Game 17 - BYU vs. TCU

GAME #17 FAST FACTS

BYU COUGARS (10-6, 2-3 MWC)

vs.

TCU HORNED FROGS (5-14, 1-4 MWC)

Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006

Marriott Center (22,700)

Provo, Utah

7:05 p.m. MST

Coaches:

BYU, Dave Rose (10-6 in first year; same overall)

TCU, Neil Dougherty (47-64 in fourth year; same overall)

Series:

BYU leads 4-3 after winning the last meeting at the WAC Tournament in 1999

TV:

Tape-delay broadcast Thursday, Jan. 26 on BYU-TV at 10 p.m. MST and on KBYU at 11:30 p.m. MST.

Radio:

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network (6 p.m. MST pregame show -- Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Mark Durrant, game analysis)

Web:

Live audio and live stats broadcasts are available at www.byucougars.com/basketball_m/

BYU HOSTS TCU WEDNESDAY

BYU (10-6, 2-3 MWC) returns home for a Wednesday night matchup against league-newcomer TCU (5-14, 1-4 MWC) at 7 p.m. MST in the Marriott Center. The game can be heard live on KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network with Greg Wrubell and Mark Durrant calling the play-by-play action. The game will be tape-delay broadcast Thursday, Jan. 26 on BYUTV at 10 p.m. MST and on KBYU, channel 11, at 11:30 p.m. MST.

UP NEXT

BYU travels to Fort Collins, Colo. Saturday to take on the Colorado State Rams in a 7 p.m. contest. The game will not be televised but can be heard live on KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network.

COUGAR QUICK HITS

-- Coming off a disappointing 9-21 season after five straight postseason appearances, BYU looks to return to the ranks of conference contenders and postseason invitees under the direction of new head coach Dave Rose, who served the past eight seasons as Steve Cleveland's lead assistant.

-- BYU is 10-6 overall, including 8-1 at home, and has won eight straight in the Marriott Center. The Cougars are 1-5 away and 1-0 at a neutral site. BYU averages 75.8 ppg, second in the MWC, and shoots .469 from the field, including .368 from long range and .702 from the line, second in the league. Cougar opponents average 69.7 points on .431 shooting, .327 from three and .728 from the line. BYU pulls down 35.8 rebounds per game, 2.4 more than its opponents. The Cougars dish out an MWC-leading 16.6 assists per game.

-- Redshirt freshman forward/center Trent Plaisted leads BYU in scoring (12.4), followed by senior guard Brock Reichner (10.1). Junior forward Keena Young is the top Cougar rebounder (5.8), followed by Plaisted (4.8). Junior point guard Rashaun Broadus is the MWC's top assist maker (4.3), followed by junior combo guard Austin Ainge (3.0), who is tied for sixth. Eleven Cougars are logging 10 minutes or more per game.

-- Among BYU's returning players, honorable mention All-MWC guard Austin Ainge was the team's second-leading scorer and top assist man last year, and forward Keena Young was BYU's leading rebounder. Other returners with starting experience last year include swingman Jimmy Balderson, who led Canada in scoring at the World University Games this summer; center Derek Dawes, who made 13 starts in the middle last year; and guard Mike Rose, who made seven starts last year and averaged 7.7 points while making a team-leading 56 treys. Lone senior Brock Reichner made two starts late last year after mostly limited action during the season.

BYU SERIES RECORD VS. TCU

Overall Series Record: BYU leads 4-3

BYU Record in Provo: 3-1

BYU Record at Texas Christian: 0-1

BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 1-1

BYU Record Under Dave Rose: 0-0

BYU Record in Overtime Games: 0-0

Longest BYU Win Streak: 3 (1953-85)

Longest Texas Christian Win Streak: 3 (1985-97)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 16, 91-74 in 1999

Largest TCU Margin of Victory: 40, 101-61 in 1997

Most Points Scored by BYU: 90 in 1999

Most Points Scored by TCU: 101 in 1997

Date Opponent Score W/L

12-11-53 TCU 59-48 W

12-12-53 TCU 71-61 W

12-12-60 TCU 74-65 W

12-6-85 vs. TCU* 50-63 L

1-16-97 at TCU 61-101 L

2-13-97 TCU 80-92 L

3-2-99 vs. TCU+ 90-74 W

*Kactus Klassic

+WAC Tournament (Las Vegas)

LOOKING AT TCU

The Horned Frogs are currently 5-14 overall and 1-4 in their first season in the Mountain West Conference coming off a win against Colorado State on Saturday. TCU has gone 5-6 at home, 0-6 on the road and 0-2 on a neutral court this season. The former Conference USA members return two starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's 21-14 team that advanced to the NIT Quarterfinals for just the third time in school history. Senior guard Nile Murry leads TCU with 16.8 points per game, second in the conference, including 39 three-pointers, which ranks sixth in the MWC. On the defensive end, Murry has recorded a team-leading 37 steals, ranking third in the league, and adds 4.8 rebounds per game, which is third on the team. He has scored in double figures in 16-of-19 games for the Horned Frogs this season, and his 50 assists is second only to sophomore guard Brent Hackett's 53. Hackett averages 10.8 points per game and 2.7 rebounds per contest. Senior forward Judson Stubbs completes the double-digit scoring trifecta for the Horned Frogs, averaging 10.3 points per game while pulling down a team-leading 6.8 rpg, fifth in the conference. Stubbs has recorded three double-doubles this season. Senior forward Chudi Chinweze has come on strong as of late, starting the last eight games and averaging 8.3 ppg and 5.1 rpg, second on the team. Overall, TCU averages 62.4 points per game on 35.5 percent shooting from the field, including 31.7 percent from three-point range and 64.1 percent from the free-throw line. Horned Frog opponents average 67.7 points per contest on 44.7 percent shooting from the the field, 36.3 percent from beyond the arc and 70.3 percent from the free-throw line. TCU opponents outrebound the Horned Frogs 36.9-35.8. Head coach Neil Dougherty is in his fourth year at the helm of TCU with a 47-64 overall record.

TCU'S PROBABLE STARTERS

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

F 22 Chudi Chinzwee 6-7 245 Sr. 8.3 5.1

F 50 Allen Taylor 6-9 270 Fr. 0.8 0.8

G 2 Brent Hackett 6-3 203 So. 10.8 2.7

G 4 Nile Murry 6-4 202 Sr. 16.7 4.8

G 5 Neiman Owens 6-4 193 So. 4.1 2.9

TCU'S LAST OUTING -- Murry Leads TCU Past Colorado State

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Nile Murry scored 24 points to lead three Horned Frogs in double figures in TCU's 85-72 victory over Colorado State Saturday night at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas. The Frogs hit the road for their next two games, Wednesday at BYU and Saturday at Utah. TCU is in the midst of a stretch with just three home contests in 34 days. Trailing 23-19, TCU (5-14, 1-4) went on a 30-10 run over a 12:33 stretch that covered the final 8:09 of the first half and opening 4:24 of the second half. The spurt, capped by a Chudi Chinweze jumper, gave the Frogs a 49-33 lead with 15:36 remaining. A Murry 3-pointer from the corner provided TCU with its largest margin of the night at 17 points, 61-44, with 10:59 to play. Murry's 24 points were two shy of his season-high 26 in a 70-53 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Dec. 18). Consecutive 3-pointers from Ryan Brown capped 11 straight Ram points as Colorado State (12-6, 1-4) closed within 61-55 with 8:10 left. A pair of Brent Hackett free-throws for TCU ended the run. Trailing 67-61 with 4:10 remaining, Colorado State had a chance to chip away further at its deficit but TCU's Art Pierce stuffed the Rams' Stephan Gilling on a layup attempt which led to a Neiman Owens bucket on the other end. Pierce's block keyed an 18-11 game-ending run for the Frogs. Hackett scored 15 points, while Chinweze added 14 to reach double figures for the third time this season and second straight game. Femi Ibikunle tallied a season-high seven points while his eight rebounds were one shy of a season-best. Judson Stubbs grabbed a game-high nine boards for the Frogs. Blake Adams hit a pair of 3-pointers to finish with seven points for TCU. TCU took its largest lead of the first half at 39-28 on a Hackett 3-pointer with 41 seconds to play. It capped a 20-5 TCU run that was keyed by seven different Frogs scoring. Nine of 10 TCU players who saw first-half action contributed points. TCU led 39-31 at the intermission. The Frogs' 42.4 field-goal percentage represented their third-best shooting night on the season.

SERIES NOTES

The Cougars and Horned Frogs have met just seven times in the history of the two programs with BYU owning a slim 4-3 lead. The series began with three straight Cougar victories, two in 1953 and one in 1960, before TCU was able to win three straight from 1985 to 1997. The last meeting in the series came in the first round of the 1999 WAC Tournament in Las Vegas as BYU recorded a 90-74 win. Despite dropping the most recent home game in the series in 1997, the Cougars are 3-1 against the Horned Frogs in Provo, 0-1 in Fort Worth and 1-1 on a neutral court.

QUOTING BYU HEAD COACH DAVE ROSE ...

"I think that we have so much more confidence at home, which is really indicative of a young team. They feel more comfortable at home, and there's a lot of energy. We'll be a lot more comfortable playing back at home. We just need to get back home, have good practices, and then come out and force turnovers and score in transition to put the shoe on the other foot."

"How we guard the post against TCU will be a key. We always try to cause havoc defensively to make guys a little bit uncomfortable and prevent them from getting into rhythm. It's important for our team to get stops defensively because that's what triggers us offensively."

"TCU has three really good scorers, and Murry and Hackett can both really fill it up from the perimeter. They like to push the ball and mix up the defense a little bit, playing some zone and some man, so we know we're going to get a lot of different looks defensively. The key with TCU is that when they get on a roll and can dictate tempo, they're tough to deal with. They like to play fast but are capable of grinding it out."

BYU's LAST OUTING -- Aztecs Prove Too Much For Cougars

SAN -- The Cougars started strong but could not keep up with the Mountain West Conference's hottest team as BYU fell 88-61 to San Diego State Saturday night in Cox Arena. Keena Young was, once again, a bright spot for the Cougars in his first start of the season as he tied his career high with 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting while contributing a team-high nine rebounds. Young has scored 16 in three of the last five games. Trent Plaisted's scoring troubles on the road came to an end as he reached double figures with 12 points for the first time in MWC road play. Brock Reichner recorded 11 points while adding a career-high six boards. The two teams battled it out in the opening minutes, with a three-pointer from Brock Reichner giving BYU its largest lead of the game at 9-6. From there, the Aztecs went on a 6-0 spurt sparked by Marcus Slaughter to take their first lead of the game at 12-9. Slaughter scored 11 straight for SDSU to keep the Aztecs ahead as BYU continued to play tough and fight for the lead, trailing by just two points at 21-19. However, two consecutive turnovers from Rashaun Broadus bolstered the confidence of the Aztecs and sparked an 8-0 run. Keena Young put a stop to the BYU scoring drought with a jumper at the 5:45 mark but it was not enough to get the Cougars going as SDSU put together an 11-0 run from there to take a 40-21 lead. BYU managed just two baskets in the last 8:19 of the first half as the Aztecs outscored the Cougars 21-4 to take a 42-24 lead into the locker room. BYU came out confident in the second half, having outscored opponents in the second period of play in all but two games this season, and got two quick baskets, including Trent Plaisted's 15th dunk of the season. But the Aztecs were ready for the push and responded accordingly, doubling up the Cougars' makes for the first five minutes of the half to build a 65-39 lead. True freshman Jackson Emery entered the game at the 12:00 minute mark and made an immediate impact with a steal and a three-point make but could not spark BYU at either end of the floor. The Cougars continued struggling to find the hoop and could not stop the 1-2 punch of Slaughter and Brandon Heath, who rank first and third, respectively, in the conference in scoring and combined for 43 points. With the loss, BYU falls to 10-6 on the season and 2-3 in conference play while San Diego State improves to 12-6 overall and takes sole possession of first place in the MWC with a 5-1 record. The Cougars have now lost seven straight league road games dating back to last season.

WHAT WAS SAID AFTER THE GAME ...

BYU Head Coach Dave Rose:

-- "This is obviously a setback. But there are times when you get really discouraged with your team and this is not one of them. This team fought hard. We weren't very good tonight, but there's a lot of basketball left to play and this team is going to get better."

-- "Keena Young has really come on strong for us in the last six weeks. He is a consistent low-post scorer who has good moves and a lot of energy. He was good tonight and is going to keep getting a lot of minutes."

-- "In the first five or six minutes of the game, we were right on target with what we needed to do to win this game. But then we got into foul trouble and committed turnovers and just got stagnant, which allowed them to get going."

-- "You have to give credit to San Diego State. They're a good team that has proven that they're the ones everyone has to shoot for. They've got young, talented players. Everyone in the league is going to have to figure out a way to stop the Aztecs."

-- "Tonight, it seemed like everything we tried to do, they did just a little bit better than us. We just have to work hard and get better. We'll see these guys again at our place and we'll see what happens then. That will be a great opportunity for us."

San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher

-- "I've been on the other side of a game like this when playing BYU. It can happen. If it happens, it usually happens on your home territory. We just have to keep things up, keep digging, not think that we are better than we really are and should just enjoy this win night."

BYU NOTES FROM LAST OUTING

-- Keena Young made his first start of the season at San Diego State as BYU coach Dave Rose went with his fifth different starting line-up of the year. Austin Ainge, making his second straight start, Brock Reichner, Lee Cummard and Trent Plaisted rounded out the starting five.

-- Individual Career Highs: Keena Young -- 16 points (tied); Brock Reichner -- 6 rebounds.

-- Team Season Highs/Lows: Largest Margin of Defeat -- 27; Fewest Field Goals Made -- 22 (tied); Fewest Three-point Field Goals Made -- 5 (tied); Fewest Steals -- 2; Fewest Assists -- 9; Fewest Opponent Turnovers -- 8; Most Opponent Steals -- 13.

-- With the loss, BYU has now lost its last seven Mountain West Conference road games, dating back to Feb. 5, 2005 when the Cougars won at UNLV. BYU has also now lost three straight to the Aztecs and three straight in Cox Arena. The Cougars have only dropped three straight to SDSU once in the history of the series with BYU losing twice in 1941 and then losing the next meeting in 1977.

-- The 27-point loss is BYU's worst loss of the season and its largest margin of defeat since falling by 31 (39-70) at Air Force on Feb. 21, 2005.

-- All six of BYU's losses this season have come when the Cougars trail at the break as BYU is 2-6 when opponents own the halftime advantage. The Cougars' 18-point deficit at SDSU is their second-largest halftime deficit of the year (down 19, 23-42, at Air Force).

-- BYU was outscored in the second half for just the third time this season as the Cougars average 5.6 more points in the second period of play than their opponents. BYU has lost all three games in which they have been outscored in the second half (Loyola Marymount, UNLV, San Diego State).

-- The Cougars came into the game shooting 47.5 percent on the year but have shot below that in every conference game this season. BYU shot above 50 percent in five of its 11 nonconference games.

-- Keena Young has tied his career high with 16 points in three of the last five games.

-- Rashaun Broadus checked into the game with 12:20 left in the first half, his first action since playing at UNLV. Broadus sat out against Wyoming serving a one-game suspension for violating team rules. Broadus finished with two points and two rebounds.

-- Trent Plaisted recorded his 15th dunk of the year at the 18:24 mark of the second half, BYU's 25th slam of the season.

-- True freshman Jackson Emery made an immediate impact upon coming into the game with 12 minutes left in the second half, recording a steal and then draining a three-pointer on the other end. Emery averages 3.3 points in 10.2 minutes per game.

-- After falling behind 9-6 early, the Aztecs went on a 6-0 spurt to take their first lead of the game. Marcus Slaughter scored the last four points of the run and continued his hot shooting from there, scoring 11 straight points for the Aztecs, seven of which came from the free throw line.

MAKING NOISE

Despite starting only one game, junior forward Keena Young leads the Cougars in scoring (11.6) and rebounding (6.6) in MWC games. He is shooting 63.2 percent from the floor and 90.9 percent from the line in league action. Trent Plaisted improved his rebounding last week, averaging 7.0 boards while scoring 14.5 points. Plaisted entered the week averaging 4.5 rebounds per game. As a team, BYU shot 84.1 percent (37-of-44) from the line in its two games last week, improving its season percentage to 70.2 percent. BYU is now second overall in the MWC in free-throw percentage and first in league play (.786).

COMEBACK COUGARS

With its 10-6 record overall, BYU has yet to suffer consecutive defeats this season, having bounced back from each loss with victory, a trend the Cougars will look to continue against TCU on Wednesday after losing at San Diego State. BYU has alternated wins and losses since beginning league play, winning twice at home and losing three times on the road. BYU's three road defeats have been against the MWC's top three teams in the standings in San Diego State, UNLV and Air Force. The Cougars have achieved three winning streaks this year -- two three-game streaks and one two-game streak.

MAGIC NUMBER: 70

BYU is 8-0 this season when holding opponents under 70 points and 2-6 when allowing opponents to surpass the 70-point threshold. Cougar foes are currently averaging 69.7 points per game. BYU is also 8-3 when scoring 70 or more points and 2-3 when falling below the 70-point mark. The Cougars are second in the league in scoring, averaging 75.8 ppg.

ON THE BOARDS

As a team, BYU had its top two rebounding games of MWC play last week while outrebounding the league's top two rebounding teams. BYU averaged 39.5 boards to the 36 rebounds averaged by Wyoming and SDSU against the Cougars. BYU outboarded Wyoming, 43-38, and edged San Diego State, 36-34, on the glass. The 43 rebounds vs. Wyoming is BYU's second-highest total of the season (46, Weber State). Wyoming and San Diego State entered the week ranked first and second, respectively, among MWC teams in rebounding margin. The Cougars are 6-3 this season when outrebounding opponents and are second in the MWC in rebounding offense in conference play (37.0) and third in rebounding margin (+3.6) in conference play.

FOR STARTERS

Overall this year, eight players have started while Coach Dave Rose has used five starting lineups. Junior Keena Young made his first start of the season at San Diego State while junior Austin Ainge got his third start of the season and his second at point guard against the Aztecs. Trent Plaisted has started each game while Fernando Malaman has started every game but the last one, Brock Reichner has started 15 games, Rashaun Broadus 14 and Jimmy Balderson nine games. Lee Cummard has seven starts, the last seven games. The majority of BYU's starting lineups have featured two freshmen (Plaisted and Cummard), two junior transfers (Broadus and Malaman) and one senior (Reichner). Reichner is the only one of the five to have started a Division I game prior to this season. He made two starts late last year in his first season at BYU. Five Cougars who started between seven and 23 games on last year's team (Austin Ainge, 23 starts; Jimmy Balderson, 16 starts; Keena Young, 15 starts, Derek Dawes, 13 starts; Mike Rose, 7 starts) have primarily been coming off the bench.

BYU AMONG MWC LEADERS

BYU leads the MWC in assists (16.6) and is second in scoring (75.8), free-throw percentage (.702), assist/turnover ratio (1.14), defensive rebounds (25.12). The Cougars rank third in scoring margin (+6.1), three-point field goals made (6.69) and blocked shots (4.06). Individually, point guards Rashaun Broadus (4.3) and Austin Ainge (3.0) rank first and sixth (tied), respectively, in assists and are first and third in assist/turnover ratio, with Ainge leading all MWC players with a 2.53 ratio, and Broadus recording a 1.56 mark. Keena Young and Fernando Malaman rank third and sixth, respectively, in field goal percentage at .581 and .556 while Trent Plaisted is eighth at .537. Plaisted is also 13th in scoring with 12.4 ppg. Young is 10th in rebounding average (5.8), and Malaman is fifth in blocked shots (1.3). In conference play, the Cougars lead the MWC in free throw percentage (.796) and are second in rebounding offense (37) and offensive rebounds (14) while coming in third in rebounding margin (+3.6). Young jumps to fifth in rebounding in MWC action (6.6).

BYU REDSHIRTS: SAM BURGESS, VUK IVANOVIC

Junior guard Sam Burgess is redshirting this season. The 6-foot-3 guard from Alpine, Utah, is one of nine juniors on the roster this year. Fellow junior Vuk Ivanovic will also redshirt while he sits out the season due to NCAA transfer rules.

TRANSFERRED: DAVID BURGESS

David Burgess, a 6-foot-10 redshirt freshman center, announced on Dec. 15 that he was transferring from BYU to complete his eligibility. BYU granted his request for a release. Burgess appeared in three of seven games this year, averaging 0.7 points and 1.7 rebounds. Said Burgess, "I thoroughly enjoyed my time at BYU and I think Coach Rose is an unbelievable coach but his system just isn't a good fit for me personally. When I signed, Coach Cleveland's system was a half-court offense, which fits me better as a player. I was excited for Coach Rose to be named the coach and I worked hard to lose some weight and try to prepare myself for his system but it's just not the best fit for me." Burgess has since announced he will transfer to Gonzaga.

SCORING FOR THE COUGARS

BYU is averaging 75.8 ppg, second in the MWC, led by redshirt freshman Trent Plaisted's 12.4 points per game. Six different Cougars have led the team in scoring in BYU's first 16 games. Plaisted has led BYU six times (20 at USC, 13 vs. Southern Utah, 19 vs. Boise State, 15 vs. Weber State, 16 vs. Tulsa and 17 vs. Wyoming), and junior Keena Young has led the team four times (12 vs. Northern Kentucky, 15 vs. Eastern Washington, 16 at Air Force and 16 at San Diego State) while senior Brock Reichner (18 at Washington State and 26 at Utah State) and junior Jimmy Balderson (18 vs. Loyola Marymount and 21 vs. Lamar) have each led BYU twice and juniors Rashaun Broadus (17 vs. Utah) and Fernando Malaman (13 at UNLV) have led the Cougars once. Eleven different Cougars have had a double-digit scoring outing for BYU this year (all except Jermaine Odjegba, high of 2).

HALFTIME REPORT

With its win against Wyoming, BYU is now 8-0 when leading at the half and 2-6 when trailing. The Cougars' average halftime lead is 11.8 points, and they have led by double digits six times. BYU has been more impressive in the second half this season. The Cougars have outscored their opponents in the second period of play in all but three games this year (42-41 vs. Loyola Marymount, 45-42 at UNLV, 46-37 at San Diego State). BYU averages 5.6 more second-half points than its opponents.

BYU AT THE POINT

BYU's Rashaun Broadus (4.3 apg) and Austin Ainge (3.0 apg) rank first and sixth (tied), respectively, among Mountain West Conference players in assists per game this season while helping the Cougars lead the MWC in team assists at 16.6 apg. Broadus and Ainge have combined for 74 assists compared to 32 turnovers in BYU's 10 wins while totaling 38 assists and 28 turnovers in the Cougars' six defeats. Broadus has 43 assists and 22 turnovers in the wins with 21 assists and 19 turnovers in the losses. Ainge boasts 31 assists to only 10 turnovers in the victories while totaling 17 assists and 9 turnovers in defeats. With his overall 48 assists to 19 turnovers, Ainge easily leads all MWC players in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.53), while Broadus ranks third (1.56). In BYU's season-opening loss to Loyola Marymount the two guards combined for six assists and five turnovers, and in the loss at USC they totaled seven assists and five turnovers. Broadus and Ainge showed marked improvement in the Cougars' win at Washington State, where the two combined to dish out 10 assists while committing only two turnovers, as each posted a line of a game-high 5 assists with only one turnover. In BYU's victory over Southern Utah, they combined for 13 assists with only one turnover, as Ainge tied a career high with 8 assists without a turnover and Broadus had 3 assists and one turnover while scoring 11 points. Against Lamar, Broadus dished out a career-best 9 assists, including an assist on BYU's first six baskets, while Ainge added two assists to help BYU achieve 22 assists for the second straight game. Broadus recorded a team-high 6 assists against Boise State and the two combined for 7 assists (4 Ainge, 3 Broadus) and only 1 turnover (Broadus) vs. Northern Kentucky and 7 assists (4 Ainge, 3 Broadus) and only 2 turnovers vs. Weber State. Ainge had 7 assists without a turnover at USU while Broadus had 8 assists and 4 turnovers while scoring a career-best 21 points. Broadus tied a career-best 9 assists while Ainge added 4 to fuel BYU to a season-high 29 assists vs. Eastern Washington. In conference play, Ainge has 8 assists and 8 turnovers while Broadus has 8 assists and 13 turnovers. As a team, BYU has made an assist on 60.5 percent of its field goals this season.

BYU IN THE POST

Trent Plaisted leads BYU in scoring while fellow post players Keena Young and Fernando Malaman are third and fourth, respectively. Young paces the Cougars in league games with 11.6 ppg. Overall, Young is shooting a team-best .581 (54-of-93), third in the league. Malaman, who has made 55.6 percent (55-of-99) of his shots, and Trent Plaisted, who has converted 53.7 percent (72-of-134) of his attempts, rank sixth and eighth, respectively, among MWC players in field goal percentage. Derek Dawes is making .447 (17-of-38). Malaman also boasts a team-leading 48.0 percent success rate (12-of-25) from behind the three-point arc.

BYU ON THE WING

Senior Brock Reichner has started the last 15 games at 2-guard and is second on the team in scoring at 10.1 ppg, including a team-high 25 threes, while junior Jimmy Balderson started the first nine games at small forward and is sixth in scoring at 7.4 ppg, with 10 treys. BYU's two freshman wings are playing significant roles. Lee Cummard has started in place of Balderson the last seven games and is averaging 6.1 points in 15.9 minutes while shooting 46.6 percent from the floor. Cummard scored a career-high 13 points against Wyoming. Jackson Emery is shooting 41 percent from the floor and has made nine triples while averaging 3.3 points in 10.2 minutes. He has also been a solid defender for the Cougars, often helping guard the opponent's top perimeter player. Junior Mike Rose plays 10.4 minutes in the rotation on the wing, averaging 4.3 points, including 18 treys.

COUGAR OFFENSE

BYU's 75.8 points per game are coming in a variety of ways as the Cougars outscore their opponents in every statistical category on the season. BYU has scored 57 more points in the paint this season, outpacing its opponents underneath in eight games, tying in two and being outscored in six. The Cougars have also capitalized on opponent miscues in their 16 games to date, scoring 21 more points off of turnovers while outscoring foes in that category in eight games, tying in one and being outscored in seven. BYU enjoys a 36-point advantage in second-chance points, partly due to the Cougars' +2.4 rebounding margin, as BYU has outscored opponents in that category in nine games. The Cougars' largest advantage, however, comes on the fast break as BYU has only been outscored on the break in four games this year, with a 169-103 margin.

BYU TO RETIRE COSIC JERSEY

In an historic event, BYU will retire the uniform of the late Kresimir Cosic on March 4, 2006, during the final regular season home game against New Mexico. The former Cougar great becomes the second BYU men's basketball player to have his jersey retired, joining Danny Ainge. "Cosic was a great ambassador for both BYU and the game of basketball," said BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe. "His accomplishments on and off the basketball court have impacted the lives of many worldwide. This honor is a well-deserved tribute to a great man." During his career at BYU, Cosic used his versatile inside-outside game to lead the Cougars in scoring (23.3 points per game) and rebounding (12.8 rebounds per game) as a junior and again as a senior (20.2 ppg, 9.5 rpg). His unselfish attitude also helped him to lead his team in assists. He ranks second on BYU's all-time rebounding list with 919, an average of 11.6 per game, and fourth all-time with a 19.1 career scoring average while recording a BYU-record 47 double-doubles. Behind the play of Cosic, the Cougars won two WAC titles and reached the NCAA Regional Tournament in 1971 and 1972. Cosic was a three-time first-team All-WAC selection and earned All-American accolades following his junior season. He likely would have been a four-year award winner but freshmen were not allowed to play on varsity. Upon graduation, Cosic became very involved with basketball throughout Europe. He played on four Olympic teams with his native land of Yugoslavia, winning a gold medal in 1980 and two silver medals in 1968 and 1976. He ended his career as the all-time Croatian scoring leader and went on to coach the Yugoslavian National Team for many years. In September of 1992, Cosic was appointed as the Croatian Deputy Ambassador to the United States. He and his family lived in Washington D.C where he performed his diplomatic duties in the same excellent manner in which he played basketball.

DANNY AINGE HONORED WITH PRESTIGIOUS 2006 NCAA SILVER ANNIVERSARY AWARD

Former BYU basketball great Danny Ainge was one of six recipients of the 2006 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, presented Saturday, Jan. 7, at the NCAA Honors Celebration in Indianapolis. He was presented the award by former Cougar All-American quarterback Gifford Nielsen, who received the award in 2003. Ainge is the third former BYU student-athlete to receive the prestigious award, joining current BYU Faculty Representative Larry EchoHawk (Football, 1970), who was honored in 1995, and Nielsen (Football, 1978). The award recognizes former student-athletes who completed successful collegiate careers in various sports 25 years ago and went on to excel in their chosen professions. Silver Award winners are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, which comprises eight athletics administrators at member institutions and nationally distinguished citizens who are former student-athletes.

BYU BASKETBALL ON KSL NEWSRADIO

(102.7 FM and 1160 AM)

The "Voice of the Cougars" is KSL Newsradio 1160's Greg Wrubell. He is in his 10th season as the play-by-play voice of BYU basketball. Wrubell, also the voice of BYU football, is joined by former Cougar lettermen Mark Durrant and Russell Larson (for select broadcasts) as color analysts. Durrant has been part of the KSL broadcast team for nine years while Larson is in his first season as an analyst. In addition to live coverage of every Cougar game, the following programs can be heard each week on KSL Newsradio.

COACH ROSE ON KSL NEWSRADIO ...

ý Coach's Corner with Dave Rose

Mondays at 8:45 a.m.

ý The Dave Rose Show

Mondays from 7-8 p.m.

THE DAVE ROSE SHOW ON KSL-TV

BYU coach Dave Rose's weekly television show airs each Sunday evening at 11 p.m. on KSL-TV, channel 5 in Salt Lake City.