Game 8 - Battle of Unbeatens at Energy Solutions on Saturday

BYU GAME #8 FAST FACTS

BYU (7-0)

vs.

Utah State (5-0)

Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008

Energy Solutions Arena (19,911)

Salt Lake City, Utah

5 p.m. MT

Coaches:

BYU, Dave Rose (79-26 in fourth season; same overall)

USU, Stew Morrill (242-86 in 11th season; 460-224 in 23rd season)

Series:

BYU leads, 134-90, with BYU winning the last meeting 75-62 in 2006 in Provo

TV:

Live on the KJZZ and BYUTV (Steve Brown, Play-by-play; Andy Toolson, game analysis)

Radio:

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network (4 p.m. MT pregame show — Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Mark Durrant, game analysis)

Web:

Live audio and live stats links are available on the basketball schedule page at www.byucougars.com/basketball_m/

Cougars to Play Utah State at Energy Solutions

BYU (7-0) will take on Utah State at Energy Solutions Arena on Saturday at 5 p.m. The game will be the 225th meeting between the in-state rivals and the first at a neutral site. The Cougars are coming off a 92-62 victory against Weber State on Wednesday and the Aggies defeated UC Irvine 74-62 on Tuesday. BYU is looking to extend its best start since the 1991-92 season, a year BYU also started 7-0. Saturday’s game will be televised live on KJZZ and BYUTV (online at www.byutv.org/streaming/) and can be heard live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 4 p.m. MT on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City or via the Internet at KSL.com.

Up Next

BYU will return to the Marriott Center and look to extend its nation’s-best home win streak to 52 games against Boise State on Dec. 10. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised live on The Mtn.

Cougar Quick Hits

— At 7-0 BYU is off to its best start since the 1991-92 season.

— BYU extended its nation’s-best home winning streak to 51 games with a perfect 3-0 record at the Basketball Travelers Invitational in the Marriott Center. The Cougars went 16-0 at home last year. The streak is the longest in school history.

— Two-time MWC Coach of the Year Dave Rose has guided BYU to three-straight 20-win seasons and three-straight postseason appearances. In his first season the Cougars were 20-9 and made a trip to the NIT. In his second campaign he guided the Cougars to the outright MWC title, a top-25 ranking, a trip to the NCAA Tournament and a 25-9 overall record. Last season he led BYU to a 27-8 overall record, a second-straight outright league title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. He has the best record through 100 games of any BYU basketball coach.

— BYU has been picked to finish second (five first-place votes) in the MWC preseason poll by the league’s media.

Looking at Utah State

Utah State is off to a 5-0 start this season. The Aggies are 4-0 at home and 1-0 on the road. Their most recent victory was a 74-62 home win against UC Irvine on Tuesday. Utah State’s previous victories came against common foes, including a 75-49 win against Weber State and a 97-57 win against Cal Poly, both at home. BYU defeated Weber 92-62 on the road and Cal Poly 76-64 at home. The Aggies are shooting 56.6 percent from the floor and averaging 75.6 points per game. Gary Wilkinson leads the squad in scoring (16.4 ppg), rebounding (8.2 rpg) and is second in shooting percentage (.769). Tai Wesley is second in scoring (12.6 ppg), rebounding (7.0) and first in field goal percentage (.774). Tyler Newbold also averages double figures at 11.4 points per game while shooting .579 from the field.

Series Notes

Saturday’s game will mark the 225th meeting between BYU and Utah State, a series that dates back to Feb. 23, 2006. The Cougars lead the all-time series 134-90 and won the last meeting 75-62 in Provo on Dec. 16, 2006. Prior to that BYU victory Utah State had won four straight, including three in Logan and one in Provo. Saturday’s game will mark the first neutral site game in the history of the series. The teams have played 115 times in Provo and 109 times in Logan but have never met on neutral grounds.

1,000-Point Man

Including a season-high performance with 36 against Long Beach State, 30 against Weber State and 28 against Cal Poly, Lee Cummard now has 144 total points for the season and 1,157 for his career. He is now 24th all-time in scoring in BYU history. He passed Steve Schreiner (1,128), Travis Hansen (1,137), Doug Howard (1,143), Elwood Romney (1,150) and Kari Liimo (1,156) during the Weber State game. Cummard is 10 points from hurdling Randy Reid for 23rd all-time and 49 from passing Joe Richey, Eldon Brinley and Gary Trost to crack the top-20.

Oquirrh Bucket Battle

The Old Oquirrh Bucket (named after the Oquirrh Mountains to the west of Salt Lake City) is the symbol of in-state basketball supremacy in Utah. Each year the trophy is awarded to the in-state college team (Utah, BYU, Southern Utah, Utah State and Weber State) which has the best won-loss record against in-state competition. BYU has claimed the Bucket nine times since its inception, including the last two seasons. With Wednesday’s win against Weber State the Cougars are 1-0 in Oquirrh Bucket competition. Utah State is also 1-0 with a victory over Weber State. Utah and Southern Utah have yet to play an in-state game while Weber State is 0-2.

Downtown Record Watch

With one three against Weber State Jonathan Tavernari has 133 career threes, including 16 this season. He started the season with 117 and has passed Terrell Lyday for fourth place and is eight away from tying Andy Toolson (141) for third. Tavernari also has 367 attempts from downtown, good for third all-time and 14 from tying Mike Rose for second. Lee Cummard hit three treys against Weber State to give him 128 for his career, now one ahead of Terrell Lyday and fifth all-time.