Game 4 - Cougars to Face Southern at Home

Cougars Return Home to Play Southern on Tuesday

At 3-0 after defeating Hawai’i on the road, BYU men’s basketball returns to Provo to take on Southern on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Southern is 0-3 on the year and coming off a loss at Utah. The game is the first-ever meeting between the Cougars and Jaguars. Tuesday’s game can be heard live on KSL Newsradio beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. MT on 102.7 FM and 1160 AM or via the Internet at KSL.com.

Up Next

The day after Thanksgiving, Friday, Nov. 27, BYU will take on instate foe Weber State in the Marriott Center at 7:30 p.m. Follow the game on www.byucougars.com and listen live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. MT on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM or via the Internet at KSL.com. The game will be broadcast live on The Mtn.

Cougar Quick Hits

— Jimmer Fredette has opened the 2009-10 season with three-straight 20-point games, including 25 vs. Bradley, 22 vs. Idaho State and 20 at Hawai’i.

— Since Rose took over as head coach of BYU basketball, the Cougars are 63-3 (.955) in the Marriott Center, including a 53-game winning streak from 2005 to 2008 — the longest in school history. With the win over Idaho State, the Cougars have an eight-game home winning streak.

— Two-time MWC Coach of the Year Dave Rose has guided BYU to three-straight MWC regular season titles and three-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. Under Rose, BYU also has four-straight 20-win seasons and four-straight postseason appearances. At 100-34 (.746) overall, he reached 100 wins faster than any other coach in BYU history. Roger Reid held the previous record, reaching 100 wins in 143 games.

— BYU has been picked to finish first (23 of 24 first-place votes) in the MWC preseason poll by the league’s media.

— Senior forward Jonathan Tavernari is on the verge of becoming BYU’s all-time leader in three-pointers (208 — six from passing Mark Bigelow) and is climbing the list in points (23rd with 1,191) and steals (8th with 119).

BYU GAME #4 FAST FACTS

BYU (3-0)

vs.

Southern (0-3)

Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009

Marriott Center

Provo, Utah

7 p.m. MT

Coaches

BYU, Dave Rose (100-34 in fifth season; same overall)

Southern, Rob Spivery (48-79 in fifth season; 318-303 in 21st season overall)

Series

First meeting

Radio

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM and online at KSL.com) and the Cougar Sports Network (6 p.m. MT pregame show — Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Mark Durrant, game analysis)

Web

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

Looking at Southern

Southern is 0-3 to open the 2009-10 season and coming off an 88-48 loss at Utah on Nov. 21. The Jaguars lost at Baylor (61-45) and Oklahoma State (93-61) to open the season. Jazz Williams leads the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game and scored a season-high 21 points against the Utes. Earnest Jones is second on the team in scoring at 8.0 ppg and first in rebounding at 5.0 rpg. Tony McGilveary is third in scoring at 7.3 ppg and leads in three-point shooting at 41.7 percent from downtown. Nick Walls adds 7.0 ppg and leads with 3.3 assists per game. Southern averages 51.3 points per game as a team and shoots 30.3 percent from the field as a team. Rob Spivery is Southern’s head coach and is 48-79 in his fifth season.

Southern’s Last Outing — UTAH UTES ROUT JAGS, 88-48

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah’s Marshall Henderson scored 13 and Jordan Cyphers added 12 as Utah got off to a quick start and cruised to an 88-48 win over Southern University Saturday night. By halftime, Jordan Cyphers scored three 3-pointers in matching his career-high with 12 points and Utah led 52-17. Most of Utah starters played sparingly in the second half. Jazz Williams scored 21 points and Earnest Jones had 15 for Southern (0-3), which was out-rebounded by the taller Utes 53-27. Henderson’s two free throws gave Utah a 27-6 lead midway through the first half. The lead grew to 50 points at 81-31 when Shawn Glover made a shot in the lane with 8:49 to play in the game. Southern missed their first 12 attempts from the field. Jameel Grace finally made a layup with 11:14 left in the first half, the Jaguars’ only 2-point basket of the half.

Series Notes

Tueday’s game will be the first meeting between BYU and Southern.

100 Victories and Counting

With BYU’s 83-65 win over Hawai’i, Dave Rose earned his 100th career victory in his 134th game as BYU’s head coach. He reached the 100-win plateau faster than any coach in BYU history. Roger Reid previously held the record, achieving the mark in 143 games. Below is a list of the BYU head coaches who won at least 100 games, how many games it took them to reach the milestone and who they defeated for victory number 100.

1,000-Point Scorers

Jonathan Tavernari scored a season-high 17 points at Hawai’i to give him 1,191 career points, good for 23rd all-time at BYU. He is five points from passing Eldon Brinley for 22nd all-time.

Downtown Record Watch

Jonathan Tavernari hit three treys at Hawai’i to give him 208 for his career. He is six from passing Mark Bigelow (213) for first all-time at BYU. He owns the record for threes in a season with 88 in 2007-08. He also has 556 attempts from downtown, four from passing Bigelow for first.

Top-10 Pick Pockets

Senior forward Jonathan Tavernari had two steals at Hawai’i to give him 119 for his career. He is eighth all-time in BYU history and six from passing Matt Montague seventh.

Road Success

In 2008-09, BYU set an MWC record for road wins in a season with nine. The Cougars were 9-3 overall in road games, their best record in road games since 1987-88 when they were 9-3. Nine road wins is tied for second most in a season at BYU behind the 1949-50 and 1979-80 teams that won 10 road games. In the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons combined, BYU is 17-8 on the road, including 11-5 in MWC games. The 17 road victories are the most in a two-year span since the Cougars won 18 in the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons. BYU’s 83-65 win at Hawai’i got the Cougars off to a 1-0 start in road games this season.

When Jimmer Scores 20...

Jimmer Fredette scored 20 points at Hawai’i on Nov. 20, his third-straight 20-plus point effort to start the season — he had 25 in the opener against Bradley and 23 at home against Idaho State — and the 11th 20-point game of his career. BYU is 9-2 when Fredette scores 20 or more and has won the last eight games in which he has reached the 20-point mark. With three-straight 20-point games to start 2009-10, he has matched his longest streak for consecutive games with 20 or more points. The first streak came last season when he had 21 at Utah (Jan. 27, 2009), 28 at home against Wyoming (Jan. 31) and 20 at Air Force (Feb. 3).

First Career Start

Freshman Tyler Haws started for the first time in his young career at Hawai’i, helping the Cougars to an 83-65 win over the Rainbow Warriors. He chipped in a career-best 12 points, one assist and one steal in the victory while playing a career-high 25 minutes. Through three games he is averaging 8.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting .444 from the field and .818 from the free throw line. Haws has increased his scoring total in each game with four vs. Bradley, nine vs. Idaho State and 12 at Hawai’i.