Jimmer Fredette Has Become a Can't Miss Player

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

Jimmer Fredette’s name has to be a hot topic in the player of the year conversation after his display of his scoring ability all season. Not to mention, Fredette has the BYU Cougars (20-1, 5-0) ranked inside the top 10 and looking for their first conference title in years.

Coming into this season, Yahoo Rivals listed Fredette as the most explosive player in the country. Many also regarded Fredette as a lethal scorer, but nobody really expected him to put up 40-points multiple times in one season—let alone, twice in a row.

Fredette had surpassed former scoring leader Kemba Walker after his 47-point performance against Utah. Since then, Fredette has owned the top spot in the scoring column and is now up to 27.4 per game.

Fredette has also pushed his average up to 35.7 points during conference play

Fredette has scored 20-plus points in 17 games this season, including seven 30-plus games, and three 40-point outings.

After his most recent 43-point game against rival San Diego State, Fredette received props from many formidable players, including NBA stars.

“Jimmer Fredette is the best scorer in the world,” said Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant via Twitter. “Jimmer Fredette is cold, #respect” said Washington Wizards star John Wall.

Fredette isn’t the same player that got locked down in the ’09 NCAA tournament by Jacob Pullen. He finally gets it, and has grown from last year’s disappointment, which is one of the reasons BYU is one of the top teams in the nations.

“Jimmer has a relentless mindset toward scoring the ball, which you might think everyone has, but his is unique,” said coach Rose.

The past few gams, coach Dave Rose has stuck with the same offense that plays to Fredette’s strengths.

“He’s also playing with guys that want to get the best shot possible on every possession,” said Rose. “I think you can see that when Jimmer’s got a hot hand and is rolling pretty good that his teammates really look for him.”

The last two games combined, Fredette has been hot from deep nailing 9-of-17 (52%) of his three point baskets.

Fredette will continue to grow as the Cougars travel to take on the New Mexico Lobos (14-7, 2-4) who are underachieving, but still a formidable opponent for BYU.

If Fredette were to recreate another 40-point night against the Lobos, he would solidify everyone’s notion of being the most dominant scorer in the college game.

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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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San Diego State Picks Up Key Win Against No. 12 Gonzaga

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

The San Diego State Aztecs (2-0) are conceived to possibly be this years Butler Bulldogs of last year. The Aztecs can possibly be the mid-major power to beat, and has great players to commend that notion.

San Diego State had their first test of the season on the road against the No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs (2-1).

After the Aztecs made a statement by taking a 42-37 lead at the half, San Diego State continued their dominance all the way until the final buzzer sounded.

The Aztecs held off Gonzaga after watching a desperation attempt fall well short at the buzzer by Steven Gray.

Billy White scored a career-high 30 points, to go along with nine rebounds, and two steals.

Three other players were in double-figures as the Aztecs picked up one of the most notable wins in school history. Kawhi Leonard had 18, James Rahon 12, and Brian Carwell with 10.

The Aztecs out-rebounded Gonzaga 33-26, 18 coming on the offensive end.

However, Gonzaga's Gray lead all scorers with 35 points, while adding five assist, three rebounds, and two assist. Robert Sacre also finished in double-figures for Gonzaga with 13 points, and 11 rebounds.

Impressively, San Diego State did a great job on Elias Harris. Harris finished the game with five points, and three rebounds, while shooting 1-of-4 from the field. The Aztecs made Harris a non-threat on offense, and ultimately is one of the reasons why San Diego State stayed ahead most of the game.

Nonetheless, the Aztecs pick up their first marquee win in school history, as well as the season. San Diego State will be in action next against Green Bay Phoenix at home. Gonzaga will travel to Kansas City to face-off against the No. 3 ranked Kansas State Wildcats.

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College Hoops: ESPN/USA Today Poll Snubs

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

Last season, the ESPN/USA Today released its final poll and the Duke Blue Devils were featured as the No. 1 team after their National Championship victory.

Before the 2010-11' season started the Blue Devils were conceived the No. 1 team in the polls. On October 21, 2010 the ESPN/USA Today poll was released and to no ones surprise Duke was the No. 1 team overall and Michigan State followed at two.

The recent injury to Robbie Hummel allowed Kansas State to jump to the third spot in the poll.

Purdue dropped to No. 8, rather than being a lock in the top 5, while the Kentucky Wildcats cracked the top-10 of the coaches poll.

There are nine teams that are in the polls now that wasn't there when the final poll was released last year. However, 25-teams isn't enough. Here is my selection of the best teams that weren't featured in the coaches poll.

Colorado Buffaloes - The Buffs' returned their dynamic backcourt duo Cory Higgins, and Alec Burks that survived their first year together in the Big 12. This year, the Buffs' will not be at the bottom of the Big 12. With Burks, and Higgins, along with Marcus Relphorde, Austin Dufault and many other returning players the Buffs' are looking very impressive. Colorado was selected to finish ninth-overall in the Big 12 by the coaches. However, with the returning players along with Burks, and Higgins the Buffs' should finish much higher than that.

Brigham Young Cougars - Last year, when the final coaches poll was released the Cougars were No. 22 overall after losing to Kansas State in the Sweet-16. This season, the Cougars received 55 votes, but it wasn't enough to get them inside the top-25. The Cougars returned their superstar Jimmer Fredette who lead the team last year in scoring. With Fredette, the Cougars are, once again, conceived as a mid-major power in College Basketball.

San Diego State Aztecs - Last season, the Aztecs were granted an NCAA tournament berth after a 25-8 season. They did lose to Tennessee in the first-round but the young Aztecs did show potential with then-freshman Kawhi Leonard leading the way. This year, the Aztecs returned four-of-five starters from a season ago, and could surprise College Basketball this year. The Aztecs received 73-votes, and is right outside the top-25.

Murray State Racers - Murray State shocked then-No. 4 Vanderbilt in the first round of the tournament. They also were five seconds away from sinking the eventual runner-up Butler. The Racers were very impressive during the tournament and could emerge as a mid-major power this season. Murray State returned three-of-five starters from last year's second round team. Not to mention, their leader B.J. Jenkins is ready to lead the Racers to another NCAA tournament berth. The Racers received two votes by coaches.

West Virginia Mountaineers - West Virginia finished No. 3 overall in the last coaching poll released after the season ended. When the new poll was released last week, the Mountaineers weren't inside the top-25 and received only 49-votes. West Virginia lost two of their most talented players in Devin Ebanks, and Da'Sean Butler, but did acquire enough experience from last years squad that will should crack the top-25. Kevin Jones, who was an All-Big East selection, will lead the Mountaineers in the right direction.

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