Game 25 - BYU at TCU

GAME #25 FAST FACTS

BYU COUGARS (17-7, 9-4 MWC)

at

TCU HORNED FROGS (5-22, 1-12 MWC)

Saturday, Feb. 25, 2006

Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (7,201)

Fort Worth, Texas

7:00 p.m. CST

Coaches:

BYU, Dave Rose (17-7 in first year; same overall)

TCU, Neil Dougherty (47-72 in fourth year; same overall)

Series:

BYU leads, 5-3, after winning the first meeting in Provo this season, 89-80 in overtime

TV:

None

Radio:

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network (6 p.m. CST 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 MAKES FINAL ROAD TRIP TO FACE TCU SATURDAY

BYU (17-7, 9-4 MWC) travels to TCU (5-22, 1-12 MWC) this weekend to take on the Horned Frogs Saturday at 7 p.m. CST in the Cougars' last road contest of the regular season. BYU has won seven of its last eight games and is currently tied for third in the Mountain West Conference standings. TCU has lost its last eight games, standing in ninth place in the league. The Cougars recorded a nail-biting 89-80 overtime victory over the Horned Frogs earlier this season in Provo. Saturday's game will not be televised but can be heard live on KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network, beginning with a 6 p.m. CST pregame show.

UP NEXT

BYU returns home to face the Colorado State Rams on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Cougars have won 12 straight games in the Marriott Center this season and recorded an 86-84 win at Colorado State earlier this year. The game will not be televised.

COUGAR QUICK HITS

-- Cougar head coach Dave Rose is 17-7 in his first year at the helm after eight years as BYU's lead assistant.

-- The Cougars were picked to finish last in the Mountain West Conference in the league's preseason media poll. BYU is currently tied for third in the MWC with a 9-4 conference record.

-- BYU is 17-7 overall, including 12-1 at home having won 12 straight in the Marriott Center, which is 12th in the nation. The Cougars are 4-6 away and 1-0 at a neutral site. BYU scores an MWC-leading 76.6 ppg and shoots .462 from the field, including .384 from long range, third in the MWC, and .718 from the line. Cougar opponents average 71.6 points on .446 shooting, .344 from three and .712 from the line. BYU pulls down 35.7 rebounds per game, 1.9 more than its opponents. The Cougars dish out 16.4 assists per game, leading the MWC.

-- Redshirt freshman forward/center Trent Plaisted leads BYU in scoring (13.5) followed by senior guard Brock Reichner (11.0). Plaisted is also the Cougars' top rebounder (6.4) followed by junior forward Keena Young (6.0). Junior point guard Rashaun Broadus is third in the MWC in assists (3.9) followed by junior Austin Ainge (2.7), who is tied for ninth. Broadus is second in assist/turnover ratio (1.56).

LOOKING AT TCU

The Horned Frogs are currently 5-22 overall and 1-12 in their first season in the Mountain West Conference having lost their last eight games beginning with an overtime loss at BYU. TCU has gone 5-9 at home, 0-11 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 16.0 points per game, fifth in the conference, including 55 three-pointers, which ranks eighth in the MWC. On the defensive end, Murry has recorded a team-leading 46 steals, ranking fifth in the league, and adds 4.6 rebounds per game, which is third on the team. He has scored in double figures in 22-of-27 games for the Horned Frogs this season, and his 70 assists is second only to sophomore guard Brent Hackett's 72. Hackett averages 11.0 points per game and 2.6 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 6.4 rpg, sixth in the conference. Stubbs has recorded four double-doubles this season. Senior forward Chudi Chinweze has come on strong as of late averaging 8.1 ppg and 5.1 rpg, second on the team, but did not play in TCU's last two games. Overall, TCU averages 61.7 points per game on 36.0 percent shooting from the field, including 31.6 percent from three-point range and 64.0 percent from the free-throw line. Horned Frog opponents average 69.8 points per contest on 45.2 percent shooting from the the field, 36.8 percent from beyond the arc and 72.7 percent from the free-throw line. TCU opponents outrebound the Horned Frogs 36.8-34.7. Head coach Neil Dougherty is in his fourth year at the helm of TCU with a 47-72 overall record.

TCU'S PROBABLE STARTERS

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

F 15 Judson Stubbs 6-7 233 Sr. 10.3 6.4

F 45 Art Pierce 6-9 233 Jr. 2.7 3.1

G 2 Brent Hackett 6-3 203 So. 11.0 2.6

G 4 Nile Murry 6-4 202 Sr. 16.0 4.6

G 5 Neiman Owens 6-4 193 So. 4.1 3.1

TCU'S LAST OUTING -- TCU Falls to Colorado State

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - Stephan Gilling and Freddy Robinson scored 16 points each as Colorado State avenged an earlier season loss to TCU with an 89-74 victory Wednesday night. Gilling, 5-for-9 on 3-pointers had three treys in a two-minute stretch in the second half when Colorado State (14-12, 3-10 Mountain West Conference) began pulling away. TCU (5-22, 1-12) has lost eight straight. The Rams had lost the first meeting, 85-72 on Jan. 21. The Rams helped themselves by hitting 34-of-38 free throws and were 22-for-23 from the free throw line in the second half. Judson Stubbs paced TCU (5-22, 1-12) with 18 points. Brent Hackett and Nile Murry had 14 each for the Horned Frogs, who had beaten Colorado State six consecutive times in the series. Colorado State rode Michael Harrison's points in a 7-0 run to start the second half to lead 50-37, but Stubbs and Allen Taylor contributed four points apiece in an 8-0 run as TCU cut the lead to 65-57 with 8:31 left. Murry's 3-pointer for TCU made it 70-60 ahead of Gilling's three, 3-pointer boosted Colorado State to a 79-60 advantage. The Rams kept the lead at 15 points or more in the final minutes by converting all eight free throw attempts. Colorado State led 43-37 at halftime after Robinson had 12 points and two 3-pointers in a 24-10 start. Robinson had only two points the rest of the half. Neiman Owens and Blake Adams hit two free throws each and Art Pierce added an uncontested rebound basket at the buzzer to pull the Horned Frogs to within six points at the break.

SERIES NOTES

The Cougars and Horned Frogs have met just eight times in the history of the two programs with BYU owning a 5-3 series 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 two teams next met in the first round of the 1999 WAC Tournament in Las Vegas when BYU recorded a 90-74 win. Ealrlier this season, the two schools met as members of the Mountain West Conference for the first time with BYU coming away with an 89-80 overtime win in the Marriott Center after being down by eight points with under a minute to play in regulation. The Cougars are 4-1 against the Horned Frogs in Provo, 0-1 in Fort Worth and 1-1 on a neutral court.

BYU SERIES RECORD VS. TCU

Overall Series Record: BYU leads 5-3

BYU Record in Provo: 4-1

BYU Record at Texas Christian: 0-1

BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 1-1

BYU Record Under Dave Rose: 1-0

BYU Record in Overtime Games: 1-0

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

QUOTING BYU COACH DAVE ROSE ...

"TCU is a very athletic team. If you've had a chance to see their games, they are a much better team than what their record indicates. We were fortunate to beat them at our place. We made a nice run in the second half and made some big plays to force the overtime. Their post play was effective against us. Murry and Hackett are good scorers who can fill it up from the perimeter."

LAST SERIES OUTING

BYU's FIRST OUTING THIS YEAR AGAINST TCU -- BYU RALLIES TO DEFEAT TCU

PROVO -- BYU stormed back during the last minute of regulation to force overtime, and the Cougars outscored TCU 17-8 in the extra period, earning the 89-80 win and extending BYU's home win streak to nine games. Trent Plaisted had career and game highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds despite playing most of the game in foul trouble. Lee Cummard had just six points but hit the game-tying three with 10 seconds remaining in regulation. Brock Reichner was second on the team with 13 points while Rashaun Broadus had 12, Fernando Malaman and Keena Young had 11 apiece, and Jimmy Balderson added 10. Reichner also chipped in six assists. With the score tied at 57, Cummard hit a three, but then the Horned Frogs scored 13 of the next 14 points to go up 69-61. With less than one minute remaining, Reichner hit a three to cut the TCU lead to five, but Chinweze hit two free throws to push the lead back to seven at 71-64. Broadus hit a layup with 41.1 seconds remaining, and then the Cougars got the ball back, and Broadus hit a three to cut the lead to two. BYU quickly fouled Chinweze, who made 1-of-2 to put TCU up three. The Cougars quickly ran up the court but struggled to find an open man. Cummard eventually broke free and hit the game-tying three with 10 seconds left. After a series of timeouts, the Horned Frogs were unable to release the ball before the horn and the game went into overtime. TCU scored first but BYU went on a 10-2 run to go up by six at 82-76. Broadus and Reichner both hit threes during the run. Murry hit a three just at the one-minute mark to cut the lead to three at 82-79. The Cougars sealed the deal by scoring seven of the last eight points. The Cougars took a 19-14 lead early in the first half behind six points from Plaisted and threes by Reichner, Malaman and Austin Ainge. From there BYU went cold and TCU caught fire, scoring the next 13 points on 4-of-4 free-throw shooting and three shots from downtown. Plaisted continued his solid play by scoring six more before the half but the Horned Frogs continued to connect, taking a 41-29 lead into the break. The Cougars shot 28.1 (9-32) percent from the field in the first period, the lowest shooting percentage in a half this season. After starting 3-for-5 from downtown, BYU missed 11 consecutive threes to finish 3-of-16 for the half. The Horned Frogs, who entered the game hitting just 35.5 percent from the field as a team, hit 50 percent in the first half. The Cougars also struggled with turnovers as 13 first-half BYU miscues led to 21 TCU points. Plaisted finished one board shy of a double-double heading into the break, recording 12 points and nine rebounds. BYU turned the tables on TCU to start the second half, going on a 10-3 run to cut the lead to five at 44-39. The Horned Frogs, who started the second period just 1-of-11 from the field, pushed the lead back to nine at 50-41 behind four free throws by Murray. The Cougars then went on another run, this time 14-2, to take a 55-52 lead.

WHAT WAS SAID AFTER THE GAME ...

BYU Head Coach Dave Rose

-- "We had a bleak couple of minutes there but we came out positive and made the big plays."

-- "Every game breeds new confidence. They are able to experience different things, and that builds confidence and builds the program. This was one of those games."

-- "These types of games also build character, the character to win. That's something you can build on. Even though we had a tough half, you've got to give credit to the guys who made big plays."

-- "We made a nice run in the second half. We made the big plays. We got confidence, and our team finally began to believe that we could win."

TCU Head Coach Neil Dougherty

-- "You've got to give credit to BYU; they made shots down the stretch and made the plays they had to make."

-- "Our effort level was good enough to win, but when it came down to it we had to make a couple more plays to put it away. It was a great game."

BYU NOTES FROM THE FIRST OUTING THIS YEAR IN PROVO

-- Individual Career Highs: Trent Plaisted -- 22 points, 16 rebounds; Brock Reichner -- 6 assists (tied).

-- Team Season Highs/Lows: Most Three-pointers Made -- 11 (tied); Most Three-pointers Attempted -- 30; Lowest Field Goal Percentage in the First Half -- .281; Fewest Points in a Half at Home -- 29 (tied).

-- The overtime win was BYU's first overtime game since an 82-72 OT win at UNLV on Feb. 5, 2005.

-- The nine-point win marks BYU's first MWC game this season decided by less than 10 points.

-- BYU continued its hot free-throw shooting against TCU, going 24-for-28 (.857) from the line on the night, including 8-for-8 in the first half. Three Cougars were perfect from the line -- Trent Plaisted (8-for-8), Brock Reichner (4-for-4) and Fernando Malaman (2-for-2). In the last three games, the Cougars have gone 61-of-72 (.847) from the charity stripe. Entering the TCU game, the Cougars were second overall (.702) and first in MWC play (.786) in that category.

-- The Cougars' 41-29 halftime deficit against TCU marks just the third time this year that BYU has trailed at the break in the Marriott Center (41-30 vs. Loyola Marymount, 44-36 vs. Boise State). Overall, the Cougars are 3-6 when trailing at the break with all three wins coming at home.

-- BYU outscored TCU 43-31 in the second half to force overtime. On the season, the Cougars have outscored opponents in the second period of play in all but three games, scoring an average of 6.0 more points than their opponents.

-- BYU has stepped up on the boards in the last three games, outrebounding its opponents by an average of 5.3 rpg. The Cougars have outrebounded their last three opponents 41.3 to 36.0. Prior to a +9 rebounding margin against TCU, BYU outrebounded the league's top two rebounding teams in Wyoming (43-38) and SDSU (38-34).

-- Trent Plaisted recorded two dunks against TCU, bringing his season total to 18. Fernando Malaman added his second dunk of the year to bring BYU's mark to 28.

-- Plaisted also posted his second double-double of the season with career highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds (previous -- 19 pts, 10 reb. vs. Boise State). Plaisted and Keena Young are the only Cougars to record a double-double this season as Young notched 16 points and 11 rebounds at Air Force.

-- With 11 points against TCU, Keena Young has scored in double figures in four of BYU's six conference games, including the last three. Young leads BYU in scoring in league games, averaging 11.5 points.

BYU NOTES

BYU's LAST OUTING -- Fast-Paced Victory Over League-Leaders For Cougars

PROVO -- In a furiously paced game between two of the Mountain West Conference's best teams, BYU ran past San Diego State, 100-90, Wednesday night at the Marriott Center. The Cougars (17-7, 9-4 MWC) shot a season-best 75.9 percent from the field in the second half while maintaining their place in the MWC and gaining a game on the first-place Aztecs (18-8, 11-3). Six Cougars scored in double figures, led by Keena Young with a career-high 20 points. Austin Ainge scored 16 off the bench while shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from three-point range. BYU head coach Dave Rose was pleased with the all-around team effort. The game started out like a track meet, with BYU's fast-paced offense jumping out to an early 6-2 lead. SDSU came back behind Mohamed Abukar and Kyle Spain, who combined for 15 early points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the field to give the Aztecs a 21-19 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Jimmy Balderson and Ainge came off the bench to spark BYU, leading the Cougars on a 7-2 run and giving them a 24-21 lead with 7:57 left. Balderson and Ainge started a combined 4-for-4 from behind the three point line. BYU also held the Aztecs' two-headed scoring monster of Marcus Slaughter and Brandon Heath to just three points on 1-for-9 shooting in the first 16 minutes. The Cougar defensive intensity powered a 7-0 run and put BYU ahead 35-31 at the 2:44 mark in the first half. The half ended at the same fast pace that it started with as BYU maintained a three-point lead, 41-38, after Abukar hit a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer. The Cougars were led in the first half by Balderson, who scored 12, and Ainge, who added 11 on 3-for-3 shooting from behind the arc. The second half started with the Aztecs running to take a 50-48 lead and forcing BYU to take an early time-out. Young began to establish inside presence, scoring on consecutive trips down the court. Jackson Emery came up with steal and a dunk and an assist setting up a Trent Plaisted dunk. The crowd intensified with the Cougars' run. BYU built a 76-68 lead with 7:30 remaining in the game. The Cougars built a double-digit lead at 80-70 and held on to the lead with clutch foul shooting and lights-out shooting from the field. BYU scored 100 points for the first time in a conference game since defeating San Diego State 101-87 in 1994. The win ended a three-game losing skid to the Aztecs and improved BYU's overall record against SDSU to 39-19. Picked to finish last in the MWC, BYU has won seven of its last eight games and has now defeated every team in the conference while earning in a third-place standing, one game back of the front-running Aztecs in the loss column.

WHAT WAS SAID AFTER THE GAME ...

BYU Head Coach Dave Rose

-- "A lot of guys stepped up and made a lot of good plays."

-- "We have now beat every team in the conference this season, and it is all about our confidence; confidence in themselves and confidence in each other."

-- "We had momentum and kept it going to make huge plays."

-- "Our shooting in the second half was as well as we have shot all season."

San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher

-- "We had a hard time guarding in the post, and they made us pay."

-- "You're not going to win very often when you allow 100 points. We fought hard, but we didn't play smart or defend smart like we needed to do to win."

-- "BYU made the big shots tonight. Ainge was fantastic and gave them a boost when they needed it."

-- "BYU was with out question the better team tonight. They made the important plays and deserved to win."

-- "BYU did a nice job guarding everybody. They guarded us hard and didn't give us any easy shots."

BYU NOTES FROM LAST OUTING

-- Individual Career Highs: Keena Young -- 20 points, 9 field goals made, 14 field goals attempted, 2 blocks (tied); Jimmy Balderson -- 4 assists (tied).

-- Team Season Highs/Lows: Most Points - 100; Highest Field Goal Percentage in Conference Play - .594; Highest Field Goal Percentage in a Half - .759.

-- The Cougars' win over San Diego State snaps a three-game losing streak in the series and improves BYU's overall record against the Aztecs to 39-19. San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher is now 1-6 against BYU in the Marriott Center.

-- BYU's game against San Diego State marked the Cougars' 500th contest in the Marriott Center. BYU has compiled a 384-116 (.768) all-time record since the 1971-72 season in the Marriott Center.

-- With the victory against the Aztecs, the Cougars have now won 12 straight games in the Marriott Center. BYU entered the game tied for 13th in the nation in consecutive home victories.

-- The Cougars have also now defeated every team in the Mountain West Conference this season.

-- BYU's 41-38 halftime lead against the Aztecs marked the 12th time this year that the Cougars have led at the half. With the win, BYU is a perfect 12-0 when leading at the break.

-- The 100-90 win against SDSU marks the third time this season that the Cougars have surpassed 90 points in a game (97 vs, Lamar, Eastern Washington). BYU is 14-3 this season when scoring 70+ points and 3-0 when scoring above 90.

-- The last time BYU scored 100 points in a conference game was Feb. 10, 1994 against SDSU (101-87 W).

-- The Cougars had six players in double figures for the first time since Jan. 25 at against TCU. Keena Young scored a career-high 20 points, Jimmy Balderson recorded 17 points, Austin Ainge added a season-high 16 points, Trent Plaisted added 14, Brock Reichner contributed 12 and Fernando Malaman posted 10.

-- Austin Ainge made an immediate impact upon entering the game with 13 minutes left to play in the first half. Ainge drained back-to-back three-pointers for BYU to cut a six-point Aztec lead to just two. His six points sparked a 15-4 Cougar run that allowed BYU to regain the lead at 26-21. Ainge also capped the run with a steal and a fastbreak layin. Ainge finished the game with a season-high 16 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting night, including 4-for-4 from three-point range, marking his second double-figure scoring game of the season (12 vs. Wyoming) and the first time since Dec. 27 against Eastern Washington that a player has shot 100 percent from the floor and from three-point range (Trent Plaisted, 5-for-5 from the floor, Mike Rose, 4-for-4 from three-point range).

-- Jimmy Balderson has played a significant role in helping the Cougars win seven of their last eight games. Balderson has scored in double figures in all seven wins while scoring just five points in BYU's lone loss at Utah during the streak.

-- Jackson Emery recorded the first dunk in his career with 10:57 remaining in the game and BYU trailing by one at 62-61. Emery forced a turnover on the defensive end and then caught a pass from Rashaun Broadus for the wide-open slam. Trent Plaisted added his 27th dunk of the year at the 9:33 mark of the second half off of an assist from Jackson Emery and his 28th slam at the 4:31 mark.

-- The Cougars made 13 straight field goals over nine minutes in the second half to turn a 55-51 Aztec lead into an 80-70 BYU advantage. The streak was ended when Kyle Spain blocked a Keena Young layin attempt.

NEW ADDITION

Austin Ainge's wife Crystal gave birth to a seven-pound, 11-ounce baby boy on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Austin and Crystal have named their son Andre Austin Ainge. Ainge is one of six married players on the team this season. Brock Reichner and his wife Chanell made BYU Coach Dave Rose a grandfather with the birth of their daughter, Annie Rose Reichner, last year.

BOUNCE BACK COUGARS

With its 17-7 overall record, BYU has yet to suffer consecutive defeats this season, having bounced back from each loss with a victory. BYU alternated wins and losses in the first five league games before winning four straight games, two of which came on the road. The Cougars are enjoying their fifth winning streak of the year with their wins vs. UNLV, at Wyoming and vs. San Diego State. BYU's prior victory streaks this year include one four-game streak, two three-game streaks and two two-game streaks. BYU has won seven of its last eight games.

MAGIC NUMBER: 70

BYU is 10-0 this season when holding opponents under 70 points and 7-7 when allowing opponents to surpass the 70-point threshold. Cougar foes are currently averaging 71.6 points per game. BYU is also 14-3 when scoring 70 or more points and 3-4 when falling below the 70-point mark. The Cougars lead the league in scoring, averaging 76.6 ppg, and scored 100 points in conference play for the first time since Feb. 10, 1994 in their last game against league-leader San Diego State.

FOR STARTERS

Overall this year, nine players have started while Coach Dave Rose has used seven starting lineups. True freshman Jackson Emery made the first start of his collegiate career against San Diego State. Junior Rashaun Broadus has started the last seven games after missing the first Wyoming game (team rules violation) and the next two starts. Junior Keena Young made his ninth straight start of the season vs. SDSU. Trent Plaisted has started each game while Brock Reichner has started every game but the first. Rashaun Broadus has started 21 games, Fernando Malaman 15 games, Lee Cummard 14 games, Jimmy Balderson nine games and Austin Ainge four games. The majority of BYU's starting lineups have featured two freshmen (Plaisted and Cummard). Five Cougars who started between seven and 23 games on last year's team (Ainge, 23 starts; Balderson, 16 starts; Young, 15 starts, Derek Dawes, 13 starts; Mike Rose, 7 starts) have for the most part been coming off the bench this season.

BYU AT THE POINT

BYU's Rashaun Broadus (3.9 apg) and Austin Ainge (2.7 apg) rank third and tied for ninth, respectively, among Mountain West Conference players in assists per game this season while helping the Cougars lead the MWC in team assists at 16.4 apg. Broadus and Ainge have combined for 111 assists compared to 61 turnovers in BYU's 17 wins while totaling 42 assists and 29 turnovers in the Cougars' seven defeats. Broadus has 64 assists and 37 turnovers in the wins with 25 assists and 20 turnovers in the losses. Ainge boasts 47 assists to 24 turnovers in the victories while totaling 17 assists and 9 turnovers in defeats. With his overall 89 assists to 56 turnovers, Broadus ranks second in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.56). As a team, BYU has made an assist on 60 percent of its field goals this season. In conference play, Broadus has 33 assists and 29 turnovers while Ainge has 24 assists and 22 turnovers. Ainge tied his career high with 8 assists in BYU's third game of the season against Southern Utah. Broadus recorded a career-best 9 assists against Lamar and then tied that mark while Ainge added 4 to fuel BYU to a season-high 29 assists vs. Eastern Washington.

BYU IN THE POST

Trent Plaisted (13.5) leads BYU in scoring while fellow post players Keena Young (9.8) and Fernando Malaman (7.3) are third and sixth, respectively. Plaisted (13.4) and Young (12.0) rank first and second, respectively, in league games. Overall, Young (.543), Malaman (.529) and Plaisted (.524) rank third, eighth and ninth, respectively, among the MWC's top players in field goal percentage. Derek Dawes is shooting .415 from the floor and .743 from the line. Young makes a strong .792 from the line. Malaman is second on the team with a 44.4 percent success rate (16-of-36) from behind the three-point arc.

BYU ON THE WING

Senior Brock Reichner has started all but the first game of the year at 2-guard and is second on the team in scoring at 11.0 ppg, including a team-high 46 threes on 49.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Junior Jimmy Balderson is coming off the bench after starting the first nine games at small forward and is fourth in scoring at 9.7 ppg with 23 treys. Freshman Lee Cummard started in place of Balderson in 14 games until the San Diego State game and is averaging 4.9 points in 15.0 minutes while shooting 45.7 percent from the floor. Jackson Emery is shooting 43.1 percent from the floor and has made 12 triples while averaging 3.0 points in 9.2 minutes. A solid defender who often helps guard the opponent's top perimeter player, Emery scord a career-high 13 points, including three treys, at Wyoming last Saturday and then made his first collegiate start against San Diego State. Junior Mike Rose plays 9.6 minutes in the rotation on the wing, averaging 3.5 points, including 18 treys, in his 20 appearances.

COUGAR OFFENSE

BYU's 76.6 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 11 games, tying in three and being outscored in 10. The Cougars have also capitalized on opponent miscues in their 24 games to date, scoring 26 more points off of turnovers while outscoring foes in that category in 12 games, tying in one and being outscored in 11. BYU enjoys a 60-point advantage in second-chance points as BYU has outscored opponents in that category in 14 games. The Cougars' largest advantage, however, comes on the fastbreak as BYU has only been outscored on the break in five games this year, with a 233-149 margin.

NCAA SELECTIONS AND THE MWC

The MWC is currently ranked eighth as a league in RPI. Since the first year of the MWC in 1999-2000, the No. 8 RPI conference has received a combined 10 at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament for a combined average of 1.7 at-large bids per season. The MWC has ranked as high as No. 6 in the RPI in 2002-03 and as low as No. 11 last season. The only No. 8-ranked RPI league to not receive an at-large bid was the MWC in 2000-01, when automatic-qualifer BYU was the only team to be invited to the Tournament. In 2002-03 when the MWC earned the No. 6 RPI in the nation, three MWC teams, including two at-large, were invited to the NCAA Tournament. In the last six years, that is the only season the No. 6-rated RPI conference has had less than four teams invited to the Tournament. That season, UNLV had a mid-40s RPI and was not invited after losing to Colorado State in the MWC Tournament title game.

YEAR No. 8-RPI LEAGUE (Teams in NCAA) MWC RPI RANK (Teams in NCAA)

99-00 WAC (2 teams, 1 at-large) MWC No. 9 (2 teams, both at-large)

00-01 MWC (1 team, 0 at-large) same

01-02 C-USA (3 teams, 2 at-large) MWC No. 7 (3 teams, 2 at-large)

02-03 C-USA (4 teams, 3 at-large) MWC No. 6 (3 teams, 2 at-large)

03-04 MWC (3 teams, 2 at-large) same

04-05 MVC (3 teams, 2 at-large) MWC No. 11 (2 teams, 1 at-large)

FROM THE FIELD

BYU had one of its best scoring nights of the year against San Diego State as the Cougars scored 100 points for the first time since Jan. 11, 2005 in overall play and the first time since Feb. 10, 1994 in conference play. The Cougars' 59 second-half points were their most points in a half since scoring 59 in the second half against Santa Clara on Dec. 31, 2004. The Cougars also shot 59.4 percent from the floor overall, their best mark in MWC play this season, and 75.9 percent (22-for-29) in the second half, their best shooting half since shooting 82.4 percent (14-for-17) in the second half against Air Force on Feb. 23, 2004.

MAKING NOISE

Jimmy Balderson has played a significant role in helping the Cougars win seven of their last eight games. Balderson has scored in double figures in all seven wins while scoring just five points in BYU's lone loss at Utah during the streak. He is averaging 14.3 points per game over the last eight contests. Keena Young has also come on strong for the Cougars recently, averaging 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds over the last four games. Young's last two games have been his best as he recorded his third career double-double with 15 points and a career-best 12 rebounds at Wyoming and followed that with a career-high 20 points against league-leader San Diego State.

HALFTIME REPORT

BYU is 12-0 when leading at the half, 4-7 when trailing and 1-0 when tied. Of the 12 games in which they have led at the half, the Cougars 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 seven games this year. BYU averages 4.9 more second-half points than its opponents after a slight 0.17 edge in the first half.

COACH ROSE RECEIVING NATIONAL NOTICE

BYU head coach Dave Rose is starting to receive national notice for the outstanding job he is doing during his first season guiding the Cougars. In a Feb. 12 column on ESPN.com, Pat Forde lists Rose among the top-three first-year coaches in the nation this season. Among the nearly 40 first-year coaches in college basketball this year, Forde names the 10 he feels are doing the best job, ranking Rose No. 3 overall. Picked to finish last in the Mountain West Conference in the preseason poll of MWC media members, BYU has earned a 17-7 record to date under Rose's tutelage, including a 9-4 conference mark. Last year, BYU finished with a 9-21 record to end five straight postseason berths. Tennessee's Bruce Pearl topped the list, followed by Virginia's Dave Leitao. Cincinnati's Andy Kennedy is fourth, followed by the MWC's Jeff Bzdelik of Air Force.

PLAISTED EARNS TWO NATIONAL FRESHMAN HONORS

BYU redshirt freshman forward/center Trent Plaisted received national recognition for his play against New Mexico and Air Force. Plaisted was named the Nivea for Men Fresh Face Player of the Week by CBS.Sportsline.com, an honor handed out to top performers in this year's national freshman class. ESPN's Dick Vitale also named Plaisted his Diaper Dandy of the Week for his play that same week (Feb. 6).

BROADUS SHARES MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS -- FEB. 6

COLORADO SPRINGS -- BYU guard Rashaun Broadus and San Diego State guard Brandon Heath were named Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Co-Players of the Week. This is the first weekly honor of the season and career for Broadus. A 6-0 guard from Mililani, Hawai'i, Broadus helped the Cougars to a 2-0 conference record last week with wins at New Mexico (77-71) and at home vs. Air Force (65-59). He scored a game-high 15 points (13 in the second half) and dished out a game-best six assists (zero turnovers) vs. the Lobos. He also added three rebounds in his 33 minutes on the floor as the Cougars ended UNM's 21-game home winning streak, which was the fourth longest in the country. Against Air Force, Broadus scored 13 points, grabbed three rebounds, and added two assists and two steals. He once again came up big in the second half for BYU, scoring 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc. On the week, Broadus nearly doubled his scoring average (14.0 points per game), while also averaging 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. He shot 50.0 percent from the field (10-for-20) and 41.7 percent from three-point range (5-for-12), while tallying an assist-to-turnover ration of 4.0 (eight assists, two turnovers). Broadus' honor marks the second straight MWC Player of the Week award for the Cougars following Trent Plaisted's recognition last week.

PLAISTED NAMED MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK -- JAN. 30

COLORADO SPRINGS -- BYU forward/center Trent Plaisted was named Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 30. This is the first weekly honor of the season and career for Plaisted. A 6-11 freshman from San Antonio, Texas, Plaisted led the Cougars to conference wins over TCU (89-80 OT) and Colorado State (86-84) last week, establishing career highs in eight different categories in the process. Against TCU, he recorded his second career double-double, scoring a career-high 22 points and pulling down a career-best 16 rebounds. Plaisted, who entered the game shooting 66.7 percent from the free throw line, knocked down all eight of his shots from the stripe while also tying a personal-best in blocked shots (two). Against Colorado State, he scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, setting career highs in assists and steals (three each) along the way. For the week, Plaisted averaged 18.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting 51.9 percent (14-for-27) from the field and 90.0 percent (9-for-10) from the free-throw stripe. He leads BYU in scoring (13.1 points per game) and rebounding (5.6 rebounds per game) this season, ranking 10th in the conference in both categories.

INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS AT BYU

- A total of 25 international players have played basketball at BYU.

- The Cougars have had an international player on their varsity roster in 34 of the past 54 years.

- In the last five years, BYU has rostered five international players, including three on this season's team -- Jimmy Balderson (Canada), Fernando Malaman (Brazil) and Vuk Ivanovic (Serbia & Montenegro).

- Brazilian Luiz de Toledo has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for BYU next season.

- Foreign players at BYU have received eight all-conference citations, two conference player of the year awards (Timo Saarelainen -- 1985, Rafael Araujo -- 2004) and eight All-America citations (Kresimir Cosic -- 1972 and 1973, Rafael Araujo -- 2004).

- According to a book about basketball in Finland by Mikko Simon, BYU has the distinction of being the first NCAA Division I school to have an overseas player on its roster when Timo Lampen, a native of Lahti, Finland, took the court for the Cougars in 1961.

- BYU also boasts the first foreign All-American in Kresimir Cosic, who will have his BYU jersey retired on March 4. The Zadar, Yugoslavia, native played on the Cougar varsity team from 1971-73 and earned six All-America citations and three first-team All-Western Athletic Conference awards. He is the only BYU player to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Cosic passed away in 1995.

- During the 2005 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, CBS Television analyst Billy Packer singled out Cosic during a discussion of the quality of international players now playing college basketball. Said Packer, "Kresimir Cosic, who played for BYU, was really the first great international player to play basketball in the United States."

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.

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.

BYU HEAD COACH DAVE ROSE

Dave Rose was named to succeed Steve Cleveland as BYU Men's Basketball Head Coach on April 11, 2005. He has started to receive national notice for the outstanding job he is doing during his first season guiding the Cougars. In a Feb. 12 column on ESPN.com, Pat Forde listed Rose as one of the top-three first-year coaches in the nation this season. Among the nearly 40 first-year coaches in college basketball this year, Forde named the 10 he feels are doing the best job, ranking Rose No. 3 overall. Picked to finish last in the Mountain West Conference in the preseason poll of MWC media members, BYU has earned a 17-7 record to date under Rose's tutelage, including a 9-4 conference mark. ESPN analyst Bob Valvano calls BYU "one of the great surprise teams in the country" this season. Rose, who served the past eight seasons as Cleveland's lead assistant in Provo, was promoted to BYU's head job two days after Cleveland announced his resignation to take the head-coaching position at Fresno State. A tireless worker, gifted motivator and strong strategist, Rose served as associate head coach the past five seasons and takes over the BYU program with 22 years of coaching experience, including 10 seasons as a head coach at the junior college and high school levels.

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 ...

- Coach's Corner with Dave Rose

Mondays at 8:45 a.m.

- 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 on Sunday evenings at 11 p.m. on KSL-TV, channel 5 in Salt Lake City. The show will resume airing at the conclusion of the 2006 Winter Olympics.