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The BYU Cougars are staging one heck of a "roadshow."
The 7th/8th ranked Cougars were on the Marriott Center floor Thursday afternoon for practice, a day after turning another enemy venue into a "home away from home."
Wednesday night's 90-52 win at Air Force was of course notable for the way BYU played, which was, in a word, outstanding. BYU became the first team in 11 years to score 90 points or more on the Cadets' home floor, while tying a BYU team record for three-pointers made in a game, with 15 (on 30 attempts).
As remarkable as BYU's performance was the atmosphere at Clune Arena, where not only did six-thousand fans pack the sold-out house, but a good percentage of the crowd was on hand to support the visiting team.
I've done my job long enough to know that BYU always draws fans away from home; it's one of the things that makes BYU such a unique institution. Lately, however, BYU's road hoops crowds are increasing in number and fervor. It is also true that BYU's hosts are bringing out more of their own fans, to see their squad take on a Top 10 team and the presumptive national Player of the Year in Jimmer Fredette.
But as was the case last night at Air Force, and at Utah, and other venues before, BYU fans are standing out on the road and boosting their team, which has developed into perhaps the premier road team in college hoops.
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BYU has played 25 games on the season, with only 40% of them on the COugars' home floor.
Of the teams in the RPI Top 50, no team has played more away/neutral games than BYU's 15 (9 away, 6 neutral), and none of the teams in the RPI Top 100 has more away/neutral wins than BYU's 13 (8-1 away, 5-1 neutral).
In the calculation of BYU's "RPI Wins," the Cougars lead the nation with 21.6 such wins, where victories are awarded points on the following scale (D1 games only): 0.6 points for a home win, 1.0 points for a neutral court win, and 1.4 points for an away win.
RPI Wins
1. BYU 21.6
2. SDSU 21.2
3. Ohio State 20.8
4. Kansas 20.6
5. Utah State 19.6
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The Cougars are back home to meet Utah for a final time as regular season conference colleagues; the game is set for a 4:02pm tipoff Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center.
You can hear head coach Dave Rose and players Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery preview the game in pre-practice interviews posted in the "Cougar Cuts" box above (the links say "post-practice," but I need to change the label since BYU has conducted recent interviews prior to practice).
You can also hear some one-on-one time Rose about Jerry Sloan's resignation, as well as a KSL Radio audio highlight recap from the Air Force game.
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Before practice, Rose was unsure just how much Kyle Collinsworth (concussion) and James Anderson (shoulder separation) would be able to do; both missed Wednesday night's game, and both would have to be considered question marks for the Utah game.
In the absence of those two players, BYU turned in a tremendous team effort at Clune Arena. Only nine players dressed, and eight scored as BYU handed he Cadets the program's worst-ever home loss.
Charles Abouo (7 pts, 4 reb, 2 assts, 2 stls) and Stephen Rogers (11 pts, 5 reb, 2 blks, 2 stls) continued their strong recent play--an extremely positive sign heading down the homestretch in the MWC. The play of Logan Magnusson (6 pts, 7 reb in 18 mp) was a needed bonus, with the Cougars down a man up front.
All in all, it was one of the best efforts of the Dave Rose era, and a game that can serve as both a rallying cry and an indication of just how good this team can be.
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