Game 12 Notes - BYU Hosts Pepperdine Thursday

COUGARS HOST PEPPERDINE THURSDAY AT 7 P.M.

Coming off a 93-60 win over Southern Utah Saturday, BYU (9-2) stays at home to host the Pepperdine Waves (8-4) Thursday at 7 p.m. MST in the Marriott Center before taking a trip to Oklahoma to face Oklahoma State Saturday. Thursday's game is not being televised. The radio broadcast can be heard on KSL Newsradio 1160 and the Cougar Sports Network, beginning at 6 p.m. MST with a one-hour pregame show. KSL's Greg Wrubell will call the play-by-play action with Mark Durrant providing game analysis. Live Internet audio links are available on the basketball page of the official BYU athletics website, byucougars.com, and via BYU Radio on the Dish Network and at byuradio.org.

The Cougars are 5-0 at home this season and enter Thursday's game with the nation's longest homecourt victory streak at 41 games. BYU has defeated its last 32 non-Mountain West Conference opponents in the Marriott Center since suffering a 71-70 loss to California on Dec. 19, 1998.

The Waves won have won eight of their last 10 games, including a decisive 88-68 road win Monday over host New Mexico to win the Lobo Invitational at The Pit. Pepperdine has a six-game road winning streak and is 6-1 on the road this year.

GAME #12 FAST FACTS

BYU (9-2, 0-0 MWC) vs. PEPPERDINE (8-4, 0-0 WCC)

THURSDAY, JAN. 2, 2003

MARRIOTT CENTER (22,700)

PROVO, UTAH

7 p.m. MST

Coaches:

BYU, Steve Cleveland (94-71 in sixth year; same overall)

Pepperdine, Paul Westphal (30-13 in 2nd year; 114-40 in fifth year overall)

Series:

Pepperdine leads, 4-1 Last: Pepperdine won 82-79 in Overtime in Malibu on Jan. 5, 2002

TV: None

Radio:

KSL Newsradio 1160 AM (Cougar Sports Network)

Pregame Air Times: 6 p.m. MST

Play-by-Play: Greg Wrubell

Game Analyst: Mark Durrant

Web:

Live audio and live stats links available at byucougars.com/basketball_m/ (select 2002-03 schedule) and audio links also available on KSL.com and byuradio.org or via BYU Radio on Dish Network.

BYU's Probable Starters:

Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG

F 3 Mark Bigelow 6-7 195 Jr. 13.0 3.5 2.2 apg

F 52 Jared Jensen 6-9 250 So. 9.5 3.8

C 55 Rafael Araujo 6-11 265 Jr. 9.6 8.2

G 2 Travis Hansen 6-6 210 Sr. 15.5 4.8 2.9 apg

G 24 Kevin Woodberry 6-0 170 Jr. 6.3 1.8 2.4 apg

BYU Reserves:

Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG

G 14 Ricky Bower 6-4 185 Jr. 5.9 2.0 2.0 apg

F 15 John Allen 6-7 215 So. 3.6 1.5

G 10 Terry Nashif 5-10 165 Fr. 3.0 1.6 1.5 apg

F 5 Jake Shoff 6-9 265 Jr. 2.3 2.0

C 40 Dan Howard 7-0 225 Jr. 1.6 0.7

F 32 Bart Jepsen 6-9 235 Jr. 1.8 0.9

G 4 Luiz Lemes 6-3 180 Jr. 1.3 0.8

PEPPERDINE WAVES

Pepperdine, coached Paul Westphal, has an 8-4 record and has won eight of its last 10 games, including a decisive 88-68 road win Monday over host New Mexico to win the Lobo Invitational at The Pit. Pepperdine has advanced to postseason tournament play the last four consecutive seasons with at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament in 2000 and 2002 and NIT bids in 1999 and 2001. Despite playing without three of its top players -- junior center Will Kimble (heart condition), junior forward Glen McGowan (knee and blood clot in arm) and senior guard Devin Montgomery (broken thumb) -- the Waves have won six straight road games this year and is 6-1 on the road. The Waves completed last year with an 11-8 (.579) record on the road, going 7-6 (.538) in "true" road games and 4-2 (.667) on a neutral court. This year, Pepperdine has captured tournament titles at New Mexico and Stanford. Pepperdine put together perhaps its best all-around effort of the season at New Mexico. The Waves shot 56.3 percent from the field (36-of-64), won the rebounding battle by a commanding 44-31 margin and held the Lobos to just 39.1 percent shooting (27-of-69) from the floor. Freshman guard Alex Acker was selected the "Most Valuable Player" at the Lobo Invitational, and was joined on the All-Tournament team by sophomore guard Terrance Johnson and senior forward Jimmy Miggins. Acker registered career-best totals of 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in the Waves' 116-110 first round win over Arkansas-Little Rock. Miggins leads the Waves' high-octane offense at 17.6 points a game. Johnson adds 14.8 points an outing followed by senior forward Boomer Brazzle (12.8) and Acker (11.1). Pepperdine is averaging 82.5 points a contest, and has surpassed the 80-point plateau six times in its last seven games. The Waves allow 80.5 points per game. Pepperdine shoots 47.2 percent from the floor, 38.7 percent on three and 72.6 percent from the line while allowing 47.2 percent on field goals and 35.3 percent on threes. The Waves are being beaten on the boards 38.2 to 35.8. Coach Westphal is 30-13 in his second season in Malibu and 114-40 overall in five seasons as a college coach.

PEPPERDINE'S PROBABLE STARTERS

POS. # NAME HT. WT. YR. PPG RPG

F 32 Jimmy Miggins 6-6 200 Sr. 17.6 5.8

F 34 Boomer Brazzle 6-7 230 Sr. 12.8 6.4

F 43 David Patten 6-8 200 Fr. 7.9 4.6

G 3 Alex Acker 6-5 185 Fr. 11.9 4.3

G 20 Terrance Johnson 6-5 190 So. 14.8 3.9

SERIES BREAKDOWN

Overall Series Record: Pepperdine leads 4-1

BYU Record in Provo: 1-1

BYU Record at Pepperdine: 0-3

BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 0-0

BYU Record under Steve Cleveland: 1-1

BYU Record in Overtime Games: 0-1 (0-1 at Pepperdine)

Last Overtime Game: 2001-02, lost at Pepperdine, 79-82

Longest BYU Win Streak: 1

Longest Pepperdine Win Streak: 3 (1944-85)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 1, 53-52 in 1997

Largest Pepperdine Margin of Victory: 10, 83-73 in 1985

Most Points Scored by BYU: 79 in 2001-02

Most Points Scored by Pepperdine: 83 in 1985

12-29-44 at Pepperdine 51-56 L

12-15-49 at Pepperdine* 39-45 L

12-14-85 Pepperdine' 73-83 L

12-13-97 Pepperdine* 53-52 W

1-5-02 at Pepperdine (OT) 79-82 L

LAST YEAR's GAME - HANSEN HAS CAREER NIGHT BUT WAVES WIN IN OT

For the third time in the first 13 games of the year, BYU suffered a tough road loss in a contest it could have won as the Cougars fell in overtime at Pepperdine, 82-79. BYU finished its non-league play with a 10-3 record. Having played one of the toughest schedules in the nation, Pepperdine improved to 7-6 on the year. BYU guard Travis Hansen played a remarkable game, scoring 30 points and grabbing 17 rebounds to lead the Cougars. Hansen became the second Cougar to score 30 points (Bigelow had 31 vs. Arizona State) and his 17 rebounds were the most by a Cougar since Brett Applegate totaled 17 in December 1983. With BYU trailing by three with only three seconds remaining in overtime, Hansen was whistled for an offensive foul as he swept the ball while preparing to get off a game-tying three point attempt. Pepperdine's Terrance Johnson missed both free throws on the other end, but the Cougars could only get off a desperation three-quarter court heave by Matt Montague as time expired. The game went to overtime at 69-69 after reserve guard Jimmy Balderson hit a three-pointer from the corner during his only minute on the floor during the 45-minute game. Balderson made the trey with 12 seconds left in regulation. BYU had a chance to win the game after forcing a Pepperdine turnover with four seconds left but was unable to get off an attempt. The Cougars got off to a sluggish start to begin the game, falling behind 14-6 after the first 10 minutes. But BYU out scored the Waves 28-12, including a 10-0 run, to close out the half with a 36-24 advantage. Returning the favor, Pepperdine scored the first 10 points of the second half to claim the lead as BYU went cold from the floor, missing its first nine field goal attempts and both free throws before Hansen finally connected on a jumper to tie the game at 36. The rest of the game was for the most part a back-and-forth battle as the two teams traded leads through 10 second-half ties. BYU seemed ready to take the momentum with some good defense, but the Waves were able keep the tide from turning thanks to 25 free throw attempts in the second half. After Johnson made a trey to put the Waves up 51-48 with 8:42 on the clock, Pepperdine went nearly seven minutes without a field goal. The Waves stayed in the game, thanks to nine successes from the charity stripe, until reserve Craig Lewis, who had just come in the game for the first time, made a three to give the Waves the lead again at 63-61 with just over two minutes left in regulation. Pepperdine led by five points with just under a minute remaining before BYU staged a quick comeback started by Hansen and finished by Balderson to send the game to overtime. Three Cougars joined Hansen in double figures, with Mark Bigelow scoring 14 points, Matt Montague a season-high 12 points and Eric Nielsen adding 10. Montague also dished out a game-high eight assists and had two steals with only one turnover despite regular full-court pressure by the Waves. He played a career high 45 minutes. Even though five Pepperdine players scored in double figures, led by Jimmy Miggins with 19, the player of the game for the Waves was Lewis, who scored 12 points in only nine minutes, including three NBA-length treys.

WHAT COACH STEVE CLEVELAND SAID LAST YEAR ...

"Travis just competed like a lion. He played with a great deal of heart. It was unfortunate the number of touch fouls that were called. Free throws is the whole reason they were able to stay in the game. We don't have a lot of margin for error, especially playing a good team on the road. It's disappointing to lose a game like this but this game isn't as important as our conference season coming up. I'm not disappointed in our 10-3 start. We have grown up as a team, gotten better, and learned how to compete in hostile situations."

BYU'S LAST OUTING -- COUGARS SET THREE-POINT MARK IN VICTORY

All 12 BYU players scored Saturday night, as the Cougars (9-2) cruised to their 41st consecutive home victory by beating Southern Utah University, 93-60. With the loss, SUU falls to 5-5 on the season. Forward Mark Bigelow scored 14 points, including four three-pointers. Bigelow passed former Cougar Terrell Lyday for second all-time in three-pointers made with 130. He trails assistant coach Andy Toolson by 11 treys. Bigelow also passed the 1,000-point mark for his career and now has 1,009. He is the 34th Cougar and only the ninth junior to reach the 1,000-point milestone. As a team, BYU shot 14-24 (58.8 percent) from behind the arc while setting a new school record for most three-pointers made in a single game on a Ricky Bower trey with 1:49 to go. With Southern Utah playing a match-up zone, seven different Cougars hit a trey in the contest, with six players scoring their only field goals from behind the arc. The Cougars used team-basketball to bury the T-Birds early with 25 of the team's 29 field goals coming off an assist from a teammate. BYU shot 58 percent for the game and held SUU to 43.2 percent. In the first half, BYU capitalized on nine Southern Utah turnovers and only lost one. The T-Birds surrendered 16 points off those turnovers enabling the Cougars to build a 12-point halftime lead. BYU continued to look for center Rafael Araujo, fresh off his career night versus San Francisco. The big man scored 13 of his game-high 17 points before the half. He also grabbed seven rebounds in just 24 minutes. BYU did not allow one T-Bird player to score in double figures. Kevin Henry, Al Williams, and Robbie Warren scored nine points apiece.

WHAT COACH STEVE CLEVELAND HAD TO SAY ...

"When we're making baskets and guarding we can be pretty good. There are not many nights when everyone gets substantial minutes, and when that happens it really make a coach feel good."

SHARING THE BALL

BYU totaled a season-high 25 assists vs. Southern Utah while committing a season-low 10 turnovers. Scoring 29 field goals against the Thunderbirds, only four BYU buckets were not set up by a teammate's pass. All 12 Cougars scored and seven made a three-pointer.

FIRST HALF/SECOND HALF

BYU got off too a quick start against Southern Utah but has trailed at the half six times this year, including four of the last six games. The Cougars have played well in the second half, however, rallying for four victories to post a 4-2 record when trailing at the break. BYU had its biggest deficit of the year at USF, trailing by as many as 20 points and 19 at the break. BYU whittled the lead to two points in the first eight minutes of the second half but never managed to get over the hump. BYU has made its runs early in the final 20 minutes as the Cougars have held the lead with five minutes remaining in nine games, winning each time. BYU went on an 18-0 run, its longest of the season, in the second half against USD. BYU out scored Utah State 35-21 in the final 20 minutes. The Aggies lost for the first time in six games this year when they had the halftime advantage.

PLAYER PERSONNEL

BYU coach Steve Cleveland is using a larger rotation this year with a deeper bench. Twelve players will play this year and eight are playing double-digit minutes. Cleveland has gone with the same starting lineup in every game but St. Bonaventure, where a the Bonnies pressing defense warranted a lineup change. Sophomore guard Marc Roberts and freshman guards Austin Ainge and Jermaine Odjegba are planning to use the season to redshirt. Ainge broke his thumb during practice three days before BYU's season opener. He had surgery in Phoenix. He isn't expected to practice for another couple weeks.

BYU STARTING LINEUPS (RECORD)

Woodberry, Hansen, Bigelow, Jensen, Araujo (8-2)

Woodberry, Bower, Bigelow, Hansen, Araujo (1-0)

NATIONAL POLLS

BYU received votes in both polls released this week. BYU is tied for 43rd with four points in the Associated Press Poll and tied for 45th with one point in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The four teams participating in Saturday's Touchstone Energy All-College Classic are all receiving votes and, according to poll voters, should provide two evenly matched games. Oklahoma State, ranked 38th (AP) and 32nd (Coaches) faces BYU, while the second game pits Oklahoma (No. 10 AP, No. 11 Coaches) vs. Michigan State (No. 14 AP and Coaches).

RPI AND SAGARIN RATINGS

After entering last week rated No. 1 in the RPI ratings produced by Collegiate Basketball News and CBS Sportsline.com, BYU is now rated No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, in the two RPI ratings after going 1-1 last week. In the Sagarin ratings, also updated after Sunday's results, the Cougars are rated 15th as the top-rated Mountain West Conferenc school. Utah is the next MWC school at No. 47. Creighton is the top-rated team in the nation. The Mountain West is rated sixth nationally as a league, ahead of Conference-USA, the Pac-10 and Atlantic-10.

GOOD START

BYU's 8-1 start this year was its best under Steve Cleveland, surpassing the 7-1 start of the 1999-2000 team, and equaled the programs best start since 1991-92. That team, however, went 9-1 before suffering its second defeat. After losing at USF, BYU fell to 8-2, the same record it had last yeear after 10 games. Last year's team went 10-2 before losing at Pepperdine to finish the preseason at 10-3. The 1999-2000 NIT team finished the preseason at 11-2, while the 2000-2001 NCAA team went 11-4. BYU's best-ever start to a season was a 17-0 run at the beginning of the 1987-88 season that garnered the Cougars a No. 2 national ranking.

STREAKS

BYU is coming off a win and extended the nation's longest homecourt winning streak to 41 games with its victory over Southern Utah Saturday. The Cougars have won 32 straight home games over a nonconference opponent and 17 consecutive vs. Mountain West Conference teams. BYU has lost its last two road games. BYU's loss at Creighton ended a string of four consecutive BYU wins away from the Marriott Center. It was the team's best streak away from home since BYU's 2001 NCAA team won five consecutive games (2 away, 3 at the MWC tournament) in March 2001. The Cougars won five straight games overall to open this season, the longest overall streak since winning eight straight games last year in preseason. BYU has made a three-point shot in 190 consecutive games since last going 0-9 in a 75-67 loss to Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 22, 1996 during BYU's 1-25 season.

SHOOTING, REBOUNDING SUCCESS

BYU has outshot 10 of 11 opponents this year (except USF) and outrebounded eight (except Creighton,USU, USCB). BYU is shooting .473, including .394 on threes, while limiting opponents to .387 shooting from the floor and only .260 on threes. BYU averages 34.9 boards to its opponents' 32.4. BYU has shot 45 percent or better in eight games this year, including six straight until shooting a season-low 36.5 percent at USF when the Cougars also allowed USF an opponent-best 50.9 percent. BYU rebounded to shoot 58 percent Saturday vs. SUU.

FROM THE LINE

BYU topped 80 percent free throw shooting for the fourth time this year when it shot a season-high 85.2 percent from the line vs. UCSB, going 23-27. The Cougars have shot better than 70 percent in all but two games, a season-low 55.0 percent (11-20) vs. San Diego and only 65.7 percent at USF. Individually, seven Cougars are shooting 74 percent or better from the line. John Allen is a perfect 10-10 while Ricky Bower is shooting 89.7 percent (26-29). BYU is shooting 74 percent as a team.

DEFENSIVE NOTABLES

BYU has held eight opponents to 42 percent or lower shooting, and has held four opponents below 35 percent shooting. BYU held UCSB, a team that came in after seven games shooting 50.3 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent on threes, to 36.5 percent and 26.1 percent on threes. BYU has held eight of its 11 opponents this year to 60 points or less. BYU is 48-3 under Steve Cleveland when holding its opponents below 60 points. BYU held USD to a BYU-opponent low of 49 points. On the year, BYU's defense has yielded a combined 61.1 points per game.

MORE DEFENSE

The Cougars did not allow a SUU player to reach double figures and held UCSB forward Mark Hull to four points on 2-8 shooting and three rebounds in 34 minutes. He entered the game averaging 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. BYU made Utah State's leading scorer Desmond Penigar earn all 11 of his points on 3-11 shooting. He was averaging 15.2 and shooting 49 percent from the floor entering the game. The other top Aggie scorer, guard Mark Brown, entered the game with a 13.8 scoring average, having reached double figures in every game. He scored only two points against the Cougar defense, going 1-8 from the floor in a team-high 35 minutes. BYU also held San Diego's leading scorer, 6-foot-10, 290-pound center Jason Keep, who had 30 points and 16 rebounds at UCLA this year, to just seven points -- nearly 11 points below his 17.7 average entering the game. Against Rice, BYU held 2002 WAC Freshman of the Year forward Michael Harris, who came in averaging 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds, including a 14-point, 10-rebound night on 7-10 shooting at Stanford, to 11 points and four boards. ASU's freshman sensation Ike Diogu was held five points below his season average. Despite the loss, BYU held Creighton, a team that shot 54 percent from the floor and 51 percent on threes in its first five games, to 42 percent shooting from the floor and 29 percent three-point shooting on its home floor.

COUGARS TAKING BETTER CARE OF THE BALL

BYU has made more assists than turnovers in three of the last four games and five games overall this season. BYU totaled a season-high 25 assists vs. Southern Utah while committing a season-low 10 turnovers. Scoring 29 field goals against the Thunderbirds, only four BYU buckets were not set up by a teammate's pass. After committing 14 or more turnovers in six of the first seven games, including 21 at ASU and 23 at Creighton, BYU has made less than 14 miscues in each of the last four games, including a season-low 10 vs. Southern Utah. A big part of the turnaround has been the improved play of JC transfer point guard Kevin Woodberry. After committing 19 turnovers with only 10 assists in the first seven games, Woodberry has dished out 16 assists with only 2 turnovers in the last four contests.

NATION'S LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK

BYU has a 41-game homecourt winning streak. The streak, which is a school record topping the 24 straight won between March 1994 and January 1996, is the longest current streak in the nation. BYU went 16-0 at home last season and was 15-0 the prior year. BYU has had a perfect home record seven times since the Marriott Center opened for the 1971-72 season. The past two years, however, marks the first time it has happened in back-to-back seasons. Last year's team tied the BYU single-season record with 16 home wins and was only the fourth Cougar squad to win more than 14 home games in a season. The 1987-88 Ladell Andersen squad went 16-2 in the Marriott Center. BYU's last home loss was on Feb. 17, 2000 when New Mexico edged the Cougars 78-74. BYU has won 17 straight at home over MWC teams. BYU has defeated 32 straight nonconference opponents in the Marriott Center since starting the streak with a 61-59 win over Utah State on Jan. 2, 1999. The last non-league foe to win in Provo was the California Bears, who edged BYU 71-70 on Dec. 19, 1998.

BYU ON THE ROAD

While BYU entered this season with the nation's longest active home winning streak at 36 games (now 41), the Cougars also finished last season having lost their last 10 games away from the Marriott Center and their last 11 straight games on an opponent's home court, including three in overtime. This year, BYU has snapped both losing streaks. With its three wins at the Paradise Jam -- BYU's first win streak away from home since the end of the 2001 season, BYU ended the 10-game skid. With BYU's victory at ASU, the Cougars ended the 11-game road losing streak and seven straight losses on a Pac-10 opponent's home floor dating back to its win over ASU in 1989. BYU is 1-2 on an opponent's court this year. Last year BYU won only twice away from home. Last year's road wins were a neutral court 81-76 upset over No. 13 Stanford at the Las Vegas Showdown on Dec. 22, 2001 and a season-opening win at San Diego, 70-59, on Nov. 17, 2001.

NEUTRAL COURT RECORD

BYU is 12-7 on a neutral court under Steve Cleveland. Last year BYU was 1-1 on a neutral floor. Prior to the Paradise Jam, BYU's last neutral court game was a 62-51 loss to San Diego State at the 2002 MWC Tournament. BYU's prior neutral win was over No. 13 Stanford, 81-76, at the Las Vegas Showdown. The Cougars have won seven of their last nine neutral court contests.

RARE HAPPENING

When Utah State did not connect on a three-point attempt, going 0-5, against BYU on Dec. 14 it marked the first time a BYU opponent has failed to make a three-pointer since Oklahoma went 0-9 vs. the Cougars in the 1992 Maui Classic on Dec. 21, 1992.

BYU VS. ITS CONFERENCE PEERS

BYU is picked to finish fourth this year in the Mountain West Conference. BYU has a won 58 percent (418-299) of its games vs. its MWC opponents. As an overall athletic program, BYU has dominated the Mountain West, winning 63 percent of all titles in the league's first three seasons.

COUGARS SIGN COMBO GUARD MICHAEL ROSE

During the early signing period in November, BYU signed Michael Rose, a 6-foot-1 combo guard out of Spring Woods High School in Houston Texas. A four-year starter, Rose averaged 16.3 points, five rebounds and three assists playing shooting guard as a junior. A preseason All Greater Houston First Team selection, Rose will play point guard his senior season. He has earned first-team All-District 21 5A honors the past two seasons and was the team MVP in 2002. He has helped his team to second-place District 21 finishes the past two years. In is first season, he was named District 21 Freshman of the Year. Rose has played four years on the Houston Hoops summer AAU team that also features top-five recruits Ndidi Eby and Kendrick Perkins. As the team's starting shooting guard, Rose averaged 14 points and helped the team earn a No. 1 national rating for much of the summer. The team placed second at two of the nation's larger invitational tournaments, finishing as the runner-up at both the Nike Peach Jam in Augusta, Ga., and Nike Super Showcase in Orlando, Fla. A great shooter, Rose is one of the 16 finalists still alive in Cuttino Mobley's Clutch City Shootout. Sponsored by the Houston Rockets and generating more than 300 participants, the Shootout allows Houston-area 4A and 5A high school basketball players the opportunity to compete in a series of three-point shooting contests. Rose is scheduled to shoot at halftime of the Rockets' Jan. 13 game. Earlier this month, he connected on 14 consecutive three-point shots during a scrimmage while scoring 56 points. Rose possesses a strong academic resume, ranking second in his class of 365 seniors. He was recruited by Houston, St. Louis, Utah State, Colorado State, Texas Christian, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Illinois. With guard Travis Hansen being the only senior on this year's roster, Rose is expected to be the only player to sign with BYU during the early signing period. He is the nephew of BYU Associate Head Coach Dave Rose.

ARAUJO NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK MONDAY

BYU junior center Rafael Araujo has been named Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week Monday. It is Araujo's first player of the week honor of his career. Araujo, from Sao Paulo, Brazil (Arizona Western), averaged 20.5 points and 12 rebounds in two games last week as BYU earned a 1-1 record. He shot 61.3 percent (19-of-31) from the field and averaged two steals per game. In the 84-72 loss at San Francisco last Monday, Araujo recorded his first Division I double-double with career-highs of 24 points and 17 rebounds in 28 minutes of action. He went 11-for-20 from the field (55 percent) and registered a career-high three steals. The 17 boards and 11field goals are both currently tied for the second-highest output by an MWC player this year. Araujo led the Cougars in scoring for the second straight game with 17 points on 8-of-11 field goals and seven boards in the 93-60 win over Southern Utah.

BIGELOW REACHING, APPROACHING MILESTONES

Junior Mark Bigelow reached two milestones Saturday vs. Southern Utah. The 6-foot-7 swingman went 4-6 from behind the arc to move past Terrell Lyday into second place on BYU's career three-point list. With 130 career treys, Bigelow needs 11 more to catch BYU assistant coach Andy Toolson, who holds the top mark at 141. Bigelow leads BYU with 21 threes this year and has made a combined 41.5 percent (130-313) in his two-plus seasons. Bigelow also became the 34th Cougar and only ninth junior to score 1,000 points during his career. Bigelow scored 14 points in only 14 minutes vs. Southern Utah to bring his career total to 1,009 points. He needs

seven points to move past Dave Eastis into 33rd place on BYU's scoring list and 22 points to surpass current NBA official Bernie Fryer for 32nd place.

BYU SETS THREE-POINT RECORD IN WIN OVER SOUTHERN UTAH

The Cougars set a new school record for three-pointers made in a game, going 14-24 (.583) vs. Southern Utah's match-up zone. Seven BYU players made a trey with six players' only field goals being triples.

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF BASKETBALL

BYU is celebrating 100 years of basketball. Since the first season of BYU basketball in 1903, BYU entered this season having achieved a 1436-924 (.608) overall record with 21 different coaches at the helm. The combined efforts of these men have provided the Cougars with 80 winning seasons in 100 years. BYU has won 25 conference titles and made 28 postseason tournament appearances with 19 NCAA bids and nine NIT berths. The Cougars won the 1951 and 1966 NIT titles and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament in 1981, highlighted by Danny Ainge's length-of-the-court dash to defeat Notre Dame at the buzzer. Ainge was named the nation's top player as the John Wooden Award and Eastman Award winner. Twenty-three players have received All-America recognition while NBA teams have selected a Cougar 41 times in its annual draft. BYU has the nation's 11th longest rivalry, dating back to 1909, against the University of Utah. BYU and Utah have the 10th longest rivalry in terms of games played with 232 contests. Amazingly, the series is tied at 116-116. For more information on BYU's 100-year history, please consult the 2002-03 BYU media guide.

BYU AMONG TOP-40 All-TIME WINNINGEST BASKETBALL PROGRAMS

With its all-time record of 1436-924 (.608), BYU is the ranked 40th all-time among the winningest Division I program basketball programs. In terms of total wins, BYU is in the top 25. The Cougars have had 80 winning seasons in their 100-year basketball history.

COUGARS BOAST STRONG 2002-03 SCHEDULE

Seventeen games against teams who qualified for postseason play last year and spots in the University of The Virgin Islands Paradise Jam (U.S. Virgin Islands) and Touchstone Energy All-College Classic (Oklahoma City) highlight BYU's 2002-03 men's basketball schedule. BYU's nonconference schedule includes teams from 10 different conferences. Overall, 12 teams earned postseason bids last season, seven advancing to the NCAA tournament and five playing in the NIT. Six teams earned a conference regular season or league tournament title and 12 placed in the top three in their league standings. In all, the schedule includes a total of 29 regular season games and two exhibitions. The Cougars will play 14 regular season games in the Marriott Center, where BYU owns the nation's longest active home-court victory streak at 36 games. Excluding the MWC Tournament, BYU plays 15 road games, including 11 away contests and four neutral site games. The 2003 MWC Tournament takes place March 12-15 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. The Pac-10, Big 12, Atlantic 10, Big Sky, Big West, Mid-American, Mid-Continent, Missouri Valley, West Coast and Western Athletic are represented on the non-league schedule. Nine teams -- Arizona State, Creighton, San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Utah State, Southern Utah, Weber State and Pepperdine -- were also on last year's nonconference schedule. BYU earned a 6-3 record in those games, losing at UCSB and dropping overtime games at both Utah State and Pepperdine.

BYU OPPONENTS AT THIS POINT

Of the 22 teams BYU will face on its regular season schedule this year, 16 had a winning record after Monday's play while four had losing records and two were currently at .500.

BYU ON TELEVISION

The Cougars will be featured in 15 television broadcasts in 2002-03, including five times as part of the Mountain West Conference television package with ESPN. BYU will appear on ESPN2 vs. Oklahoma State in the Touchstone Energy All-College Classic in Oklahoma City on Jan. 4 and on ESPN "Big Monday" at Utah on Feb. 24. BYU appears three times on ESPN+Plus, hosting Utah Jan. 25 and New Mexico Feb. 1 before facing reigning MWC champion Wyoming in Laramie on Feb. 8. BYU will also be featured in nine SportsWest Production telecasts and on Fox Sports Net. The Mountain West Conference television agreement with ESPN will provide 32 national and regional television broadcasts on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+Plus in 2002-03, including 14 appearances on ESPN, two on ESPN2, two on ABC and 12 on ESPN+Plus as the featured "Mountain West Conference Game of the Week". ESPN+Plus games in Utah are aired on KJZZ-TV, channel 14. An additional 20 MWC games are scheduled to be aired on SportsWest as point-to-point broadcasts by local affiliates, while local institutional packages will add a minimum of another 19 games in 2002-03. For the fourth consecutive season every game of the EAS Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Championship will be televised by ESPN or ESPN+Plus.