Game 15 Notes - BYU Hosts Idaho State Saturday

Coming off its first back-to-back losses of the year, BYU (10-4) hosts Idaho State (6-5) Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center. The game is not being televised. The radio broadcast can be heard on KSL Newsradio 1160 and the Cougar Sports Network, beginning 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 game is BYU's final contest before starting Mountain West Conference play next week at home against UNLV on Thursday. BYU is 6-0 at home this year and owns the nation's longest homecourt victory streak with 42 consecutive wins in the Marriott Center. Idaho State and has been off since losing a close game at Utah State on Dec. 28. The Bengals had won five straight prior to their loss in Logan. BYU and Idaho State have not met since 1981. BYU leading the series 26-6.

UP NEXT

BYU begins Mountain West Conference play Thursday at 7 p.m. when its hosts UNLV in the Marriott Center. The game will be televised by SportsWest on KJZZ-TV in Salt Lake City. BYU will then take a single-game road trip to San Diego to face the SDSU Aztecs on Monday, Jan. 20. Monday's game will also be a SportsWest telecast, being aired in Salt Lake City on KSL-TV.

GAME #15 FAST FACTS

BYU (10-4, 0-0 MWC) vs. IDAHO STATE (6-5, 0-0 BIG SKY)

SATURDAY, JAN. 11, 2003

MARRIOTT CENTER (22,700)

PROVO, UTAH

7 p.m. MST

Coaches:

BYU, Steve Cleveland (95-73 in sixth year; same overall)

ISU, Doug Oliver (44-75 in fifth year; same overall)

Series:

BYU leads, 26-6

Last: BYU won 77-71 in Provo on Dec. 11, 1981

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 live audio 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. 12.4 3.5

F 5 Jake Shoff 6-9 265 Jr. 3.0 2.3

C 55 Rafael Araujo 6-11 265 Jr. 10.5 8.8

G 2 Travis Hansen 6-6 210 Sr. 15.2 4.7 2.9 apg

G 24 Kevin Woodberry 6-0 170 Jr. 6.2 1.7 2.4 apg

BYU Reserves:

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

F 52 Jared Jensen 6-9 250 So. 8.4 3.6

G 14 Ricky Bower 6-4 185 Jr. 6.1 1.9

G 12 Marc Roberts 6-3 205 So. 6.0 3.0

F 15 John Allen 6-7 215 So. 3.6 1.6

G 10 Terry Nashif 5-10 165 Fr. 2.7 1.4 1.8 apg

C 40 Dan Howard 7-0 225 Jr. 1.6 0.8

G 4 Luiz Lemes 6-3 180 Jr. 1.5 0.8

F 32 Bart Jepsen 6-9 235 Jr. 1.4 1.0

IDAHO STATE BENGALS

Idaho State returns eight lettermen and four starters from last year's 10-17 team. The Bengals are off to a 6-5 start, having won five of its last six games. ISU's five game winning streak came to an end on Dec. 30 in Logan when the Bengals fell to host Utah State in a closely contested game, 66-59. The Bengals are well-rested, not having played since the Utah State game two weeks ago. They are 3-0 at home, 1-3 on the road and 2-2 at a neutral site this season. ISU is looking to finish its non-conference schedule with a winning record for the second consecutive year before begining Big Sky play. Three Bengals are scoring in double figures, led by Orem's Scott Henry (13.3). Henry, who prepped at Mountain View before playing at Utah Valley State College and Salt Lake Community College, is almost averaging a double-double, pulling down a team-leading 9.5 rebounds per game. He has six double-doubles this year from the power forward position. Swingman Jeremy Brown adds 10.5 ppg and point guard Marquis Poole contributes 10.2. Doug Oliver is in his fifth year coaching the Bengals, after 12 years as an assistant at Stanford. He also served one year as an assistant at Utah and four seasons at Boise State. He owns a 44-75 mark with the Bengals. ISU shoots 45.5 percent as a team, including 34.2 percent on threes, but only 59.2 percent from the line. ISU allows 41 percent shooting overall and 32.5 percent on threes. The Bengals out score their opponents 70.1-66.2.

IDAHO STATE'S PROBABLE STARTERS

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

F 32 Jeremy Brown 6-5 210 Sr. 10.5 4.5

F 31 Scott Henry 6-7 200 Jr. 13.3 9.5

C 42 Jesse Smith 6-10 270 So. 3.3 2.9

G 30 David Schroeder 6-2 190 Fr. 9.4 2.8

G 23 Marquis Poole 6-2 175 Jr. 10.2 3.0

SERIES BREAKDOWN

Overall Series Record: BYU leads 26-6

BYU Record in Provo: 9-2

BYU Record in Pocatello: 15-4

BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 2-0

BYU Record under Steve Cleveland: First meeting

BYU Record in Overtime Games: N/A

Longest BYU Win Streak: 15 (1944-76)

Longest Idaho St. Win Streak: 3 (1936-37)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 42 (1931)

Largest Idaho St. Margin of Victory: 10 (1944)

Most Points Scored by BYU: 102 (1976)

Most Points Scored by Idaho St.: 94 (1977)

Date Opponent Score W/L

2-10-30 at Idaho State 51-33 W

2-9-31 at Idaho State 76-34 W

12-11-36 Idaho State 30-24 W

12-12-36 Idaho State 34-35 L

12-17-37 at Idaho State 30-38 L

12-18-37 at Idaho State 32-40 L

12-23-38 at Idaho State 40-17 W

12-24-38 at Idaho State 34-25 W

12-15-39 Idaho State 42-48 L

12-16-39 Idaho State 59-31 W

12-13-40 at Idaho State 39-27 W

12-14-40 at Idaho State 56-29 W

12-13-41 Idaho State 53-29 W

12-23-41 at Idaho State 45-28 W

12-15-44 at Idaho State 35-45 L

12-16-44 at Idaho State 45-33 W

12-10-45 vs. Idaho State 58-47 W

12-11-45 at Idaho State 54-47 W

12-14-46 Idaho State 50-39 W

11-26-48 at Idaho State 58-43 W

11-27-48 at Idaho State 52-46 W

12-2-49 at Idaho State 67-44 W

12-3-49 at Idaho State 83-56 W

11-28-52 at Idaho State 69-44 W

11-29-52 at Idaho State 65-47 W

12-4-53 Idaho State 70-59 W

12-5-53 Idaho State 63-50 W

3-16-57 vs. Idaho State (NCAA) 65-54 W

12-1-73 Idaho State 83-82 W

11-26-76 Idaho State 102-84 W

12-3-77 at Idaho State 87-94 L

12-11-81 Idaho State' 77-71 W

BYU'S LAST GAME -- COUGARS LOSE AT WEBER STATE

OGDEN -- Dropping back-to-back games for the first time this season, the BYU men's basketball team lost its fourth road game of the year to Weber State, 75-69, Wednesday in Ogden, Utah. Down by as many as 19 points, BYU fought to come within five, but foul trouble and a slow start kept the Cougars from overtaking Weber State. BYU dropped to 10-4 on the season while Weber State improved to 10-5. Typical of their previous road losses, the Cougars struggled in the first half, scoring a season low of 20 points, but picked up the pace in the second half, outscoring Weber State 49-40. Weber State snapped BYU's three-game winning streak in the series between the two schools and improved to 10-4 against BYU in Ogden. The Cougars lead the the overall series 18-10. Showing consistent improvement over the season, junior center Rafael Araujo led BYU with 19 points and nine rebounds. Araujo has led BYU in scoring four of the last five games. Senior guard Travis Hansen added 12 points, but fouled out for the fourth time this season with 10:28 left in the game . Hansen has fouled out in each of BYU's losses. Sophomore guard Marc Roberts, who sat out the first 13 games with a knee injury and planned redshirt season, made his first appearance of the year, scoring six points before fouling out. Weber State senior guard Jermaine Boyette led all scores with 37 points, shooting 11-of-16 from the field and 15-of-17 on free throws. Speaking about Boyette, BYU head coach Steve Cleveland said, "We did a good job defensively on everybody except Jermaine. He did what he had to do, and he had a big night. If he didn't have a big night we would have won." In the second half, BYU went on a 20-8 scoring run, but Weber State managed to fend off the Cougars. Ricky Bower sparked two comebacks by hitting a pair of three pointers, one with 3:23 to go in the game that brought the score to 66-61. "In the second half we were down by 19, but we got more energy and became a better basketball team," Cleveland said. "If this basketball team will play 40 minutes that would make me really happy."

ARAUJO CONTINUES STRONG PLAY

Junior center Rafael Araujo recorded double-doubles in both games last week to average double-digit points and rebounds for the second consecutive week. He was one rebound shy at Weber State Wednesday with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Last week, the 6-foot-11 Brazilian averaged 15.0 points and 12.5 rebounds and went 12-for-16 (.750) from the floor and shot 60 percent (6-10) from the line. Araujo's 8-for-11 shooting against Pepperdine helped him score a team-leading 19 points while also grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds in 21 minutes against the Waves. It marked the second consecutive game he has gone 8-for-11 from the floor. He had 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds against Oklahoma State Saturday. He added two assists and a steal against the Cowboys while going 4-for-5 from the floor in season-high-equaling 31 minutes. On the year, Araujo is second among MWC players in rebounds with an 8.9 average. He is third on BYU's team in scoring at 11.1 points per game.

BIGELOW REACHING, APPROACHING MILESTONES

Junior Mark Bigelow reached two milestones 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. Now with 134 career treys, Bigelow needs seven more to catch BYU assistant coach Andy Toolson, who holds the top mark at 141. Bigelow leads BYU with 25 threes this year and has made a combined 41.2 percent (134-325) in his two-plus seasons. Against SUU, Bigelow also became the 34th Cougar and only ninth junior to score 1,000 points during his career. Bigelow moved into 32nd place with his 11 points vs. Oklahoma State, surpassing current NBA official Bernie Fryer (1,031). He needs 13 points to move past Scott Runia, who shared the backcourt for three years with BYU's career scoring leader Danny Ainge (2,467).

BYU STARTING LINEUP (RECORD)

Woodberry, Hansen, Bigelow, Jensen, Araujo (9-3)

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

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

70-POINT BAROMETER

BYU is 10-0 this year when holding opponents below 70 points but 0-4 when the opposition reaches the 70-point mark. In the five-plus season Steve Cleveland has been BYU's coach, the Cougars are 77-15 (.837) when holding opponents below 70 points. BYU's winning percentage drops off substantially when BYU opponents have scored between 70-79 points. BYU's record is 16-33 (.327) in those games during the Cleveland era.

PLAYER PERSONNEL

BYU coach Steve Cleveland is using a larger rotation this year with a deeper bench. Thirteen players will play this year and nine are playing double-digit minutes. Cleveland has gone with the same starting lineup in every game but St. Bonaventure and Weber State. Sophomore guard Marc Roberts sat out the first 13 games as a redshirt before playing at Weber State. Freshmen guards Austin Ainge and Jermaine Odjegba are still planning to redshirt.

NATIONAL POLLS

BYU did not receive any votes this week after suffering its third loss of the year vs. Oklahoma State Saturday. The Cowboys moved up and are just out of both top-25 listings, ranking 26th in the Associated Press Poll and 27th in ESPN/USA Today. BYU was ranked 43rd (AP) and 45th (ESPN/USA Today) in last week's polls.

RPI AND SAGARIN RATINGS

BYU is the top-rated team in the Sagarin Ratings released Monday, ranking 26th followed by Utah at No. 34. As a conference, the Mountain West hs dropped one slot to 7th as the Pac-10 jumped into the No. 6 ranking. BYU entered the week as the top-rated MWC team, ranking 17th with Utah at 29 in the RPI computed by Collegiate Basketball News. After its loss at Weber State, BYU is now rated second in the CBS Sportsline.com RPI at 28th while Utah is 27th.

STREAKS

BYU is coming back-to-back losses for the first time this year. BYU had two three-game losing streaks last year. The Cougars has lost its last four games away from the Marriott Center, including its last three contests on an opponent's home court. 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. BYU owns the nation's longest homecourt winning streak at 42 games. The Cougars have won 33 straight home games over a nonconference opponent and 17 consecutive vs. Mountain West Conference teams. 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 193 consecutive games since last going 0-9 in a 75-67 loss to CS Fullerton on Nov. 22, 1996 during BYU's 1-25 season.

SHOOTING, REBOUNDING SUCCESS

BYU has out shot 11 of 14 opponents this year (except USF, OSU, Weber State) and outrebounded 10 (except Creighton,USU, USCB). BYU is shooting .469, including .371 on threes, while limiting opponents to .397 shooting from the floor and only .263 on threes. BYU averages 35.1 boards to its opponents' 32.6. BYU has shot 45 percent or better in nine games this year, including a string of 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 (SUU) and 54.2 percent (Pepperdine) in its next two games before shooting 43 percent vs. OSU, with the Cowboys shooting 51 percent, and 38.2 percent at Weber State (allowing the Wildcats 46.9 percent).

FROM THE LINE

BYU topped 80 percent (20-25)free throw shooting for the fifth time this year vs. Oklahoma State. BYU 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 three games, a season-low 55.0 percent (11-20) vs. San Diego, 65.4 percent vs. Pepperdine and 65.7 percent at USF. Individually, seven Cougars are shooting 75 percent or better from the line. John Allen is a perfect 14-14 while Ricky Bower is shooting 91.7 percent (33-36). BYU is shooting 73.5 percent as a team.

DEFENSIVE NOTABLES

BYU has held nine opponents to 42 percent or lower shooting, and has held five opponents below 35 percent shooting. BYU held Pepperine, coming in shooting 47.1 percent, to its second-lowest percentage of the year at 34.5 percent. 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 14 opponents this year to 60 points or less. BYU is 48-3 under Steve Cleveland when holding opponents below 60 points. BYU held USD to a BYU-opponent low of 49 points. On the year, BYU's defense yields a combined 63.8 points per game.

NATION'S LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK

BYU has a 42-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 33 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

BYU is 1-3 on the road this year, having lost its last three road games. Counting neutral court games, BYU is 4-4 away from the Marriott Center. With its three wins at the Paradise Jam -- BYU achieved its first win streak away from home since the end of the 2001 season. With BYU's victory at ASU, the Cougars ended the 11-game road losing streak it had last year and stopped seven straight losses on a Pac-10 opponent's home floor dating back to its win over ASU in 1989. Last year BYU won only twice away from home with 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 12-8 on a neutral court under Steve Cleveland. Last year BYU was 1-1 on a neutral floor. BYU is 3-1 this year. 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 10 neutral court contests.