Game 14 - Cougars Take Winning Streak to Arizona

BYU at Arizona in Fiesta Bowl Classic

BYU men’s basketball (12-1) will take its seven-game winning streak on the road to play Arizona (6-5) in the Fiesta Bowl Classic at the the McKale Events Center on Monday, Dec. 28, at 7 p.m. MST. The game can be heard live on KSL Newsradio beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. MST on 102.7 FM and 1160 AM or via the Internet at KSL.com. The game will be televised live on Fox College Sports and online at CBS College Sports All-Access.

Up Next

The Cougars return to the Marriott Center for the first time in two weeks for a matchup with Eastern New Mexico at 7 p.m. MST in the Marriott Center. Listen to the game live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. MST on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM or via the Internet at KSL.com.

Cougar Quick Hits

— Jimmer Fredette was named MVP of the HoopTV Las Vegas Classic after averaging 28.5 points, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals in wins over Nevada and Nebraska. Jackson Emery (24.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 3.0 spg) and Tyler Haws (13.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg) earned all-tournament honors.

— Fredette’s eclipsed 1,000 career points in the Nevada game and now has 1,034 career points — 39th all-time at BYU. He leads the conference in scoring at 19.5 points per game. He is also 17th at BYU in career assists with 266 and 11th in steals with 101.

— Since Rose took over as head coach of BYU basketball, the Cougars are 68-3 (.958) in the Marriott Center, including a 53-game winning streak from 2005 to 2008 — the longest in school history. With the win over Eastern Washington, the Cougars have a 13-game home winning streak.

— Two-time MWC Coach of the Year Dave Rose has guided BYU to three-straight MWC regular season titles and three-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. Under Rose, BYU also has four-straight 20-win seasons and four-straight postseason appearances. At 109-35 (.757) overall, he reached 100 wins faster than any other coach in BYU history. Roger Reid held the previous record, reaching 100 wins in 143 games.

— Senior forward Jonathan Tavernari became BYU’s all-time leader in three-pointers with two treys vs. San Francisco to give him 214. He is now at 219 after hitting one vs. Nebraska. He is also climbing the lists for points (20th with 1,280) and steals (6th with 130).

BYU GAME #14 FAST FACTS

BYU (12-1) at Arizona (6-5)

Monday, Dec. 28, 2009

McKale Events Center (9,500)

Tucson, Ariz.

7 p.m. MST

Coaches

BYU, Dave Rose (109-35 in fifth season; same overall)

Arizona, Sean Miller (6-5 in first season; 126-52 in sixth season overall)

Series

Arizona leads the all-time series 20-17, winning the last meeting 86-62 on Dec. 1, 1999

TV

Live on Fox College Sports, broadcast live online at CBS College Sports All-Access

Radio

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

Web

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

Looking at Arizona

Arizona is 6-5 and coming off back-to-back home wins against Lipscomb (83-82 in overtime) and NC State (76-74). Senior guard Nic Wise hit a three with 0.1 second left to defeat Lipscomb and drove the length of the court for the game-winning layup against NC State with one second remaining. Wise leads the team in scoring (17.0 ppg) and assists (4.4 apg) and steals (19). He is followed by double-figure scorers Derrick Williams (14.8 ppg) and Jamelle Horne (11.2 ppg). Horne leads the team in rebounding at 8.1 boards per game and blocks with 17 while Williams owns the team’s best field goal percentage (.561). Solomon Hill adds 8.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while Kyle Fogg contributes 7.1 points and shoots .615 (16-26) from downtown. The Wildcats average 72.6 points per game and shoot .442 as a team while their opponents score at a 72.2 points per game rate and shoot .425. Arizona has attempted 50 more free throws than its opponents and made 40 more. The Wildcats shoot .366 from downtown and hold opponents to .291 shooting from long range. Sean Miller is in his first season at Arizona after five seasons at Xavier where he led the Musketeers to four-straight 20-win seasons and four-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.

Arizona’s Last Outing — Arizona Holds Off N.C. State

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -Nic Wise drove the length of the court for a layup with 1 second remaining, and Arizona defeated North Carolina State 76-74 on Wednesday night. The Wildcats (6-5) blew an 8-point lead in the final 37 seconds as the Wolfpack made two 3-pointers and converted on a three-point play. But after North Carolina State’s Javier Gonzalez barreled into the lane to tie it at 74-74, Wise, who finished with 17 points, weaved through a sea of red jerseys and laid the ball in. Wise’s big play came two nights after he hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to defeat Lipscomb in overtime. He celebrated his latest heroics by leaping upon the press table and pointing to the exuberant McKale Center crowd. Gonzalez scored 18 points, including 10 in the final 30 seconds, for the Wolfpack (8-3).

Series Notes

Monday’s game marks the 38th meeting between BYU and Arizona with the Wildcats holding a 20-17 advantage, including 15-3 in Tucson. The Cougars last defeated Arizona 87-86 on Jan. 19, 1978, in Provo. Arizona has won the last four meetings, including an 86-62 in on Dec. 1, 1999 in Tucson. The game is a reunion of old WAC opponents as both schools were members of the conference in the 1960s and 1970s.

Free Throw Streaks

Junior guard Jimmer Fredette set a BYU record with 39-consecutive made free throws from Nov. 17 to Dec. 12. Fredette broke the record when he hit his 33rd-consecutive free throw with 16:56 remaining in the second half against Arizona State. He had a streak of 13 straight in the first two games and reached 20-straight before missing after six-straight makes against Nebraska. For the season he is shooting .929 from the line and his career percentage is .875 — second in Cougar history. Tyler Haws is shooting .889 from the line and has hit his last 19 attempts over the last seven games. Jackson Emery has made 12-straight free throws in the last three games.

100 Victories and Counting

With BYU’s 83-65 win over Hawai’i, Dave Rose earned his 100th career victory in his 134th game as BYU’s head coach. He reached the 100-win plateau faster than any coach in BYU history. Roger Reid previously held the record, achieving the mark in 143 games. Below is a list of the BYU head coaches who won at least 100 games, their career record, how many games it took them to reach the milestone and who they defeated for victory number 100.

1,000-Point Scorers

With seven points vs. Nebraska, Jonathan Tavernari has 1,280 career points and is ranked 20th all-time in scoring at BYU. He is five points from passing Alan Taylor for 19th all-time.

Jimmer Fredette eclipsed 1,000 career points when he hit a three with 10:04 remaining against Nevada. He reached the milestone in 80 games. After scoring 24 against Nebraska he has 1,034 career points — 39th all-time. He is 18 points from passing Scott Runia for 38th all-time.

Downtown Record Watch

Jonathan Tavernari hit two threes vs. San Francisco to become BYU’s all-time leader in career threes, passing Mark Bigelow who had 213 for his career. He is also the leader for career attempts. Tavernari owns the record for threes in a season with 88 in 2007-08. He now has 219 makes and 595 attempts. Jimmer Fredette is ninth on both lists with 114 makes on 314 attempts.

Top-10 Pick Pockets

Senior forward Jonathan Tavernari had two steals vs. Nevada to give him 130 for his career. He is sixth all-time in BYU history and two from passing Russell Larson for fifth all-time. Jimmer Fredette is 13th all-time with 101 steals and Jackson Emery is 18th with 90.

When Jimmer Scores 20...

Jimmer Fredette had 24 points in BYU’s 88-66 win vs. Nebraska, his eighth 20-point game this season and 16th of his career. BYU is 14-2 when Fredette scores 20 or more and has won the last 13 games in which he has reached the 20-point mark.

Perfection is 7-of-7, 6-of-6

Freshman Tyler Haws posted a perfect shooting game against Nevada, scoring a career-best 20 points while hitting 7-of-7 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line.