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Great win last night for the BYU Cougar hoopsters; 81-68 over Arizona State. By now you know that Jimmer Fredette went 1 for 13 from the field and that Jonathan Tavernari went 2 for 8, but unlike last week at Utah State when an injured Jackson Emery was hampered and other Cougars found it tough to step up, the Cougars last night got contributions from all over the floor.
Tyler Haws' first career double-double (17 pts, 11 reb) stands out, but Noah Hartsock also recorded a career high with 13 points on a very efficient 6 of 9 night from the field; Hartsock is now shooting 65% on the season and has yet to miss a free throw (6/6).
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Speaking of not missing from the free throw line, Fredette went 8 for 8 last night and is now 48 for 51 on the season, but 48 for his last 49 and on a current streak of 35 straight--a new BYU record, breaking the old mark of 32, set by Michael Smith 20 years ago.
The current Cougars lead the nation in free throw percentage; BYU is now shooting 84.2% from the stripe. The BYU season record for free throw accuracy is 81.5%, set in 1988-89.
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Jimmer Fredette's 10 pts give him double-figure scoring in 22 consecutive games--BYU's longest individual streak since Russ Larson scored 10+ in 44 consecutive games from 1993 through 1995.
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How impressive was BYU's 81-point total against ASU? Consider that herb Sendek has now coach 108 games at Arizona State, and only three times has an opponent scored more than 81 points in regulation against Sendek's Sun Devils (Baylor: 87 in 2008-09, #23 Washington: 84 in 2008-09, and #5 UCLA: 84 in 2007-08).
ASU came into the game ranked 11th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 56 points per game. In losses to Duke and Baylor, the Devils allowed only 64 points in both games.
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Win percentage of the Mountain West Conference's top three teams (UNM, UNLV and BYU): 95.7% (22-1)
Win percentage of the rest of the league: 60.4% (29-19)
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BYU's win over ASU jumped the Cougars a full 37 spots at collegerpi.com. BYU is now ranked 85th in RPI; the Ken Pomeroy Ratings bumped BYU from 14th to 13th.
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Two clever, savvy and enterprising individuals are tapping into fan fervor and using their powers of wordplay in the manufacture and marketing of t-shirts that Cougar fans would love to see under their Christmas tree this holiday season.
The "By George... I Think He's Caught It" tees are available online; buy one today and relive the 2009 BYU-Utah game in royal blue sartorial splendor!
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