Cougars Blow Away Zags, Fredette Scores 34

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 19, 2011

Plenty of fine individual performances were on display Saturday as eight teams made their way into the Sweet 16, but what Jimmer Fredette did for his BYU Cougars was pretty special.

Fredette poured in 34 points and dished out 6 assists to lead the Cougars over Gonzaga, 89-67. The blowout win was mighty impressive considering how well Gonzaga played in their opening-round win over St. John's.

Fredette directed the BYU offense for the most part, but stepped up and shot the lights out when needed or drove the ball to the hoop. The senior guard was 11-for-23 from the field and hit 7 of 12 three-pointers. He also was 5-for-5 from the line.

BYU took a seven-point lead into intermission and ballooned that advantage in the second half to produce the blowout result. The 22-point margin of victory was easily the largest of the 8 games played on Saturday. BYU topped Wofford, 74-66, in their first game of the tourney and are now 34-4 on the season. They face the Florida Gators in the Sweet 16 game next week.

BYU Reaches Finals as Jimmer Fredette Drops 52 on Lobos

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 11, 2011

UConn's Kemba Walker was magnificent, leading the Huskies to a 76-71 overtime win over Syracuse in the Big East semi-finals, but what Jimmer Fredette did for BYU was record-setting.

Walker scored 33 points to go with 12 boards, five assists and six steals setting up a date in the finals with Louisville on Saturday; likewise Fredette led the Cougars to the finals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament. They will face San Diego State on Saturday.

A leading candidate for NCAA player of the year, Fredette scored a career-high 52 points, on 22-of-37 shooting, with seven three-pointers, leading the Cougars to an 87-76 win which snapped a four-game losing streak to the Lobos.

Fredette went to the foul line just once in the game and made his only free throw. His 52 points propelled him past Danny Ainge to become BYU's all-time leading scorer, set a conference tournament record and tied Marshon Brooks of Providence for the most points in a single game this season. BYU takes on the Aztecs at 7:00 pm ET, while the Huskies play Louisville - 83-77 OT winners over Notre Dame - for the Big East tourney championship at 9:00 pm ET in Madison Square Garden.

NOTABLE: A number of conference championships will be decided on Saturday with the rest - including the Big 10 and SEC - on Sunday. Two of the biggest are Kansas vs. Texas in the Big 12 at 6:00 pm ET and Washington vs. Arizona for the PAC title, also at 6:00 pm ET.

Cougars Slash Aztecs; Buckeyes Stand Alone

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, January 26, 2011

BYU, the 9th-ranked team in the nation, mauled #4 San Diego State, 71-58, as Jimmer Fredette pumped in 43 points - a point more than he had in his last game and his second-highest single-game point total of the season - leaving the Ohio State Buckeyes as the only undefeated team in college basketball.

The Cougars, facing San Diego State for the first time this season, took advantage of home court with the nation's top scorer (27.4 ppg), busting the game open late in the second half. Fredette had one of his best performances of the season, hitting 14-of-24 from the field, with five three-pointers. He also nailed 10-of-11 from the foul line. The 43 points was surpassed only by the 47 he put up at Utah on January 11.

BYU (20-1, 6-0) has won 10 straight, and 14 in a row at home, extending back into last season. San Diego State dropped to 20-1, and 5-1 in the Mountain West, where they now trail the Cougars by a game. The rematch comes February 26 at San Diego State.

NOTABLE: The Big East keeps surprising everybody with its depth as upsets continue to pour in this week. Notre Dame knocked off Pitt on Monday; Seton Hall dumped Syracuse, Tuesday, so it was fitting the Providence took the measure of #8 Villanova, 83-68, Wednesday night. The Friars, just 2-6 in conference games, sent the Wildcats to their second conference loss and a 5-2 record, tied with Louisville and UConn for second place in the Big East, behind 7-1 Pittsburgh.

Fredette Goes for 47 as Cougars Rout Utes

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, January 11, 2011

BYU's Jimmer Fredette had the kind of night most players only dream about, scoring 32 in the first half and 47 overall as the #11 Cougars topped Mountain West opponent Utah, 104-79, improving to 17-1 for the season.

Fredette was hitting from everywhere, even throwing in a 40-foot bomb just before the first half buzzer sounded to give BYU a comfortable 53-42 lead at the break. Fredette finished just two shy of his school record 49 points, set last season. The 47 points was his high for the year, and against Mountain West opponents, he is averaging 36 points in three games, all Cougar wins.

The 6'2" senior from Glens Falls, NY, hit 6-of-9 from three-point range and 16-for-28 overall, adding 9-of-9 from the free throw line. In his 35 minutes on the hardwoods, Fredeete managed to dish out 6 assists and grab four rebounds.

NOTABLE: The Big Ten gets wilder and more wide open every day, with the possible exception of #2 Ohio State. On Tuesday, Michigan State, dropped out of the Top 25 this week due to a 66-62 loss at Penn State, got back on track with a 64-61 overtime win against #20 Wisconsin. The Spartans regained a degree of respectability as the Nittany Lions took down #16 Illinois, 57-55 and #12 Texas - to whom the Spartans lost 67-55 back in December - blasted Texas Tech, 83-52.

In case anyone is worried that the Nittany Lions will upset them next, they play Ohio State on the 15th and Purdue on the 19th.

Fredette Leads BYU to 12-1; Bearcats: Undefeated and Unranked

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, December 23, 2010

With an 89-68 thumping of UTEP, the 18th-ranked BYU Cougars improved their record to 12-1, as Jimmer Fredette led all scorers with 25 points.

While Fredette, the 5th-highest scorer in the nation (24.2 ppg), was torching the Miners with four of seven bombs from three=point range, he also dished out nine assists and snatched eight rebounds, completing his best all-around performance of the season. The 6'2" senior guard has tallied in double figures every game this season.

Notable: Yancy Gates came off the bench for Cincinnati to score 18 points with six rebounds, three assists and four steals to propel the Bearcats to their 12st straight win without a loss, beating the flashless Red Flash of St. Francis, 94-58.

The Bearcats play in the rugged Big East, so their streak is likely to end once conference play gets underway next week, but 12-0 is still 12-0, yet the Bearcats haven't even had a sniff of the Top 25 this season.

Fredette Scores 33 as Cougars Reach 10-0

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, December 11, 2010

Jimmer Fredette just kept firing away, hitting 11 of 22 shots for a game-high 33 points, as the #18 BYU Cougars knocked off the Arizona Wildcats, 87-65.

The scoring onslaught was also a season high for Fredette, who has found himself surrounded by a quality supporting cast this season. The Cougars are a perfect 10-0, with wins over South Florida, St. Mary's and Creighton among their early season accomplishments. Fredette was solid in his 31 minutes, adding nine boards and three assists. BYU goes on the road next, to visit an improving UCLA team on December 18.

Fredette moved into 7th place on the all-time BYU scoring list with 1768 points. He is chasing the record 2467 points set by Danny Ainge in 1977-81, prior to the 3-point shot. Ainge set the mark in 118 games, while Fredette has played 112 already.

Notable: There are blowouts and then there's what Syracuse did to Colgate Saturday. The undefeated Orange blew out the Raiders, 100-43, allowing a mere 8 points in the first half - the lowest ever scored in a half against a Jim Boeheim-coached team (35 years). The SU defense clamped down hard on the unfortunate Colgate squad, limiting them to 18% shooting for the game, hitting just 10 of 56 shots and 1 of 13 from 3-point range. The Orange also forced 21 turnovers.

#23 Notre Dame downed Gonzaga, 83-79, sending the Bulldogs to an uncharacteristic 4-5 mark. It was the third straight loss for Gonzaga, having lost at Illinois and Washington State prior to Saturday's defeat. They previously lost to San Diego State and Kansas State.

Scotty Hopson scored 27 points as the #11 Tennessee Volunteers humbled the #3 Pitt Panthers, 83-76. It marked the first loss for the Panthers (10-1), while the Vols upped their record to a perfect 7-0 mark.

Cougars on the Prowl; Conference Tourneys Coast-to-Coast

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 11, 2010

#14 BYU advanced to the semi-finals of the Mountain West tourney with a 95-85 win over unranked TCU. They will play UNLV on Friday with hopes of reaching the final, ostensibly against #1 seed New Mexico, which has a date in the other semi-final with San Diego State. There's a good possibility that no matter which way the remaining games play out, all four semi-finalists could receive bids to the NCAA tourney. UNLV might be the last team out, so a win over BYU could be huge for them.

Leading the scoring barrage for the 29-4 Cougars was junior guard Jimmer Fredette, who poured in 45 points - his second-highest single game point total of the season - on 10-for-23 shooting and 23 of 24 free throws. Fredeete hit only 2 three-pointers, but also snatched 4 rebounds and dished out 6 assists without committing a single foul.

Fredette leads the Cougars in scoring and assists. BYU lost only three times in Mountain West play, twice to conference champion New Mexico. They split a pair of games with UNLV, each team winning on their home floor.

Notable: No bids were handed out on Thursday, but more are due each remaining day up to the Selection Sunday deadline. The Big East continues to prove itself the best conference top to bottom as three of the four teams which received double byes - Syracuse, Villanova and Pittsburgh, were defeated, respectively, by Georgetown, Marquette and Notre Dame. The 4th double-bye entrant, West Virginia, needed a desperation 3-point bank shot by Da'Sean Butler at the buzzer to break a 51-all tie and send home Cincinnati.

Georgetown faces Marquette, while West Virginia will square off with Notre Dame, winners of seven straight, in semi-fianl games Friday night.

Texas proved to be vulnerable once again, losing to Baylor, 86-67, in the second round of the Big 12 tourney. The Longhorns appear to be headed for a one-and-done NCAA appearance after starting the season with a 17-0 record and going 7-9 since then. Among the Texas troubles are inconsistent guard play, no inside presence (Dexter Pittman is just a big lump most of the time) and a general lack of enthusiasm. They're likely to be seeded somewhere between a #8 and a #12, ripe territory for elimination.

The PAC-10 may send only one team to the tourney, as Arizona State lost to Stanford, 70-61 in the opening round of the conference tourney. The Sun Devils finished second to Cal in the standings, but now appear to be in jeopardy of missing out on further post-season play. Cal thumped Oregon in their tourney opener and seem headed to the final on Saturday. The only remaining hope for the PAC-10 would be Washington - third during the regular season - after their 59-52 win over Oregon State. The 22-9 Huskies face Stanford, while Cal plays UCLA in semi-final games Friday. Washington could get an invite with a win over Stanford, but beating Cal in the final would ensure an automatic selection.

It's official: Two stalwarts of the NCAA tournament, North Carolina and Connecticut, will be missing from this year's field. Both lost opening games in their conference tourneys and appear headed for NIT bids. North Carolina was bounced out of the ACC tourney Thursday by Georgia Tech. UConn lost to St. John's on Tuesday.

Fredette's 36 Points Lift BYU; Texas Irrelevant; Purdue Tops Buckeyes

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, February 17, 2010

With a scorer like Jimmer Fredette (tied for 14th nationally at 21.5 ppg), the BYU Cougars could make quite some noise in the NCAA tournament. The 6'2" junior guard poured in 36 points Wednesday night, leading the Cougars to a 92-70 road win at Colorado State. Fredette hit 12 of 22 shots, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range, adding 5 boards and 6 assists for one of his best games of the season. His high point total was 49 at Arizona. He scored 36 in recently in a home game against the Utah Utes.

The win moved BYU closer to Mountain west leader New Mexico. BYU is 9-2 in the conference; the Lobos are 10-2 and have a win over the Cougars in hand, though the rematch will be at BYU next Saturday. No matter the outcome of that game, both teams are locks to make the Big Dance, and the conference could end up sending as many as four teams to the tourney. Both San Diego St. and UNLV stand at 19-7 overall, and, with the dearth of quality in the PAC-10, those two could slip in behind the Lobos and Cougars.

Notable: The eyes of Texas may be upon coach Rick Barnes, but his players must take much of the responsibility for the Longhorns' horrible showing in conference play. The Longhorns lost for the 6th time in their last 9 outings, dropping an 82-77 decision at Missouri Wednesday night.

While still 20-6 overall, Texas is tied for 6th in the Big 12, at 6-5, and looks like a team that will make an early exit in the NCAA tournament. There are just 5 games remaining in conference play for the Longhorns, and three of those are on the road. The team just looks irrelevant at this point.

Purdue ended Ohio State's 6-game win streak while extending their own to 8 with a 60-57 win on the Buckeyes' home court, pulling the 10-3 Boilermakers to within 1/2 game of Big Ten leader Michigan State (11-3). With a road win over the Spartans in hand, Purdue will have ample opportunity to take home the Big Ten hardware. They host Michigan State on Sunday, Feb. 28. A win would virtually assure them of the conference title, since they close out with a home game against Indiana and a road game at Penn State. Those two have a combined record in conference of 4-22.

Fredette's 49 Makes Cougars 13-1

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, December 28, 2009

For years, college football fans have railed against the BCS for ignoring the smaller conferences in their rankings and bowl selections. The same bias seems to have spilled over into college hoops, where the current crop of Top 25 teams includes just three small conference schools: Temple, New Mexico and UAB, with Butler and Gonzaga dropping out. Pollsters might be wise to respect the results of the last few NCAA tournaments, in which schools from unknown, smaller conferences have made significant impact.

One team from the Mountain West (same conference as New Mexico) that is catching some attention but still hasn't cracked the Top 25 is BYU, now at 13-1, after having pasted PAC-10 foe, Arizona, 99-69, for their 8th straight win and thrid straight against major conference opponents (previous wins include Arizona St. and Nebraska).

Part of the reason for the Cougars' success has to be the play of junior guard Jimmer Fredette, currently among the nation's leading scorers, averaging over 21 points per game. In Monday's win, Fredette poured in a career-high 49 points, on 16-for-23 shooting, including an incredible 9-for-13 from beyond the arc. Fredette, a 93% free throw shooter, missed scoring 50 by failing on just one of his 9 attempts from the freebie line. He also dished out 9 assists, grabbed 7 rebounds and recorded a pair of steals.