BYU Cougars Not Ready to Fade to Black

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

The BYU Cougars (27-3, 13-2) were playing hot after sweeping the season series of their conference foe the San Diego State Aztecs (28-2, 13-2)

Jimmer Fredette captured the eyes of many with his scoring ability, but sophomore Brandon Davies is what steered BYU to elite status.

Davies 6'9'' 240 pound frame was a problem for many teams that competed against BYU. Davies is athletic, long and can run the court well.

He was one of Fredette's favorite targets starting 26 of 29 games and turned in 11.1 points and a team-leading 6.2 rebounds.

After meeting with school officials on Monday to confess an honor code violation, Davies was released from the team and could be possibly booted from the school.

BYU's dream season has took an unexpected turn for the worst. Without Davies, it's hard to picture BYU a final four team or a No. 1 seed in the tournament.

"We told him it's OK," Fredette said. "Sometimes in life we make mistakes. We've got to play through it."

After spending one day at No. 3 in the polls, the Cougars suffered a 82-64 loss at home to the New Mexico Lobos (19-11, 7-8) who finished a season sweep of BYU. Without Davies, the spotlight has shifted to Mountain West conference rival San Diego State.

Although, BYU wants everybody to know that it hasn't gone anywhere.

Head coach Dave Rose did give New Mexico a ton of credit for taking it to the Cougars. Coach Rose also said, "we'll regroup," following the blowout loss to New Mexico.

At 13-2 in the Mountain West, a win at home against Wyoming would give the Cougars a share of the conference title. It might also be a chance to show that BYU can win without Davies.

For once this season, the Cougars are considered the underdogs in College Basketball. Their leader Fredette has always had BYU strong and willing to battle against top competition.

Fredette was able to will this team last season before hitting a road block in the NCAA tournament. With more in his arsenal this season, their shouldn't be much holding the senior back.

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BYU Still The Team to Beat in the Mountain West

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

The Mountain West conference could be looking at one of the best years in recent history.

The San Diego State Aztecs (14-0) has emerged on the national stage and is now touted as the No. 7 team in all of College Basketball.

Despite being upset by the UCLA Bruins, the No. 16 Brigham Young Cougars (13-1) have been very impressive with All-American Jimmer Fredette who pours in 24.9 points a game.

The New Mexico Lobos (11-2) has been the most impressive team knocking off teams such as Colorado, Arizona State, and Texas Tech.

The UNLV Rebels (12-2) have also been another very impressive Mountain West program.

UNLV won the 76 Classics in-season tournament, as well as picking up wins over Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, and Kansas State.

Last season, the regular season title belonged to New Mexico after defeating BYU head-to-head late in the season, while San Diego State came up victorious during the conference championship.

The last time BYU won a conference championship dates back to '07-08 when the Cougars won the regular season title with a conference record of (14-2). The last time the Cougars took the tournament championship home Mekeli Wesley, and Terrell Lyday were playing for BYU back in '00-01.

BYU's Jimmer Fredette has never won a Mountain West conference tournament title. This season, things could change tremendously.

Despite the re-emergence of San Diego State, the Mountain West conference powerhouse still remains BYU.

Jackson Emery, the 6-foot-3 senior guard, continues to help Fredette in the backcourt. Emery chips-in 11.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assist, which happens to be slight drop from his contributions last season.

Sophomore Brandon Davies saw his minutes increase and has taken advantage by chipping in career highs in points with 11.4 points, and 5.2 rebounds.

He continues to get better as the season progresses and averages 15.2 points, 6.7 rebounds in his last four games.

Mind you, Davies only see's the floor for 21.6 minutes per outing.

Collectively, as a team, BYU scores 83.2 points per game, which ranks 10th in the nation. The Cougars also get on the glass pulling down 40.7 rebounds.

The Cougars are my favorite to win the Mountain West because of their balance. BYU has the advantage over UNLV, San Diego State, and New Mexico on the glass.

Not to mention, the Cougars have a great rotation that features almost every premier player on their roster.

For BYU to come away with it's first conference regular season title in three years, and tournament championship in nearly a decade, it must overwhelm on the glass.

Fredette continues to be "Mr. Everything" and plays his part every game. Now it's time for others to step up and contribute consistently when it matters the most.

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