and 12 by A after advancing to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament before a loss to Xavier. Returning starters include junior forward Brad Buckman, junior guard Kenton Paulino and sophomore forward P.J. Tucker. The 6-foot-5 Tucker averaged 10.4 points and 6.8 rebounds a year ago while the 6-foot-8 Buckman added 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds from the othe forward slot. Paulino, a 6-footer, added 4.8 points last season. Coach Rick Barnes enters Friday's opener against Texas State with a 141-58 record in six years at Texas. He is entering his 18th year overall having compiled a 343-192 resume.

POTENTIAL THIRD-ROUND OPPONENT IOWA

Iowa returns three starters and six lettermen from last year's fourth-place Big Ten finisher. The Hawkeyes earned their fourth straight postseason invite with an NIT bid last year after a 16-13 mark overall and 9-7 league record. Iowa should be led by returning starters Pierre Pierce (16.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg), Jeff Horner (13 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Greg Brunner (10.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg). Brunner was second in the Big Ten in rebounding while Pierce ranked among the scoring and defensive leaders. Horner led the Big Ten in free throw percentage while dishing out 4.2 assists per game and making 42.5 percent from long range. Pierce and Horner were both third-team All-Big Ten selections. In his sixth year, Iowa coach Steve Alford has an 89-71 record entering the team's opener vs. Western Illinois on Friday. Alford is 245-148 overall in 13 years as a head coach.

POTENTIAL THIRD-ROUND OPPONENT CHAMINADE

Host Chaminade returns one starter among its eight returning lettermen from last year's 11-14 team. The Pacific West Conference team will look to senior Nick Frey for leadership in 2004-05. Frey is a 6-foot-9 center who averaged 11 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Silverswords last year as a starter. Chaminade is coached by Aaron Griess, who has earned a 55-51 record in his four years at the Honolulu-based school. Chaminade opened the 2004-05 season by beating Winona State University 67-64. Zack Whiting led the Swords with 18 points. Chris Nelson tallied 14 points and 6 rebounds and Chris Reaves finished with 10 points, including 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Forward Chris Powell gave the Swords a much needed spark off the bench. He scored 9 points, pulled down 9 rebounds and blocked 3 shots in just 18 minutes of play.

BYU SERIES RECORD VS. ...

TEXAS

Overall Series Record: BYU leads 3-2

BYU Record in Provo: 2-0

BYU Record Texas: 0-2

BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 1-0

BYU Record Under Steve Cleveland: N/A

BYU Record in Overtime Games: 0-1

Last Overtime Game: BYU lost to Texas 73-76 in 1969

Longest BYU Win Streak: 2 (1974-78)

Longest Texas Win Streak: 1 (1969 and 1978)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 13, 63-50 in 1967

Largest Texas Margin of Victory: 39, 96-57 in 1978

Most Points Scored by BYU: 91 in 1975

Most Points Scored by Texas: 96 in 1978

LOUISVILLE

Overall Series Record: Louisville leads 2-1

BYU Record in Provo: N/A

BYU Record in Louisville: 0-1

BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 1-1

BYU Record Under Steve Cleveland: N/A

BYU Record in Overtime Games: N/A

Longest BYU Win Streak: 1 (1994)

Longest Louisville Win Streak: 2 (1960-88)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 15, 75-60 in 1994

Largest Louisville Margin of Victory: 28, 95-67 in 1960

Most Points Scored by BYU: 76 in 1988

Most Points Scored by Louisville: 97 in 1988

IOWA

Overall Series Record: Iowa leads 2-0

BYU Record in Provo: 0-1

BYU Record at Iowa: 0-1

BYU Record at Neutral Sites: N/A

BYU Record Under Steve Cleveland: N/A

BYU Record in Overtime Games: N/A

Longest BYU Win Streak: N/A

Longest Iowa Win Streak: 2 (1982-86)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: N/A

Largest Iowa Margin of Victory: 11, 91-80 in 1982

Most Points Scored by BYU: 80 in 1982

Most Points Scored by Iowa: 91 in 1982

CHAMINADE - Potential first Meeting

EXPERIMENTAL RULES USED AT MAUI INVITATIONAL

Three experimental rules will be used during the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. BYU also competing using the rules during its exhibition wins in Provo over BYU-Hawaii and the University of Calgary. The rules, set up by the NCAA, include:

• Moving the three-point line 9 inches behind the current three-point arc to create an experimental distance of 20 feet, 6 inches.

• Widening the free throw lane by 1 1/2 feet on each side. The experimental lane will serve both as the three-second lane and the free throw lane.

• Placing a restricted-area arc two feet from the center basket ring.

STARTING THE SEASON IN MAUI

BYU and Tennessee are the only two teams who will open their seasons at the Maui Invitational. The other six teams all play once prior to beginning the tournament on Monday. Louisville does open in Hawaii but will play its first game on Saturday at BYU-Hawaii.

2004 FIELD IN THE MAUI INVITATIONAL

Six of the eight teams have played in past Maui Invitationals. North Carolina is the lone team to have won the title, winning in its last appearance in 1999. UNC has a 7-2 record in the tournament. Louisville is 3-3, BYU and Texas are 2-1 and Stanford owns a 2-4 Maui record. Host Chaminade is 4-54.

BYU IN SEASON OPENERS

BYU has a 72-30 record in season openers for a .706 winning percentage. BYU is 55-14 (.797) when opening at home, 14-14 (.500) when opening on an opponent's floor, and 3-2 (.600) when opening on a neutral floor. BYU coach Steve Cleveland is a perfect 7-0 in season openers, with a 4-0 home record, 2-0 road mark and 1-0 record on a neutral floor.

BYU in Neutral Court Season Openers...

1981 vs. Virginia at Hall of Fame Classic Lost, 63-61

1984 vs. LaSalle at Stanford Invitational Lost, 74-73

1988 vs. Northwestern at Lapchick Tournament Won, 87-78

1994 vs. Oklahoma State at Great Alaska Shootout Won, 69-59

2002 vs. Toledo at Paradise Jam Won, 71-56

LAST TIME AT THE MAUI INVITATIONAL

BYU is playing in the Maui Invitational for the second time. The Cougars' first appearance in the tournament was in 1992 when BYU finished second. The Cougars came to Maui with a 5-1 record with their only loss an overtime defeat at Weber State. BYU opened the tournament on Dec. 21 with a one-point victory over Oklahoma, 76-75, and then outlasted Penny Hardaway and Memphis 73-67 in overtime to advance to the title game. The Cougars lost in the final to Duke, 89-66. The other teams to play in the event in 1992 in addition to host Chaminade were DePaul, LSU and Stanford. Russell Larson led BYU to its win over Oklahoma with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Kevin Nixon and Gary Trost added 14 points and Shane Knight contributed 11. Against Memphis, Trost scored 16, Nick Sanderson added 15, Nixon 14 and Larson 11. Hardaway went 13-of-27 from the floor, including 6-of-15 on threes to score 37 points while playing all 45 minutes. Against Duke, Larson scored 16, Trost 13 and Sanderson 11 for the Cougars while Grant Hill totaled 27 for Duke followed by Thomas Hill with 21 adn Bobby Hurley chipped in 14 points along with his 11 assists. Grant Hill made 12-of-18 attempts from the floor. Mark Durrant, currently the game analyst for BYU radio broadcasts heard on KSL Newsradio 1160 and the BYU Radio Network, was a member of the Cougar team in 1992 when BYU last came to Maui. Having recently returned from two years of missionary service in Kentucky, Durrant was a sophomore for the Cougars. He had 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 5 fouls 15 minutes vs. Oklahoma; 2 rebounds and 2 fouls in 2 minutes vs. Memphis and 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 3 fouls in 18 minutes vs. Duke.

BYU IN HAWAII

While this is the second time for BYU to play in Maui, the Cougars have made numerous trips to Hawaii as a basketball program. As members of the Western Athletic Conference, BYU made annual trips to face the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. The Cougars have also made additional visits for tournament play over the years. BYU has played in the Rainbow Classic three times, 1970, 1977 and 1997. In addidtion to the 1992 Maui, BYU also played in the 2000 Yahoo Sports Invitational in Laie, Hawaii. In that visit -- BYU's last to the Islands -- BYU defeated Boise State before two tough defeats to Iowa State and USC.

DAWES, REISMAN, BURGESS RETURN TO HAWAII

Redshirt sophomore center Derek Dawes is the only member of this year's BYU team who has competed as a Cougar in Hawaii. He was a freshman on the 2000-01 team that played in Laie at the Yahoo Sports Invitational. He played in two of the three games. He logged three minutes vs. Iowa State, grabbing two rebounds and missing his only field goal attempt. He played eight minutes vs. USC, grabbing three boards, blocking one shot and again going 0-1 from the floor. Newcomer Joshua Reisman is the only member of the current BYU team who has played previously in the Maui Invitational. The junior college transfer out of San Jose City College was a redshirt freshman on the Gonzaga team that played in the 2002 Maui Invitational won by Indiana. Junior forward Joshua Reisman also returns to Hawaii. He redshirted as a freshman at BYU-Hawaii in 1999-2000.

BYU VS. NORTH CAROLINA -- IN HAWAII -- THE SEQUEL

Monday's opening-round game against No. 3 North Carolina will be the second time the two teams have met in Hawaii -- even though this will be ony the fourth meeting between in the overall series. North Carolina defeated BYU on Dec. 28, 1977 at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, 94-81 in the closest of BYU's three defeats to the Tar Heels. Forward Keith Rice led BYU with 31 points on 14-of-21 shooting from the floor while adding a Rainbow Classic record 5 steals in his 33 minutes. His roommate, freshman Danny Ainge, who was listed as "Dane" Ainge in the final box score, added 23 points from the guardline on 11-of-17 shooting while making 4 steals for the Cougars. Center Alan Taylor totaled 11 points and a team-best 8 rebounds. Tar Heel star Phil Ford equaled Rice for game-high scoring honors with 31 wile Mike O'Korn scored 25. UNC led 51-40 at the half and managed a two-point edge over the final 20 minutes for the 13-point win. Both teams burned the nets as UNC shot 64.3 percent for the game, including 70 percent in the first half, while BYU made 57.1 percent of its attempts, including 60 percent in the opening half.