Game 13 - Cougars to Face Huskers in HoopTV Las Vegas Classic Final

HoopTV Las Vegas Classic: BYU to Face Nebraska in HoopTV Las Vegas Classic Final

BYU men’s basketball (11-1) will face Nebraska on Wednesday, Dec. 23, in the final of the HoopTV Las Vegas Classic at 7:30 p.m. PST in the Orleans Arena. The Cougars defeated Nevada 110-104 while Nebraska downed Tulsa 74-70 to reach the championship game. The game can be heard live on KSL Newsradio beginning with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m. PST on 102.7 FM and 1160 AM or via the Internet at KSL.com. The game will be televised live on BYU TV and broadcast live online at BYU.tv and HoopTV.net.

Up Next

The Cougars play a true road game when they play at Arizona on Dec. 28 in the Fiesta Bowl Classic at the McKale Center at 7 p.m. MST. Listen to the game live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. MST on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM or via the Internet at KSL.com. The game will be televised live on Fox College Sports TV.

Cougar Quick Hits

— Jimmer Fredette is shooting .934 from the free throw line to lead the Mountain West Conference. He has hit 71-of-74 since missing his first two attempts this season and hit 39-straight at one point, a BYU record.

— Fredette’s eclipsed 1,000 career points with a three against Nevada and now has 1,010 career points. He leads the conference in scoring at 19.2 points per game.

— Since Rose took over as head coach of BYU basketball, the Cougars are 68-3 (.958) in the Marriott Center, including a 53-game winning streak from 2005 to 2008 — the longest in school history. With the win over Eastern Washington, the Cougars have a 13-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 108-35 (.755) 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.

— Senior forward Jonathan Tavernari became BYU’s all-time leader in three-pointers with two treys vs. San Francisco to give him 214. He is now at 218 after hitting one vs. Eastern Washington. He is also climbing the lists for points (20th with 1,273) and steals (6th with 130).

BYU GAME #13 FAST FACTS

BYU (11-1) vs. Nebraska (9-2)

Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009

Orleans Arena (9,500)

Las Vegas

7:30 p.m. PST

Coaches

BYU, Dave Rose (108-35 in fifth season; same overall)

Nebraska, Doc Sadler (64-42 in fourth season; 112-60 in sixth season overall)

Series

BYU leads the all-time series 3-1, winning the last meeting between the teams, 46-39 in 1935

TV

Live on BYU TV and broadcast online at BYU.tv and HoopTV.net

Radio

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM and online at KSL.com) and the Cougar Sports Network (6:30 p.m. PST 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 Nebraska

Nebraska is 9-2 on the season and has won its last four game, including a 74-70 victory over Tulsa on Tuesday in the semifinals of the HoopTV Las Vegas Classic. The winning streak also includes victories over Chicago State, Oregon State and Jackson State. Ryan Anderson, a senior guard, leads the team in scoring (11.0) and rebounding (5.4). Junior guard Lance Jeter is second in scoring (9.0) and leads the team with a 3.5 assist per game average. Jorge Brian Diaz adds 8.6 ppg and Henry Sek 7.8 ppg, Eshaunte Jones leads the bench, averging 6.5 points and shooting .519 from the field and .481 on threes. He has also hit a team-best 13 threes. Nebraska averages 67.2 points per game and shoots .473 as a team. They limit opponents to an average of 55.0 points per game and .385 shooting from the field. Head coach Doc Sadler is in his fourth season at the helm of the Huskers where he is 64-42.

Nebraska’s Last Outing — Jones scores 12 as Nebraska edges past Tulsa 74-70

LAS VEGAS (AP)—Eshaunte Jones scored a team-high 12 points to lead Nebraska past Tulsa 74-70 in the third round of the Las Vegas Classic on Tuesday afternoon. The Cornhuskers will play BYU in the championship game on Wednesday night. Jones was 4 of 5 from 3-point range for Nebraska (9-2). Ryan Anderson added 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Teammate Jorge Brian Diaz added 11 points and seven rebounds as the Cornhuskers’ Brandon Richardson went 6 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 18 seconds to seal it. Ben Uzoh scored a game-high 23 points for Tulsa (9-2), while Justin Huratt added 14. Donte Medder had 11 points and Jerome Jordan had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa plays Nevada in the consolation game.

Series Notes

Wednesday’s marks the fifth meeting between BYU and Nebraska and the first since 1935. BYU leads the all-time series 3-1, including 2-0 in Provo. The game is the first neutral site meeting between the teams.

Free Throw Streaks

Junior guard Jimmer Fredette set a BYU record with 39-consecutive made free throws from Nov. 17 to Dec. 12. Fredette broke the record when he hit his 33rd-consecutive free throw with 16:56 remaining in the second half against Arizona State. He had a streak of 13 straight in the first two games and is currently on a streak of 16-straight makes in the last three games. For the season he is shooting .934 from the line and has hit 71-of-74 after missing his first two attempts of the season. His career percentage is .874 — second in Cougar history. Tyler Haws is also making a name as an excellent marksman from the line with an .889 percentage (32-of-36). He has hit his last 19 free throw attempts over the last six games.

1,000-Point Scorers

With two points vs. Eastern Washington, Jonathan Tavernari has 1,273 career points and is ranked 20th all-time in scoring at BYU. He is 12 points from passing Alan Taylor for 19th all-time.

Jimmer Fredette eclipsed 1,000 career points when he hit a three with 10:04 remaining against Nevada. He is the 41st member of the BYU 1,000-point club and now has 1,010 career points. He reached the milestone in his 80th game as a Cougar. He is six points from passing Dave Eastis for 40th all-time.

Downtown Record Watch

Jonathan Tavernari hit two threes vs. San Francisco to become BYU’s all-time leader in career threes, passing Mark Bigelow who had 213 for his career. He is also the leader for career attempts. Tavernari owns the record for threes in a season with 88 in 2007-08. He now has 218 makes and 590 attempts.

Top-10 Pick Pockets

Senior forward Jonathan Tavernari had two steals vs. Nevada to give him 130 for his career. He is sixth all-time in BYU history and two from passing Russell Larson for fifth all-time.

When Jimmer Scores 20...

Jimmer Fredette had 33 points in BYU’s 110-104 win vs. Nevada, his seventh 20-point game this season and 15th of his career. BYU is 13-2 when Fredette scores 20 or more and has won the last 12 games in which he has reached the 20-point mark.

50, 40, 80

Through 12 games this season BYU has posted notable shooting percentages, including .501 from the field, .404 from three and .806 from the free throw line.

Perfection is 7-of-7, 6-of-6

Freshman Tyler Haws posted a perfect shooting game against Nevada, scoring a career-best 20 points while hitting 7-of-7 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Haws became a starter for the Cougars in the third game of the season and in the last six games he is averaging 16.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting .648 from the field, .438 from the three-point line and 1.000 (19-of-19) from the free throw line.