NCAA Second Round - BYU to Play Kansas State

Cougars vs. Kansas State In NCAA Second Round

After defeating No. 10 seed Florida in a thrilling double-overtime game on Thursday, BYU men’s basketball has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where the Cougars will face No. 2 seed Kansas State. The Cougars trailed by four with 1:44 remaining in regulation and early in the first overtime. Jimmer Fredette had 37 points, including 10 in the second overtime, and Michael Loyd, Jr., posted a career-best 26 points, including all six BYU points in the first overtime. The No. 7 seed Cougars now face No. 2 seed Kansas State in a West Regional matchup with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. Saturday’s game will be televised live on CBS while the radio broadcast can be heard live on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. CT.

Up Next

The winner of No. 7 BYU and No. 2 Kansas State will advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament — the Sweet 16 — and face the winner of No. 3 Pittsburgh/No. 14 Oakland vs. No. 6 Xavier/No. 11 Minnesota on Thursday, March 25, at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

Cougar Quick Hits

— At 30-5 overall, BYU has set the program record for wins in a season (set previously in 1950-51) and has the best record in program history through 35 games. This also marks the fourth-straight season with 25-plus wins, a program record.

— Jimmer Fredette is the first BYU player to record 40-plus points in two games in his career. He set the Coguar single-game scoring record with 49 points at Arizona and had the third-highest single-game total with 45 points vs. TCU in the MWC Tournament quarterfinals.

— Fredette is 13th all-time in scoring at BYU with 1,510 career points. He leads the conference in scoring at 22.1 points per game. He is also third at BYU in career threes (171), ninth in assists (350) and 11th in steals (117).

— Junior guard Jackson Emery has 90 steals this season, a BYU record for steals in a season. The previous record was 66, set by Marty Haws in 1989-90. He is fourth in career steals with 147.

— Two-time MWC Coach of the Year Dave Rose has guided BYU to three MWC regular season titles and four-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. Under Rose, BYU also has five-straight 20-win seasons and five-straight postseason appearances. At 127-39 (.765) overall, he is BYU’s all-time leader in winning percentage.

— Senior forward Jonathan Tavernari is BYU’s all-time leader in made threes with 264. He is also climbing the lists for points (T12th with 1,512) and steals (3rd with 163).

— With the win vs. Florida in the NCAA Tournament, Jonathan Tavernari played in his 103rd BYU victory — first in school history. Tavernari’s teams have won 107 games, the best four-year stretch in program history.

West Regional Bracket in Oklahoma City

Ford Center

Thursday, March 18, 2010

First Round Game 1 — 11:20 a.m. CT

No. 7 BYU 99, No. 10 Florida 92 (2OT)

First Round Game 2 — 30 minutes following the conclusion of Game 1

No. 2 Kansas State 82, No. 15 North Texas 62

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Second Round Game 2 — approx. 7:10 p.m. (tip 30 minutes following the conclusion of Game 1)

No. 7 BYU (30-5) vs. No. 2 Kansas State (27-7)

BYU Game #35 Fast Facts

No. 7 BYU (30-5, 13-3 MWC) vs. No. 2 Kansas State (27-7, 11-5 Big 12)

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Ford Center (17,611)

Oklahoma City

approx. 7:10 p.m. CT (30 minutes after conclusion of first game)

Coaches

BYU, Dave Rose (127-39 in fifth season; same overall)

Kansas State, Frank Martin (70-31 in third season; same overall)

Series

Series tied at 3-3 with BYU winning last meeting 73-64 in 2002

TV

Live on CBS (Kevin Harlan, play-by-play; Dan Bonner, analyst)

Radio

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network (6 p.m. CT pregame show — Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Mark Durrant, game analysis)

Web

Live stats links are available on the basketball schedule page at www.byucougars.com/basketball_m/

Looking at Kansas State

No. 2 seed Kansas State is 27-7 overall and 11-5 in the Big 12. The Wildcats advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with an 82-62 win over No. 15 seed North Texas. Guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente lead the team in scoring at 18.8 and 16.2 points per game, respectively. Curtis Kelly adds 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds while Dominque Sutton contributes 7.6 points. Jamar Samuels comes off the bench to add 11.6 points per game. As a team the Wildcats average 79.6 points per game and shoot .452 from the field, .357 from three and .664 from the free throw line. Opponents average 69.2 points and shoot .418 from the field and .333 from three against Kansas State.

Kansas State’s Last Outing — Wildcats Defeat North Texas to Advance

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Four Wildcats scored in double figures as second-seeded Kansas State advanced in the NCAA Tournament with an 82-62 win over North Texas Thursday in NCAA First Round action at the Ford Center.

With the win, the Wildcats (27-7) move on to play seventh-seeded BYU, a 99-92 winner over Florida in double-overtime, on Saturday in NCAA Second Round action. Game time will be determined later Thursday evening. The win for K-State was its 10th all-time in NCAA First Round action and first since up-ending USC in 2008.

Denis Clemente led the way for Kansas State with 17 points, while Curtis Kelly and Jacob Pullen each notched 15. Dominique Sutton also pitched in 12 for the Wildcats, who shot 51 percent from the floor in the win. K-State’s defense held North Texas to 30 percent shooting for the game and forced 16 Mean Green turnovers.

Holding a 16-point advantage at the half, K-State extended its lead to 21 in the first four minutes of the second half on a Clemente fast break layup. A McGruder three with 12:50 left matched the largest lead of the contest up to that point at 59-38 before a Wally Judge bucket pushed the margin to 62-38. The Wildcats held their largest lead of the game at 26 midway through the second half.

North Texas would get to within 14 at 69-55 before a Kelly turnaround made it 71-55 and jump-started a 6-0 K-State scoring run to close out the win.

Tristan Thompson led North Texas (24-9) with 28 points.

The Cats scored the game’s first five points but the Mean Green answered and took their first lead at 8-7 with 15:26 left. With 11:21 remaining in the first half, the Wildcats held on to a 14-8 lead after two Kelly put-backs.

Following a turnover and a foul, two Sutton free throws gave K-State its first double-digit lead of the game at 24-14. Pullen’s driving layup then pushed the lead to 26-14 with 6:40 left in the half, forcing North Texas into a timeout. K-State took a 30-16 lead on a Clemente to Sutton fast break layup before Pullen’s three with 3:50 left upped the margin to 35-18.

Clemente hit consecutive three’s to make it 41-25 at the half as the backcourt duo of Pullen and Clemente each had 11 first-half points. K-State held North Texas to just five field goals in the first half (20 percent) but the Mean Green were 13-of-18 from the free throw line.

Series Notes

BYU and Kansas State meet for the seventh time in the history of the series. Each team has won three times in the series with the Cougars winning the most recent meeting 73-64 in 2002. The two teams met in the NCAA Tournament in 1951 with the Wildcats winning 64-54.

Most Wins in a Season

At 30-5 on the season, the 2009-10 BYU men’s basketball squad has set the Cougar record for regular season wins and the overall record for wins. The 2007-08 team set the previous regular season record with 25 regular season victories and finished 27-8 after the postseason. The 1950-51 team was 24-7 in the regular season and finished with what was a program record 28 wins to go with nine losses.

New Record for Thievery

With a steal at Colorado State, Jackson Emery broke the BYU record for steals in a single season. The record was previously held by Marty Haws, who had 66 steals in 1989-90. Emery now has 90 steals this season after collecting one vs. Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He is two from breaking the MWC single-season record.

33-Point Games

Jimmer Fredette’s 37 points vs. Florida in the NCAA Tournament was his seventh game with 33-plus points this season. He is tied for fourth all-time in BYU history for career 33-point games and his seven this season are the most by a BYU junior in a single season and the second-most in any BYU season. Devin Durrant had 11 33-point games as a senior in 1983-84. Fredette has eight 30-point games this season, including the seven 33-plus games and a 30-point effort vs. UNLV in the MWC Tournament.

Best Record Through 35 Games

At 30-5 overall, BYU men’s basketball has the best record in program history through 35 games. The 1950-51 team held the previous best record in program history through 35 games at 28-7. See below for the other best records through 35 games.

In the Rankings

BYU men’s basketball entered the top-25 rankings for the first time this season on Jan. 4 at No. 25 in the AP Poll and No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Cougars are currently ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll and No. 16 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (as of the March 8 polls). BYU has been ranked as high as No. 12 in the AP Poll and No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Rose has led his teams to the rankings in each of the last four seasons to become the first Cougar coach to lead BYU into the rankings in four-straight seasons.

BYU as a Ranked Team

BYU owns a 153-62 record as a ranked team, including 16-4 this season. The Cougars are 86-13 at home, 43-30 on the road and 24-19 at neutral sites when nationally ranked. BYU is 25-10 as a ranked team under Dave Rose.

Consecutive Weeks Ranked

BYU entered the rankings on Jan. 4 and has been ranked ever since, a streak of 11-consecutive weeks — the third longest Cougar streak in a single season since the 1980-81 and 1971-72 teams that were ranked for 15-straight weeks and the 1979-80 team that was ranked for 14-straight weeks. The Cougars were ranked for 30-consecutive weeks (not including preseason polls) over three seasons from the first week of the 1979-80 season to the first week of the 1981-82 season.

1,000-Point Scorers

With six points vs. Florida in the NCAA First Round, Jonathan Tavernari has 1,512 career points and is tied with Kresimir Cosic for 11th all-time in scoring at BYU. After scoring 30 points vs. UNLV in the MWC semifinals, Jimmer Fredette has 1,510 career points, good for 13th all-time in program history.

Downtown Record Watch

Jonathan Tavernari is BYU’s all-time leader in career threes and attempts. Tavernari also owns the record for threes in a season with 88 in 2007-08. He now has 264 makes and 694 attempts. Jimmer Fredette is third with 171 makes and third with 435 attempts. Jackson Emery is seventh in makes (135) and eighth in attempts (340).

Top-10 Pick Pockets

Senior forward Jonathan Tavernari had three steals vs. Florida in the NCAA First Round to give him 163 for his career. He is third all-time in BYU history. Jackson Emery is fourth with 147 while Jimmer Fredette is 11th with 117.

When Jimmer Scores 20...

Jimmer Fredette had 37 points vs. Florida in the NCAA First Round, his 21st 20-point game this season and 29th of his career. He has reached 30-plus points eight times this season. BYU is 24-5 when Fredette scores 20 or more points and 7-1 when he scores 30-plus.

BYU Freshman Scoring Leaders

With 383 points this season, Tyler Haws is on pace to become one of the highest scoring freshmen in BYU history. He is currently sixth and 12 points from passing Trent Plaisted.