Game Notes and Quotes: BYU vs. Utah

BYU vs. Utah

January 30, 2010

Marriott Center (Provo, Utah)

Player Notes

— Jimmer Fredette finished with 36 points, on 11-for-23 shooting (4-for-5 from three), 10-for-12 from the free throw line. The total is a personal best in the Marriott Center.

— Fredette’s 36 points is the most-ever by a BYU player against Utah, passing Danny Ainge’s 35 set in Provo on Mar. 7, 1981.

— Fredette’s 36 points is the most by a BYU player in the Marriott Center since Lee Cummard scored 36 against Long Beach State on Nov. 14, 2008. It’s tied for the 8th-most points by a Cougar in Marriott Center history and the 14th-most by a Cougar playing at home.

— Fredette has scored 27 or more points in 3-straight games this season. The junior has scored 20+ in 13 games and 30+ in 4 games this season.

— Fredette’s 36 points is the 21st game of his career scoring 20+ points. BYU is 18-3 when Fredette scores 20 or more.

— Fredette also had 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.

— Jackson Emery had 8 points, 7 rebounds, 6 steals, 4 assists and no turnovers in 34 minutes.

— Jackson Emery tied a career high with 6 steals. Emery tied his career high of 6 steals less than two minutes into the second half.

— Emery has at least 4 steals in 6 games on the year and has had 12-straight multi-steal games. He is averaging 2.70 spg.

Team Notes

— The Cougars have won 6 of the last 7 against Utah and have a 5-game home win streak against the Utes.

— Coming into the game, Utah held opponents to an average of 66.6 ppg. BYU scored 82 points, the most against Utah since Weber State scored 83 on Dec. 2, 2009.

— BYU’s 6 turnovers ties for the fewest on the season.

— BYU held Utah to zero fast break points, the seventh opponent they have held to zero.

— This year’s Cougars are tied with the 1987-88 team for the best record through 23 games of any Cougar team, posting a 21-2 mark.

— BYU owns a 144-59 (.709) record as a ranked team. The Cougars are 16-7 (.696) under Coach Rose when ranked, including 7-1 (.875) this season.

Record Watch

— Jonathan Tavernari has now been a part of 98 wins in his career, the most by any player in Cougar history. (Tavernari has played in 94 of those games, whereas Lee Cummard played in all of his 97 wins.)

— With 5 points versus Utah, Jonathan Tavernari has 1,380 career points, passing Roland Minson for 14th all-time. Tavernari is 9 points from passing Andy Toolson for 13th all-time.

— With 36 points versus Utah, Jimmer Fredette passed Eldon Brinley, Gary Trost and Doug Richards for 21st on the BYU all-time scoring list. Fredette has 1,226 career points and is 59 points from passing Alan Taylor for 20th all-time.

— Tavernari’s 1 steal tonight makes him 3rd on the career steals list with 141 career steals.

Game Trends

— Tyler Haws and Jackson Emery scored the first 16 points for BYU (8 apiece). Haws scored the first six points for the Cougars on a jumper, a dunk and a layup.

— Fredette went on a 12-4 run by himself late in the second half, pushing a 66-61 lead with 5:31 to go to a 78-65 margin with 3:02 remaining in the game.

BYU Head Coach Dave Rose

“We had a great start. We were able to get some stops defensively and some baskets to give as a point spread which we were not able to do at New Mexico. That spurt in the first half proved to be very valuable to us as Utah kept coming back. I think this game was what people would normally expect from a BYU-Utah game.”

On Coaches Vs. Cancer Participation: “I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity. I’m not very good at expressing my feelings but I know that I am very fortunate right now. There are a lot of people battling with cancer who have not been as fortunate, so I’m very grateful that things are good right now.”

On Jimmer Fredette: “I’m glad he is on our team. I was pleased with him tonight because he played within himself when he was tired. He really dug deep within to help his team win.”

Utah Head Coach Jim Boylen

“We started off at a bad pace, but I am proud of my team. We took a few body blows throughout but kept scrapping. I love the way we battle.”

“BYU has a great team and this is a great rivalry. Jimmer Fredette, I believe, is the best player in the MWC. Possibly the greatest player of all time in the MWC.”

“We need to address the bigger issue. Marshall Henderson made a mistake, plain and simple. Make no mistake. We feel bad about what happened, and so does Henderson. We are going to deal with this issue internally, and then I’m sure the league will deal with it as well. We need to move on now. Henderson is a great player.”