Game 21 - Cougars to Host Cowboys on Saturday

BYU GAME #21 FAST FACTS

BYU (15-5, 3-3)

vs.

Wyoming (14-6, 3-3)

Saturday, Jan. 27, 2009

Marriott Center (15,000)

Provo, Utah

4 p.m. MT

Coaches

BYU, Dave Rose (87-31 in fourth season; same overall)

Wyoming, Heath Schroyer (26-24 in second season; 61-71 in fifth season overall)

Series

BYU leads, 99-69, including seven-straight victories against the Cowboys

TV

The Mtn. (Bill Riley, play-by-play; Blaine Fowler, game analysis)

Radio

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network (3 p.m. MT pregame show — Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Mark Durrant, game analysis)

Web

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

BYU to Face Wyoming in the Marriott Center on Saturday

BYU (15-5, 3-3 MWC) will return to the Marriott Center to take on MWC foe Wyoming (14-6, 3-3) on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 4 p.m. The Cougars are looking to rebound from Tuesday’s 94-88 overtime loss at Utah. The Cowboys have won two-straight games with home victories against Air Force and Colorado State. BYU leads the all-time series against Wyoming 99-69. Saturday’s game will be televised on The Mtn. while the radio broadcast can be heard on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City and on the Internet at KSL.com beginning with the pregame show at 3 p.m. MT.

Up Next

BYU will conclude the first half of conference play at Air Force on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. MT. BYU has won five straight against Air Force including three-straight at Clune Arena in Colorado Springs. Follow the game on www.byucougars.com and listen live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 5 p.m. MT on KSL Newsradio 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.

Cougar Quick Hits

— Lee Cummard is now 15th all-time in scoring at BYU with 1,359 points. He is 14 points from passing Trent Plaisted for 14th. Jonathan Tavernari is 16 points from reaching 1,000 for his career.

— Cummard and Tavernari continue to climb the BYU record books in the categories of made threes and steals. Cummard is tied for seventh in steals (118) and fourth in threes (142) and Tavernari is second in threes (171) and tied for 10th in steals (102)

— Two-time MWC Coach of the Year Dave Rose has guided BYU to three-straight 20-win seasons and three-straight postseason appearances. In his first season the Cougars were 20-9 and made a trip to the NIT. In his second campaign he guided the Cougars to the outright MWC title, a top-25 ranking, a trip to the NCAA Tournament and a 25-9 overall record. Last season he led BYU to a 27-8 overall record, a second-straight outright league title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. He has the best record through 110 games of any BYU basketball coach.

— BYU has been picked to finish second (five first-place votes) in the MWC preseason poll by the league’s media.

Looking at Wyoming

Wyoming is 14-6 overall and has evened its MWC record at 3-3 with back-to-back wins at home against Colorado State (83-74) and Air Force (72-59). The Cowboys are 3-0 at home in MWC play but have yet to win on the road in conference action. Wyoming has played at Utah, UNLV and TCU since starting MWC play. The Cowboys lead the conference in points per game at 80.3 while shooting 47.3 percent from the field. The Cowboys are also the top rebounding team in the league at 38.0 per game. Wyoming allows its opponents to score 75.7 points per game, last in the league, and shoot 42.3 percent. Brandon Ewing leads the Cowboys and the league in points (18.4 per game), assists (5.3 per game) and minutes played (38.2 per game). Three other Cowboys rank among the top-eight in scoring with Tyson Johnson (15.7) in third, Afam Muojeke (15.5) in fifth and Sean Ogirri in eighth (15.0). Ogirri leads the MWC in threes made per game at 3.4 and Johnson is second in rebounding at 8.4 boards per contest. Wyoming is coached by Heath Schroyer, who led the Cowboys to a 12-18 record last season, his first year as head coach of the Cowboys. He was a head coach at Portland State for three seasons (2002-2005) and was an assistant at BYU from 1997-2001 under Steve Cleveland.

Wyoming’s Last Outing — Cowboys Top Falcons, Stay Perfect at Home

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) -- Tyson Johnson scored 18 points as Wyoming pulled away from Air Force 72-59 on Tuesday. The Cowboys (14-6 overall, 3-3 Mountain West) scored nine straight points midway through the second half for some separation, and then closed strong for the double-digit win. Wyoming is now 10-0 at home this season. Wyoming’s Brandon Ewing finished with 17 points, followed by Afam Muojeke with 16 and Sean Ogirri with 14. Andrew Henke led Air Force (9-10, 0-6) with 18 points, with Anwar Johnson adding 10. It was the Falcons’ seventh straight loss. Air Force led 32-21 at halftime and trailed only 45-43 with 10:50 to play. But the Cowboys stopped the Falcons on six straight possessions to regain their momentum. Leading by seven, the Cowboys closed on a 16-10 run.

Series Notes

BYU and Wyoming have met 168 times. BYU leads the series 99-69 after sweeping last season’s series with a 73-63 win in Laramie and a 78-61 win in Provo. The Cougars have won seven-straight against the Cowboys. During the streak BYU has won three-straight at home, three-straight in Laramie and one in the MWC tournament. Wyoming has a 53-31 advantage in Laramie while BYU boasts a 63-14 record in Provo. BYU has a 5-2 edge on a neutral floor, including a 3-0 advantage in conference tournament play (MWC Tournament wins in 2001, 2004 and 2007). Since the formation of the Mountain West Conference, BYU has won 16 of the 21 meetings. After Utah and Utah State, BYU men’s basketball has faced Wyoming the third-most in its history.

1,000-Point Man

Including a career-high 36 points against Long Beach State and performances of 30 points against Weber State, 28 against Cal Poly and 26 at Tulsa, Lee Cummard now has 346 total points for the season and 1,359 for his career. He is now 15th all-time in scoring in BYU history and is 14 points from passing former teammate Trent Plaisted for 14th all-time.

Approaching 1,000 Points

Junior forward Jonathan Tavernari is fast approaching the 1,000-point club. Coming into the season he had 640 career points and with 344 points so far this season and 984 for his career, Tavernari is now 16 points from reaching 1,000 for his career.

Downtown Record Watch

With two treys at Utah junior forward Jonathan Tavernari has 171 career threes, including 54 this season. He started the season with 117 and has passed Andy Toolson (141) and Mike Rose (163) and is now second all-time in school history in made threes. Tavernari also has 465 attempts from downtown, good for second all-time in school history. Lee Cummard was a perfect 3-of-3 at Utah and now has 142 threes for his career, good for fourth all-time at BYU. He is 22 from passing Mike Rose for third all-time.

Top-10 Pick Pockets

With 19 steals this season Lee Cummard is now tied for seventh all-time in BYU history in career steals with Randy Reid with 118. Cummard had 16 as a freshman, 50 as a sophomore and 33 last season. He is seven steals from passing Matt Montague for sixth all-time. Jonathan Tavernari is also climbing the list with 35 thefts this season — including a career-high tying five vs. UNLV — and 102 for his career. He is now tied for 10th all-time at BYU in steals with Justin Weidauer.