BYU Cougars tip big week at home vs. San Diego St. Aztecs
Brigham Young needs a win tonight at home against the San Diego State Aztecs if the Cougars want to stay a half-game behind New Mexico in the Mountain West.
This is a big week for BYU basketball, and head coach Dave Rose knows it. Rose's biggest task is going to be making sure his Cougars adhere to that old cliché about taking them one game at a time.
Brigham Young has a big game at home in Provo against New Mexico this weekend, but first there's the matter of Wednesday's opponent, San Diego State. The Cougs and Aztecs will tip at 9 p.m. (ET).
BYU (25-3, 10-2 MWC) rose to 13th in the AP and 11th in the coaches poll this week after winning twice on the road last week. The Cougars first scored a 92-70 win at Colorado State while carrying nine-point road chalk, then followed that with an 85-63 rout at Wyoming toting an even heavier 15-point spread.
In Sunday's win up in Laramie, Jimmer Fredette and Tyler Haws each scored 22 and the Cougars were in control the whole way. BYU won every facet of the game, averaging just above its season total for scoring which is fourth in the country. Fredette's 22 were just above his team-best average (21.5) while Haws' performance was a welcome sight for Rose and his staff after the freshman had managed to score just 25 points in his previous four games combined.
The win at the window was also welcomed by BYU's backers who have been paid off the last three contests and 15 times out of 25 games this season.
Some Brigham Young bettors will tell you the Cougars are 14-11 ATS this season, and that's because of the swing in the line from BYU's trip to San Diego on Jan. 23. Early chalk bettors took Brigham Young and the minus three-point line while it closed at BYU minus 1 ½. The Cougars rallied in that one for a 71-69 win. Fredette's 33 were the big reason, with the junior a big part of a 15-0 second-half run.
San Diego State (20-7, 9-4 MWC) also sports a similar 15-10 record, though some of their backers will tell you the tally is really 16-9 if they bought in early on that same game. The Aztecs are still in position to at least get second in the conference tournament seeding, assuming they could pull off the road upset.
Winning at Marriot Center ain't going to be easy, to say the least. BYU is a perfect 16-0 in Provo this season, and has not lost here since Jan. 2009, a span of 22 games.
One of the most interesting stats from the meeting between the two schools in January was the lack of fouls. BYU and SDSU combined to shoot 18 free throws, sinking 16 of the attempts. It is going to be very important for the Aztecs to limit freebies to this Cougars team that is shooting almost 78 percent from the stripe and scoring about 17 points per game via free throws.
Brigham Young owns the series overall at 45-22 and as the Aztecs' website will remind you, San Diego State doesn't enjoy playing in Provo with a 27-3 all-time mark in that locale. The Aztecs are just 7-6 this season away from beautiful San Diego.
The recent series is either 5-5, 5-4-1, 4-5-1, 4-6 or 6-4 depending when you bet the most recent meeting. The brightest trend when the Cougars and Aztecs get together is six of the past seven clashes have stayed below the 'total,' with those marks ranging from 130 ½ to 141.
Wednesday's game opened with BYU favored by 8 ½ and the scoreboard tally at 141 ½. The Cougars are a high-scoring team yet still 11-12 'over/under' on the campaign. Only one of the last four played in Provo have skipped above 141 ½, and I'm a fool for 'unders.'
Brigham Young needs a win tonight at home against the San Diego State Aztecs if the Cougars want to stay a half-game behind New Mexico in the Mountain West.
This is a big week for BYU basketball, and head coach Dave Rose knows it. Rose's biggest task is going to be making sure his Cougars adhere to that old cliché about taking them one game at a time.
Brigham Young has a big game at home in Provo against New Mexico this weekend, but first there's the matter of Wednesday's opponent, San Diego State. The Cougs and Aztecs will tip at 9 p.m. (ET).
BYU (25-3, 10-2 MWC) rose to 13th in the AP and 11th in the coaches poll this week after winning twice on the road last week. The Cougars first scored a 92-70 win at Colorado State while carrying nine-point road chalk, then followed that with an 85-63 rout at Wyoming toting an even heavier 15-point spread.
In Sunday's win up in Laramie, Jimmer Fredette and Tyler Haws each scored 22 and the Cougars were in control the whole way. BYU won every facet of the game, averaging just above its season total for scoring which is fourth in the country. Fredette's 22 were just above his team-best average (21.5) while Haws' performance was a welcome sight for Rose and his staff after the freshman had managed to score just 25 points in his previous four games combined.
The win at the window was also welcomed by BYU's backers who have been paid off the last three contests and 15 times out of 25 games this season.
Some Brigham Young bettors will tell you the Cougars are 14-11 ATS this season, and that's because of the swing in the line from BYU's trip to San Diego on Jan. 23. Early chalk bettors took Brigham Young and the minus three-point line while it closed at BYU minus 1 ½. The Cougars rallied in that one for a 71-69 win. Fredette's 33 were the big reason, with the junior a big part of a 15-0 second-half run.
San Diego State (20-7, 9-4 MWC) also sports a similar 15-10 record, though some of their backers will tell you the tally is really 16-9 if they bought in early on that same game. The Aztecs are still in position to at least get second in the conference tournament seeding, assuming they could pull off the road upset.
Winning at Marriot Center ain't going to be easy, to say the least. BYU is a perfect 16-0 in Provo this season, and has not lost here since Jan. 2009, a span of 22 games.
One of the most interesting stats from the meeting between the two schools in January was the lack of fouls. BYU and SDSU combined to shoot 18 free throws, sinking 16 of the attempts. It is going to be very important for the Aztecs to limit freebies to this Cougars team that is shooting almost 78 percent from the stripe and scoring about 17 points per game via free throws.
Brigham Young owns the series overall at 45-22 and as the Aztecs' website will remind you, San Diego State doesn't enjoy playing in Provo with a 27-3 all-time mark in that locale. The Aztecs are just 7-6 this season away from beautiful San Diego.
The recent series is either 5-5, 5-4-1, 4-5-1, 4-6 or 6-4 depending when you bet the most recent meeting. The brightest trend when the Cougars and Aztecs get together is six of the past seven clashes have stayed below the 'total,' with those marks ranging from 130 ½ to 141.
Wednesday's game opened with BYU favored by 8 ½ and the scoreboard tally at 141 ½. The Cougars are a high-scoring team yet still 11-12 'over/under' on the campaign. Only one of the last four played in Provo have skipped above 141 ½, and I'm a fool for 'unders.'
