Game 21 - No. 9 Cougars to Face No. 4 San Diego State

Cougars vs. San Diego State in Matchup of Top 10 Teams

No. 9/9 BYU basketball will host No. 4/4 San Diego State on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. MT in the Marriott Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. The winner will gain an early edge in the race for the Mountain West Conference regular season title as both teams are 5-0 in league play while the Cougars are 19-1 overall and the Aztecs are 20-0 overall. The game will feature a top 10 BYU team taking on a top 10 opponent in the Marriott Center for the first time in the facility’s history. The Cougars are coming off a 94-85 win at Colorado State, their ninth-straight victory overall. Jimmer Fredette scored 42 points to lead BYU in the victory. San Diego State did not play on Saturday and its most recent win came at home on Jan. 19 against Air Force, a 68-55 triumph. Wednesday’s game can be heard live on KSL Newsradio beginning with the pregame show at 7 p.m. MT on 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 CBS College Sports.

Up Next

No. 9/9 BYU will travel to Albuquerque, N.M., to play New Mexico on Saturday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. MT in The Pit. Live stats and audio links will be available on www.byucougars.com and fans can listen live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 1 p.m. MT on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City. The game will be televised live on VERSUS.

Cougar Quick Hits

— No. 9/9 BYU head coach Dave Rose is 146-41 in his six seasons at BYU and is the program’s all-time leader in winning percentage at .781. He is third in wins and six from tying Roger Reid for second.

— The Cougars were ranked in the AP Preseason Poll for the first time since the 1980-81 season and are currently ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll and in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, BYU’s highest rankings since 1987-88.

— Jimmer Fredette was named to eight preseason All-America teams and is a Wooden Award and Cousy Award midseason candidate and a preseason candidate for the Naismith Trophy. Fredette leads the nation in scoring at 26.7 points per game and adds 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

— Senior guard Jackson Emery is second on the team in scoring at 13.0 points per game and adds 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and a team-best 2.6 steals per game. He has posted four-plus steals seven times this season and is the program’s all-time leader in career steals. Brandon Davies is third on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game on .533 shooting. He has scored in double figures 14 times this season, including 11 of the last 12 games.

— At 19-1, BYU has tied the best 20-game record in program history with last season’s squad and the 1987-88 team.

BYU GAME #21 FAST FACTS

No. 9/9 BYU (19-1, 5-0) vs. No. 4/4 San Diego State (20-0, 5-0)

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011

Marriott Center

Provo, Utah

8 p.m. MT

Coaches

BYU, Dave Rose (146-41 in sixth season at BYU; same overall)

San Diego State, Steve Fisher (218-149 in 12th season at SDSU; 402-231 in 20th season overall)

Series

BYU leads 46-22, including a 2-0 record against SDSU last season

Radio

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network (Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Mark Durrant, game analysis)

TV

CBS College Sports (Ted Robinson, play-by-play; Steve Lappas, game analysis)

Web

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

Looking at San Diego State

2010-11 Record: 20-0, 5-0

Conference: Mountain West

2009-10 Record: 25-9, 11-5 (T-3rd)

2010 Postseason: NCAA First Round

Highlights:

- No. 4/4 San Diego State is one of two undefeated teams in the nation (No. 1 Ohio State is the other) at 20-0 overall and 5-0 in the MWC. The Aztecs own MWC road wins at TCU, Utah and New Mexico and have defeated UNLV and Air Force at home. Some of San Diego State’s top nonconference wins came at Gonzaga and California and at home against Saint Mary’s.

- Kawhi Leonard averages a double-double to lead San Diego State with team-best averages of 15.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He also leads the team with 29 steals. D.J. Gay adds 12.8 points and a team-high 3.2 assists. He leads the team with 49 threes on .415 shooting from downtown. Malcolm Thomas adds 11.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

- San Diego State averages 73.5 points and shoots .492 from the field. Aztec opponents average 58.8 points and shoot .400 from the field against San Diego State.

Coach: Steve Fisher (12th season at San Diego State)

San Diego State’s Last Outing — No. 6 Aztecs Down Air Force, 68-55

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Although it wasn’t as smooth as they would have liked, the No. 6 San Diego State Aztecs reached yet another milestone in the best season in school history.

SDSU extended the country’s longest active winning streak to a school-record 20 games by beating Air Force 68-55 on Wednesday night. D.J. Gay scored 20 points and Billy White had 10 of his 12 during a decisive 13-3 run late in the game. Like they’ve done several times this season, the Aztecs had a slow first half before taking control in the second.

Nor are they going to play much bigger games than they will next Wednesday night, when the Aztecs (20-0, 5-0 Mountain West) visit conference rival and ninth-ranked BYU.

Sophomore forward Kawhi Leonard had 10 points and 10 rebounds for SDSU, his 13th double-double this season and 30th of his career. Tom Fow scored 21 points for Air Force (10-7, 1-3).

Air Force stuck around long enough to make the Aztecs earn it, which they did over the final 7 1/2 minutes. The Falcons got consecutive 3-pointers from Fow and Derek Brooks to pull to 48-44 before suddenly going cold.

White got hot for the Aztecs, keying the game-deciding run with two 3-pointers, a three-point play and a free throw. Chase Tapley added two free throws while Malcolm Thomas had one.

SDSU used an 8-0 run midway through the half to take a 48-38 lead. Leonard made a bank shot, James Rahon a 3-pointer and Brian Carlwell a slam dunk after a pass from Leonard.

SDSU made 11 of 26 3-pointers and outrebounded Air Force 34-20. The Aztecs made 13 of 25 3-pointers in an 87-77 win at New Mexico on Saturday, including seven by Gay.

Air Force not only stayed with the Aztecs in the first half, but jumped to a 28-22 lead with 3:15 left in the first half. Fow, who made three 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes and had 16 points at halftime, hit a jumper and Brooks made two shots from underneath to quiet the sellout crowd of 12,414 at Viejas Arena.

Gay had eight points as the Aztecs went on a 12-2 run over the final 2:51, including scoring the final nine points to take a 34-30 halftime lead. Gay, coming off a career-high 30 points at New Mexico, hit consecutive 3-pointers, Leonard had a steal and a layup, Gay followed with a layup and White made a turnaround jumper. Air Force’s only points in the run came on Zach Bohannon’s inside shot on a pretty feed from Evan Washington.

Series Notes

BYU leads the all-time series against San Diego State 46-22, including a 71-69 win at San Diego and an 82-68 win in Provo last season. The Cougars are 8-4 against the Aztecs under Dave Rose.

Record Watch

BYU Career Records

Field Goals Made

5. Fred Roberts (1987-82) - 687

6. Jimmer Fredette (2007-present) - 668

7. Russell Larson (1991-95) - 660

Three-Point Field Goals

1. Jonathan Tavernari (2006-10) - 265

2. Jimmer Fredette (2007-present) - 236

3. Mark Bigelow (1998-99, 01-04) - 213

4. Jackson Emery (2005-06, 08-present) - 194

5. Mike Rose (2003-07) - 163

Three-Point Field Goal Attempts

1. Jonathan Tavernari (2006-10) - 698

2. Jimmer Fredette (2007-present) - 595

3. Mark Bigelow (1998-99, 01-04) - 559

4. Jackson Emery (2005-06, 08-present) - 484

5. Mike Rose (2003-07) - 381

Free Throws

5. Danny Ainge (1977-81) - 493

6. Jimmer Fredette (2007-present) - 492

7. Fred Roberts (1978-82) - 467

Free Throw Percentage

1. Tyler Haws (2009-10) - .917

2. Jimmer Fredette (2007-present) - .880

3. Michael Smith (1983-84, 86-89) - .878

Assists

5. Randy Reid (1992-96) - 458

6. Jimmer Fredette (2007-present) - 443

7. Scott Runia (1976-80) - 405

Steals

1. Jackson Emery (2005-06, 08-present) - 200

2. Danny Ainge (1977-81) - 195

3. Marty Haws (1986-90) - 182

4. Jonathan Tavernari (2006-10) - 165

5. Jimmer Fredette (2007-present) - 144

6. Scott Sinek (1981-85) - 140

Points

1. Danny Ainge (1977-81) - 2467

2. Michael Smith (1983-84, 86-89) - 2319

3. Devin Durrant (1978-80, 82-84) - 2285

4. Jimmer Fredette (2007-present) - 2064

5. Russell Larson (1991-95) - 1885

Wins Played in

1. Jonathan Tavernari (2006-10) - 103

2. Jimmer Fredette (2007-present) - 99

3. Lee Cummard (2005-09) - 97

4. Russell Larson (1991-95) - 94

5. Jackson Emery (2005-06, 08-present) - 93

30-Point Games

T-1. Michael Smith (1983-84, 86-89) - 17

T-1. Devin Durrant (1978-80, 82-84) - 17

3. Jimmer Fredette (2007-present) - 14

4. Danny Ainge (1977-81) - 12

MWC Career Records

Points Scored

1. Brandon Heath, SDSU (2003-07) - 2189

2. Brandon Ewing, Wyo (2005-06) - 2168

3. Jimmer Fredette, BYU (2007-present) - 2064

Field Goals Made

2. Luke Nevill, Utah (2005-09) - 689

3. Jimmer Fredette, BYU (2007-present) - 668

Field Goal Attempts

3. Brandon Ewing, Wyo (2005-06) - 1464

4. Jimmer Fredette, BYU (2007-present) - 1448

Three-Point Field Goals

5. Johnnie Bryant, Utah (2005-08) - 245

8. Jimmer Fredette, BYU (2007-present) - 236

Three-Point Field Goal Attempts

5. Chad Toppert, UNM (2005-09) - 606

7. Jimmer Fredette, BYU (2007-present) - 595

Free Throws Made

2. Luke Nevill (2005-09) - 520

4. Jimmer Fredette, BYU (2007-present) - 492

Assists

3. Brandon Ewing (2005-09) - 471

4. Jay Straight, Wyo (2001-05) - 453

5. Jimmer Fredette, BYU (2007-present) - 443

Steals

2. Brandon Heath, SDSU (2003-07) - 217

3. Wink Adams, UNLV (2005-09) - 213

4. Jackson Emery, BYU (2005, 08-present) - 200