Game 22 - Battle of Ranked Teams at the Pit

Cougars Take Perfect MWC Record to New Mexico

No. 12/10 BYU men’s basketball (20-1, 5-0 MWC) will look to extend its 15-game winning streak and remain undefeated in conference play when the Cougars take on New Mexico (18-3, 4-2) in the Pit on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. MST. The game can be heard live on KSL Newsradio beginning with the pregame show at 7 p.m. MST 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 return home to take on MWC and instate rival Utah in the Deseret First Duel on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. MST. 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. 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 15-game winning streak is the second-longest current streak in the NCAA behind Kentucky’s 19-game streak and the second-longest streak in school history.

— Fredette is 26th all-time in scoring at BYU with 1,163 career points. He leads the conference in scoring at 20.2 points per game. He is also 15th at BYU in career assists with 291 and 12th in steals with 106.

— 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 five-straight 20-win seasons and four-straight postseason appearances. At 117-35 (.770) 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 233 after hitting one at San Diego State. He is also climbing the lists for points (16th with 1,358) and steals (4th with 139).

— 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 97 Cougar wins (played in 93), tied with former teammate Lee Cummard (2005-09), who was a part of 97 BYU wins (played in all 97).

BYU Game #22 Fast Facts

No. 12/10 BYU (20-1, 5-0) at No. 23/rv New Mexico (18-3, 4-2)

Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010

The Pit/Bob King Court (15,102)

Albuquerque, New Mexico

8 p.m. MST

Coaches

BYU, Dave Rose (117-35 in fifth season; same overall)

New Mexico, Steve Alford (64-24 in third season; 372-207 in 19th season overall)

Series

BYU leads 74-51, including a regular season split in 2008-09

TV

Live on The Mtn. (Ari Wolfe, play-by-play; Dave Bollwinkel, game analysis)

Radio

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM and online at KSL.com) and the Cougar Sports Network (7 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 New Mexico

New Mexico is 18-3 overall and 4-2 in the Mountain West Conference. The Lobos have won four-straight after starting 0-2 in MWC action with losses at San Diego State and at home to UNLV. New Mexico has defeated Utah at home, won at Wyoming and Air Force and most recently won at home against Colorado State during the winning streak. Junior guard/forward Darington Hobson leads the Lobos in scoring, rebounding and assists at 15.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.1 dimes per game. Senior forward Roman Martinez is second on the team in scoring and rebounding at 13.9 ppg and 6.1 rpg. Martinez also leads the team with 56 threes while shooting .441 from downtown. Phillip McDonald and Dairese Gary also average double figures at 11.1 and 10.9 ppg, respectively. Gary is also second in assists (3.8 apg) while leading the team in free throws made (97) and attempted (127). A.J. Hardeman, a recent MWC Player of the Week, adds 7.6 points and 5.5 boards per game while shooting a team-best .555 from the field. As a team New Mexico averages 77.8 points and shoots .441 from the field, .374 from three and .673 from the free throw line. Steve Alford is in his third season at New Mexico where he is 64-24.

New Mexico’s Last Outing — Lobos Get 17 Points From Gary in 82-64 Win over CSU

OK, all Lobos can finally say it: Bring on BYU. Said Lobo coach Steve Alford: “We are really looking forward to (Wednesday). We have a chance to play arguably the best team in our league on our court.” The New Mexico Lobos kept the sharp edge of urgency on league-leading BYU’s Pit visit by shearing the Colorado State Rams 82-64 Saturday afternoon in University Arena. The Lobos used a 16-to-1 scoring spurt at the close of the first half to help UNM pull out of a 21-20 deficit and grab a 38-24 halftime lead. UNM is now 18-3 overall and 4-2 in Mountain West play. “We had a lot of energy,” said Lobo Dairese Gary, who topped all scorers with 17 points. “Everyone who came in contributed.” Said Alford: “Dairese was tremendous. Dairese controlled this basketball game. He controlled the game at both ends.” Gary, who went 10-for-10 at the line, was joined in double figures by Martinez with 12, Phillip McDonald with 11 and Darington Hobson with 10. UNM outrebounded CSU 48 to 30 and had 17 offensive boards to five for the visitors from Fort Collins, Colo. UNM got 27 points and 17 boards off its bench. “It was just a really good team effort,” said Alford. “I thought we got good minutes out of everybody we played. “Our backboard work was outstanding.” Said CSU coach Tim Miles of UNM’s bench: “When those other guys come in and hurt you, that’s what hurts.” The points and rebounds off the Lobo bench came from Curtis Dennis, Jamal Fenton, Nate Garth, Chad Adams and Will Brown. Garth had five points, five boards and two assists in 15 minutes. “Our bench has been really good the past two weeks,” said Alford. “If our bench keeps getting better, we can become a dangerous team.” The Lobos came out of the halfway break up by 14 points. A Martinez trey at 17:05 pushed UNM up 46-29 (17 points) and CSU called a timeout. It was just too big a hole to stumble into in The Pit. The hole widened to 48-29 a few minutes later when A.J. Hardeman cradled a Gary miss and threw down a one-handed dunk. The Lobos opened the half shooting 80 percent. The biggest questions at that point were whether the Lobos could keep up their intensity and if the Rams would roll over. The Rams showed decent fight to the end and intensity wasn’t really a question. The Lobos were having fun in The Pit, running and gunning, and they just put their engine into cruise mode and rolled to the 18-point final. The Lobos had some fun after the game teasing Gary about a hammer dunk he threw down in the closing minutes. The Lobos like to tell the powerful point guard that his jumping ability isn’t what it used to be.

Series Notes

BYU and New Mexico play for the 126th time on Wednesday with the Cougars leading the overall series 74-51. The Cougars won 73-62 at home and lost 81-62 at New Mexico last season. The Lobos lead the series 32-27 in New Mexico (27-17 in the Pit). BYU had won three-straight at the Pit before last season’s loss. The Cougars are 7-1 against New Mexico under Dave Rose.

Nation’s Best Streaks

BYU’s current 15-game winning streak is tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in the NCAA this season and is the second-longest current streak.

Team, Streak

Kentucky, 19 (current)

Texas, 17

Northern Iowa, 15

BYU, 15 (current)

Winning Streaks

BYU’s current 15-game winning streak is 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

2009-10, 15

1916-17, 14

Best Start

At 20-1 overall, BYU men’s basketball has tied the 1987-88 team for the best record through 21 games in program history. The next best starts were 18-3 records in 1971-72 and 1989-90.

In the Rankings

BYU men’s basketball 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. 12 in the AP Poll and No. 10 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 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 143-58 record as a ranked team, including 6-0 this season. The Cougars are 82-12 at home, 39-28 on the road and 22-18 at neutral sites when nationally ranked. BYU is 15-6 as a ranked team under Dave Rose.

1,000-Point Scorers

With three points at San Diego State, Jonathan Tavernari has 1,358 career points and is ranked 16th all-time in scoring at BYU. He is 15 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 33 points at San Diego State he has 1,163 career points — 26th all-time. He is four points from passing Randy Reid for 25th 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 233 makes and 625 attempts. Jimmer Fredette is sixth with 133 makes and is seventh with 348 attempts.

Top-10 Pick Pockets

Senior forward Jonathan Tavernari had one steal at San Diego State to give him 139 for his career. He is fourth all-time in BYU history and is two from passing Scott Sinek for third all-time. Jackson Emery is 11th with 110 while Jimmer Fredette is 12th with 106.

When Jimmer Scores 20...

Jimmer Fredette had 33 points at San Diego State, his 11th 20-point game this season and 19th of his career. BYU is 17-2 when Fredette scores 20 or more and has won the last 16 games in which he has reached the 20-point mark.