NEWS
It wasn’t pretty, but the BYU Cougars did just enough to get past the pesky Wofford Terriers, 74-66.
Wofford wasn’t going to allow Jimmer Fredette to beat them by himself, but he still finished with a game-high 32 points.
They double-teamed Fredette whenever they got a chance, and that left a lot of his teammates with wide open looks at the basket.
Four players finished in double figures, including one of the reserves. Kyle Collinsworth lead the team with 11 rebounds. ( Read More…)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 2:54 pm by steve
Tags: BYU news, BYU schedule, BYU tickets
By Bud L. Ellis
So far, so good for Jimmer Fredette and the Brigham Young Cougars on the national stage.
Playing in their NCAA tournament opener on Thursday night in Denver, the Cougars started slow against Wofford. But the No. 3 seed in the Southeast region kicked it into high gear late in the first half in earning a 74-66 victory. ( Read More…)
Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 8:10 pm by bud
Tags: Brigham Young Cougars news, Brigham Young Cougars schedule, Brigham Young Cougars tickets, Charles Abouo, Gonzaga, Jimmer Fredette, Logan Magnusson, NCAA Tournament, Noah Hartsock, St. John’s, Wofford
By Bud L. Ellis
Now is the time for the Brigham Young Cougars. A special season featuring 30 victories and the buzz created by the nation’s leading scorer has pushed the Cougars into the national spotlight.
As the third weekend in March approaches and the NCAA tournament begins, the Cougars get their shot to show the nation they are for real. ( Read More…)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 7:50 pm by bud
Tags: Brandon Davies, Brigham Young Cougars news, Brigham Young Cougars schedule, Brigham Young Cougars tickets, Jimmer Fredette, Mountain West Conference, San Diego State, Wofford
By Bud L. Ellis
The final week of the regular season took Brigham Young University and its fans on a wild ride of emotions.
From losing one of its key players to a controversial suspension to moving into the stratosphere of the national rankings, from a blowout loss at home to a throttling of Wyoming in their regular-season finale, the Cougars experienced a little bit of everything as they prepared for the Mountain West Conference tournament. ( Read More…)
Saturday, March 5, 2011 at 8:55 pm by bud
Tags: Brandon Davies, Brigham Young Cougars news, Brigham Young Cougars schedule, Brigham Young Cougars tickets, Jimmer Fredette, Mountain West Conference, New Mexico, San Diego State, Wyoming
The BYU Cougars hung around until halftime but eventually wore down in a 34-10 loss to the Florida State Seminoles.
Whether it was the heat or Florida State’s talent isn’t quite clear, but BYU ran out of steam in the second half.
The Cougars scored a touchdown right before the end of the first half to cut the deficit to three, but they would fail to put any more points on the board for the rest of the day.
BYU actually did an outstanding job holding down quarterback Christian Ponder and the aerial attack, but did so at the expense of giving up a lot rushing yards. ( Read More…)
Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 10:23 am by steve
Tags: BYU news, BYU schedule, BYU tickets
The BYU Cougars saw their NCAA tournament stay come to an abrupt end with an 84-72 loss to the Kansas State Wildcats.
Kansas State was led by guard Jacob Pullen, who knocked down eight three-pointers to lead the Wildcats.
The team did an excellent job hounding and frustrating Jim Fredette, who had lit it up in the first round.
By taking him out of the game, the Wildcats essentially took away the only player on the court who could bounce them out of the tournament.
Kansas State now moves on to face an Xavier team that has athletic guards who will be tough to stop.
Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 9:04 am by steve
By Bud L. Ellis
One 3-pointer landed in the hoop, pushing the lead from four to seven. Another one would fall some 90 seconds later.
Finally, Jimmer Fredette and his Brigham Young Cougars teammates could exhale. Their season would continue into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 17 years.
It took double overtime and 37 points from Fredette, but the Cougars fought off Florida 99-92 Thursday in Oklahoma City. It was far from easy, as the Gators fought back from a 59-46 deficit with a little more than nine minutes to go to draw even.
The Gators had chances to win the game at the end of regulation and the first overtime, but missed both shots.
Fredette made sure the second extra frame didn’t come down to a last-second shot. With BYU up four, Fredette hit a 3-pointer with 2:42 left, pushing the lead to 90-83. Another 3-pointer with about a minute left sealed it for the Cougars.
Michael Loyd Jr. added 26 points for BYU.
—30—
Monday, March 22, 2010 at 9:16 pm by bud
Tags: Brigham Young Cougars, Florida, Jimmer Fredette, Michael Loyd Jr., NCAA Tournament
While their seeding was a disappointing, there’s nothing disappointing about the prospect of playing virtual home games in the NCAA Tournament for the BYU Cougars.
That’s exactly the situation they hope to find themselves in after drawing a No. 7 seed and a game against the Florida Gators in the first round. Should the Cougars advance and also beat likely second round opponent Kansas State, they would get to play their Sweet 16 (and potential Elite game in Salt Lake City.
First thing’s first, though: Neither of those aforementioned games is a cakewalk, by any stretch of the imagination. The Gators earned an at-large bid from the SEC, their first trip back to the Big Dance since their back-to-back national titles just a few years ago. You can bet they plan on making the most of it. Still, BYU is favored after a dazzling regular season and is expected to advance after losing its first round game in each of the past three years as a No. 8 seed.
Beating the Wildcats from Manhattan is an entirely different story, though. Kansas State earned its No. 2 seed, running off an impressive regular season of its own and showing that aside from rival Kanas, it can beat just about anyone. And as good as BYU’s Jimmer Fredette is (and he’s really, really good), the Wildcats will take the court with the better backcourt. Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen have been terrific all season, and either or both could go off against the Cougars.
It speaks volumes that BYU’s only losses this season came to fellow NCAA Tournament teams (UNLV, New Mexico, and Utah State). The selection committee was probably a little too harsh in punishing the Cougars for losing in the MWC semifinals after such a good regular season, but there’s no point in crying over spilled milk, especially not when they could be staring two virtual home games in the face.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 8:04 am by Raj Sethi
Saturday’s game between the No. 16 BYU Cougars and the Wyoming Cowboys appeared to be a big mismatch on paper.
It was even worse on the court.
Behind Jimmer Fredette and Tyler Haws’ 22 points apiece, the Cougars dominated the host Cowboys in an 85-63 win. BYU led from start to finish, and Wyoming could only get as close as eight in the second half before BYU put the foot on the gas again.
Four players scored in double-figures for the Cougars, including Jonathan Tavernari’s 17 off the bench. They were also 20 of 24 from the line.
The win sets up a huge week for BYU. It hosts San Diego State on Wednesday, which is currently third in the Mountain West and desperately needs a win to bolster its at-large hopes, and then takes on conference-leading and 12th-ranked New Mexico at home on Saturday. These next two games will determine the pecking order in the MWC tournament, as well as how high a seed the Cougars can earn in the NCAA Tournament.
Monday, February 22, 2010 at 11:07 am by Raj Sethi
No. 10 Brigham Young came into the Pit in Albuquerque sporting the nation’s longest winning streak, at 15 games.
It left without it.
Dairese Gary’s 25 points, nine over the final 1:30, were too much for the Cougars to overcome as the host and 23rd-ranked New Mexico Lobos knocked off the Mountain West’s best team, 76-72, in front of a sellout crowd in one of the toughest arenas to play.
The game was a back-and-forth affair before Gray took over late. Guard Jimmer Fredette did his best to keep BYU within striking distance, scoring 27 points. Jonathan Tavernari added 17 off the bench, but it wasn’t enough.
The loss is just the second of the season for the Cougars, who are still in line to receive a high seed in the NCAA Tournament, provided they continue to handle their business. The victory does more to help New Mexico’s credibility than it does to hurt that of BYU. Both of these teams will be playing meaningful games come March.
Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 1:41 pm by Raj Sethi
