Jan. 21, 2011

Complete Release in PDF Format

• Schedule/Results
• Season Statistics

Opening tip
Colorado State returns to Moby Arena Saturday evening to play host to the BYU Cougars, who travel to Fort Collins for the final time as members of the Mountain West Conference. 

Ranked No. 9 nationally, BYU enters Saturday’s contest as the highest ranked team to visit Moby Arena since CSU squared off against No. 5 Utah on Feb. 14, 1998.  That Utah team went on to fall to Kentucky in the national championship that season. 

Saturday’s contest is also “White Out Cancer Night.” A sellout crowd is expected at Moby Arena, the first since 2003, and fans are encouraged to wear white to the contest in support of RamStrength’s fight against cancer.  In addition, the first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a white RamStrength T-shirt courtesy of the The Mtn. - The MountainWest Sports Network - which will broadcast the game live. 

About BYU
The ninth-ranked Cougars enter Saturday night’s game 18-1 on the season, including a 4-0 mark in the Mountain West Conference.   BYU is 5-0 on the road, and a combined 10-1 away from the Marriott Center. The Cougars have won eight consecutive games since dropping an 86-79 neutral-court loss to UCLA on Dec. 18.

BYU is led by the nation’s top scorer, Jimmer Fredette. The senior guard averages 25.8 points per game on 47.7 percent shooting. He also averages 3.2 three-pointers a game (seventh nationally) and connects on 89.5 percent of his free-throw shots (19th). Besides Fredette, who is in the running for National Player of the Year honors, BYU is paced by senior Jackson Emery (12.8 points, 40.6 three-point percentage, 51 steals), sophomore Brandon Davies (11.3 points, 52.8 field-goal percentage, 5.5 rebounds) and junior Noah Hartsock (10.2 points, 53.1 field-goal percentage, 5.9 rebounds, 29 blocks).

As a team, the Cougars are among the conference leaders in nearly each statistical category, including: points per game, first (84.7); scoring margin, first (+18.2); free-throw percentage, first (.732); three-pointers made per game , first (8.5); rebounds, first (40.5); steals, second (8.1); assists, second (15.3); blocks, third (3.8); turnover margin, second (+4.42).

Dave Rose has led the Cougars to a record of 145-41 in six seasons in Provo. Last season, BYU advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, and was ranked No. 17/22 in the final polls.

The series vs. the Cougars
The rich history between CSU and BYU goes all the way back to 1937, when the two teams met on the hardwood for the first time. Since then, the Rams have played the Cougars 132 times, third longest series for the Rams against current MWC opponents. BYU leads the overall series, 87-45. However, CSU does have a slight upper hand on its home court, taking 32 of the 62 meetings in Fort Collins.

Tim Miles is looking for his first win over the Cougars since taking over the Rams’ program in 2007-08, a span of seven games.  BYU has won eight consecutive games in the series, including the three most recent at Moby Arena.  CSU’s last victory over BYU came during the 2006-07 season, a 90-78 decision. 

Looking ahead
The Rams remain at Moby Arena and welcome intrastate rival Air Force for a Wednesday night game.   Tipoff between the Rams and the Falcons is slated for 6 p.m. MT an the contest will be broadcast live on The Mtn.