Game 32: Tournament Play Begins Thursday

Cougars to Play Winner of TCU vs. Wyoming on Thursday

No. 8/8 BYU basketball enters the 2011 Conoco Mountain West Conference Championships and will play the winner of Wyoming vs. TCU in the quarterfinal round on Thursday at 12 p.m. PT in the Thomas and Mack Center. The Cougars finished the regular season at 28-3 overall and 14-2 in conference play and boast the league’s player of the year in Jimmer Fredette, defensive player of the year in Jackson Emery and co-coach of the year in Dave Rose. Fredette leads the nation in scoring at 27.9 points per game while Jackson Emery adds 12.7 points and an MWC-best 2.8 steals per game. Rose has led BYU to its fifth-straight season with 25 wins and being ranked in the top 25. This season also marks BYU’s fourth regular season conference title in five years. Wyoming is the No. 8 seed in the tournament and finished the regular season at 10-20 overall and 3-13 in league play and TCU is the No. 9 seed and finished 10-21 and 1-15. During the regular season the Cougars were 2-0 against Wyoming and 2-0 against TCU. Thursday’s game can be heard live on KSL Newsradio beginning with the pregame show at 11 a.m. PT on 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City or via the Internet at KSL.com. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.

Up Next

The winner of No. 8/8 BYU vs. TCU/Wyoming will advance to the semifinals of the 2011 Conoco MWC Championships to play the winner of New Mexico vs. Colorado State on Friday, March 11, in Las Vegas at 6 p.m. PT. Live stats and audio links will be available on www.byucougars.com and fans can listen live on the radio on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City. The semifinals will be televised live on CBS College Sports.

Cougar Quick Hits

— No. 8/8 BYU head coach and MWC Co-Coach of the Year Dave Rose is 155-43 in his six seasons at BYU and is the program’s all-time leader in winning percentage at .783. He is second all-time in wins behind Stan Watts, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

— MWC Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette leads the nation in scoring at 27.9 points per game and adds 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Fredette also earned All-MWC First Team honors.

— MWC Defensive Player of the Year Jackson Emery leads the MWC in steals at 2.8 per game and adds 12.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Emery was also named second-team All-MWC and to the All-Defensive Team.

— Noah Hartsock adds 8.7 points per game on .505 shooting from the field and .476 shooting from three. Charles Abouo adds 7.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

— Brandon Davies received All-MWC Third Team honors and Hartsock was named honorable mention.

— At 28-3, BYU has the best 31-game record in program history.

BYU Game #32 Fast Facts

No. 8/8 BYU (28-3, 14-2) vs. Wyoming (10-19, 3-12) or TCU (10-21, 1-5)

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Thomas and Mack Center

Las Vegas

12 p.m. PT

Coaches

BYU, Dave Rose (155-43 in sixth season at BYU; same overall)

Wyoming, Fred Langley (2-5 in first season at Wyoming; same overall)

TCU, Jim Christian (37-57 in third season at TCU, 175-115 in ninth season overall)

Series

BYU leads 105-69 vs. Wyoming (13-0 under Rose) and 18-3 vs. TCU (14-0 under Rose)

Radio

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network (Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Mark Durrant, game analysis)

TV

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

Web

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

BYU in the Tournament

The Cougars have a 13-10 Mountain West Conference Tournament record. BYU advanced to the finals in the first two years of the MWC Tournament, winning the title over New Mexico as the No. 2 seed in 2001 after losing to host UNLV in 2000. BYU then went five years without a finals appearance until losing to host UNLV in the 2007 Championship game. The Cougars fell again to UNLV in the title game in 2008. BYU has won its quarterfinal game in seven of the 10 MWC Tournaments. BYU has a 4-4 semifinals record and 1-3 finals record in MWC Tournament play. During the seven years the MWC Tournament has been played in Las Vegas (2000-03, 2007-present), BYU has posted an 12-7 tournament record, with four finals appearances and one title (2001). BYU had a 1-3 tournament record during the three years the championship was conducted in Denver (2004-06). Overall, BYU has a 25-23 record in conference tournament games, which includes a 12-13 record in WAC Tournament games. BYU has played every MWC team in the MWC Tournament.

BYU Seeds at the MWC Tournament

BYU was the No. 1 seed at the MWC Tournament in each of the past three seasons (2007, 2008, 2009) after winning back-to-back outright MWC titles and a share of the title in 2009. The Cougars are 5-3 as the top seed (finals appearance in 2007 and 2008). Including this season, BYU has been the second seed four times (5-2 combined record in 2001, 2003 and 2004, including the 2001 title). The 2006 Tournament was the first time that the Cougars have been the No. 3 seed in the MWC Tournament (first-round loss to Utah). The Cougars have also been the fourth seed once (suffering a first-round exit with a loss to eventual-champion San Diego State in 2002), the sixth seed once (advanced to the finals in 2000) and the No. 7 seed once (2005 first-round loss to eventual-champion New Mexico).

BYU Tournament Titles

BYU won the MWC Tournament title in 2001 over New Mexico. BYU won WAC Tournament titles in 1991 and 1992. The Cougars’ Kevin Nixon hit a dramatic three-quarter-court shot at the buzzer to defeat UTEP, 73-71, in Fort Collins, Colo., for the 1992 title. BYU won its first WAC Tournament title in 1991 with an overtime win over Utah. The Cougars also won the postseason conference playoff series in the Rocky Mountain Conference in 1924 (defeated Colorado College, 2-1) and 1933 (defeated Wyoming, 2-1).

CLICK HERE to see where Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery rank in the BYU and Mountain West Conference record books.