Game 21 - Cougars Head West to Play San Diego State

Cougars at San Diego State on Saturday

No. 14/13 BYU men’s basketball (19-1, 4-0 MWC) will take its perfect MWC record and 14-game winning streak on the road for a matchup with San Diego State (14-5, 3-2 MWC) on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. PST. The game can be heard live on KSL Newsradio beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. PST on 102.7 FM and 1160 AM or via the Internet at KSL.com. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.

Up Next

The Cougars remain on the road to play at New Mexico on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. MST. Listen to the game live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 7 p.m. MST on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM or via the Internet at KSL.com. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.

Cougar Quick Hits

— Jimmer Fredette set BYU single-game records with 49 points and nine threes against Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson, Ariz., at the McKale Center. BYU handed Arizona its worst loss at the McKale Center, 99-69.

— BYU’s 14-game winning streak is the second-longest current streak in the NCAA behind Kentucky’s 18-game streak. It is tied for the fourth longest streak this season.

— Fredette is 30th all-time in scoring at BYU with 1,130 career points. He leads the conference in scoring at 19.4 points per game. He is also 15th at BYU in career assists with 286 and 12th in steals with 105.

— 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 116-35 (.768) overall, he is BYU’s all-time leader in winning percentage.

— 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 232 after hitting two vs. Colorado State. He is also climbing the lists for points (16th with 1,355) and steals (T4th with 138).

— Tavernari is on pace to become the BYU player with the most wins in a career. Since his freshman campaign, he has been a part of 96 Cougar wins (played in 92), two behind former teammate Lee Cummard (2005-09), who was a part of 97 BYU wins (played in all 97).

BYU Game #21 Fast Facts

No. 14/13 BYU (19-1, 4-0) at San Diego State (14-5, 3-2)

Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010

Cox Arena (12,414)

San Diego, Calif.

7 p.m. PST

Coaches

BYU, Dave Rose (116-35 in fifth season; same overall)

SDSU, Steve Fisher (187-145 in 11th season; 371-227 in 19th season overall)

Series

BYU leads 44-22, including a regular season sweep in 2008-09 and SDSU winning in the MWC tourney

TV

Live on The Mtn. (Rich Cellini, play-by-play; Joe Cravens, game analysis)

Radio

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM and online at KSL.com) and the Cougar Sports Network (6 p.m. PST 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 San Diego State

San Diego State is 14-5 overall and 3-2 in the Mountain West Conference. The Aztecs are coming off back-to-back wins over TCU (67-62) at home and at Utah (70-68). San Diego State opened conference play with a home win against New Mexico before losing at Wyoming and UNLV. Junior forward Malcolm Thomas leads the team in scoring at 11.6 ppg while shooting .572 from the field and averaging 7.9 boards per game. Freshman forward Kawhi Leanard is second in scoring at 11.4 ppg while leading the team and conference in rebounding at 9.4 rpg. Billy White also averages 11.4 ppg and adds 5.2 rpg while shooting .585 from the field. Starting guards D.J. White and Chase Tapley average 9.8 and 7.1 ppg, respectively. Gay leads the Aztecs with 31 threes and 3.0 assists per game. As a team San Diego State averages 71.2 points while shooting .479 from the field, .312 from three and .590 from the free throw line. Aztec opponents average 62.6 points and shoot .398 from the field. San Diego State has a +7.8 rebounding margin and averages 8.1 steals and 4.2 blocks per game. Steve Fisher is in his 11th season at San Diego State where he has a record of 187-145.

San Diego State’s Last Outing — Aztecs Get Third Win Ever at Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Malcolm Thomas scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help San Diego State outlast Utah 70-68 on Tuesday night.

Kawhi Leonard had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Kelvin Davis added 10 points as the Aztecs (14-5, 3-2 Mountain West) overcame late free throw shooting woes and watched with relief as Carlon Brown’s desperate 3-pointer clanged off the rim at the buzzer.

Brown scored 18 points, Luka Drca had 15 and Marshall Henderson added 14 for the Utes (9-9, 1-2), who trimmed a 12-point lead to 69-68 before falling.

The Aztecs made just 5 of 11 free throws in the final two minutes and were 10 of 23 for the game.

Despite giving up 6 inches to 7-foot-3 David Foster, Thomas made 10 of 17 shots to help the Aztecs dominate Utah with a 36-18 advantage in points in the paint.

Series Notes

BYU and San Diego State play for the 67th time on Saturday with the Cougars leading the overall series 44-22. The Cougars won 77-71 at home and 69-59 at San Diego State while the Aztecs defeated BYU 64-62 in the MWC Tournament last season. San Diego State leads the series 17-16 in San Diego, including 7-6 in Cox Arena.

Nation’s Best Streaks

BYU’s current 14-game winning streak is tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in the NCAA.

Team, Streak

Kentucky, 18 (current)

Texas, 17

Northern Iowa, 15

BYU, 14 (current)

Kansas, 14

Purdue, 14

Winning Streaks

BYU’s current 14-game winning streak is tied for the second longest in Cougar history. See the list below to see where it ranks among the best streaks by a BYU squad.

Year, Streak

1987-88, 17

1916-17, 14

2009-10, 14

In the Rankings

The BYU men’s basketball team entered the top-25 rankings for the first time this season on Jan. 4 at No. 25 in the AP Poll and No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Cougars are currently ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll and No. 13 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, their highest rankings in both polls since 1987-88. Rose has led his teams to the rankings in the each of the last four seasons to become the first Cougar coach to lead BYU into the rankings in four-straight seasons. The Cougar basketball program has now been ranked in the AP Poll during 18 seasons since its first national ranking in 1950-51.

BYU as a Ranked Team

BYU owns a 142-58 record as a ranked team, including 5-0 this season. The Cougars are 82-12 at home, 38-28 on the road and 22-18 at neutral sites when nationally ranked. BYU is 14-6 as a ranked team under Dave Rose.

1,000-Point Scorers

With three points against Wyoming, Jonathan Tavernari has 1,355 career points and is ranked 16th all-time in scoring at BYU. He is 18 points from passing Trent Plaisted for 15th 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 11 points vs. Wyoming he has 1,130 career points — 30th all-time. He is eight points from passing Travis Hansen for 29th 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 232 makes and 622 attempts. Jimmer Fredette is seventh with 128 makes and is seventh with 340 attempts.

Top-10 Pick Pockets

Senior forward Jonathan Tavernari had four steals vs. Colorado State to give him 138 for his career. He is tied for fourth all-time in BYU history and is three from passing Scott Sinek for third all-time. Jackson Emery is 11th with 107 while Jimmer Fredette is 12th with 105.

When Jimmer Scores 20...

Jimmer Fredette had 21 points against Colorado State, his 10th 20-point game this season and 18th of his career. BYU is 16-2 when Fredette scores 20 or more and has won the last 15 games in which he has reached the 20-point mark.