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.

BYU shot very poorly from behind the three-point line, but fortunately for them, so did the Terriers.

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.

Fredette, the nation’s leading scorer, finished with 32 points. He hit 10 of 25 shots from the field and finished 10 of 12 from the free-throw line. Charles Abouo, Noah Hartsock and Logan Magnusson each scored 10 points for the Cougars (31-4).

BYU shot just 39.3 percent and trailed 25-21 with five minutes left in the first half. But Fredette scored five points during a 9-0 run as the Cougars moved ahead to stay.

Next up for the Cougars: the winner of St. John’s and Gonzaga in the third round on Saturday, for a trip to the Sweet 16.

—30—

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.

The Cougars, 30-4 on the season, are the No. 3 seed in the Southeast regional. BYU tips off the NCAAs on Thursday in Denver against No. 14 seed Wofford.

BYU’s Jimmer Fredette has garnered tons of attention during a special season in which he led the nation in scoring at 28.5 points per game. The Cougars also had a big chunk of the spotlight when the school suspended leading rebounder Brandon Davies for violating the school’s honor code.

The Cougars lost to fellow Mountain West Conference power San Diego State in the conference final Saturday, losing 72-54. It was the first time the Aztecs beat BYU in three tries this season.

—30—

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.

There was the thrill of ascending to No. 3 in the nation in the ESPN/USA Today national rankings. Then came word that Brandon Davies, the team’s leading rebounder, would be suspended for violating the school’s honor code.

The Cougars, having lost just twice in their first 29 games, went out Wednesday and were throttled 82-64 at home to New Mexico. But BYU bounced back Saturday, routing Wyoming 102-78 to end the regular season on an upswing.

BYU enters the Mountain West Conference tournament at 28-3 overall and 14-2 in conference play. The only other conference loss suffered by the Cougars also came to New Mexico on Jan. 29, and BYU swept the season series against No. 9 San Diego State.

National scoring leader Jimmer Fredette scored 38 points in Saturday’s victory.

—30—

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.

Quarterback Jake Heaps came on in the early going to relieve Riley Nelson and played reasonably well on the road against a quality team.

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.

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—

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.

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.

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.