Just filed for the newspaper a story that will be posted online later today about what is happening when BYU's basketball team visits the smaller venues around the West Coast Conference.
As this recent blog outlined, Cougar fans are often overtaking the arenas, and causing some angst among the natives. It will be interesting to see what happens Thursday at 4,800-seat War Memorial Gym. First 4,000 folks through the doors get rally flags.

The big news today in the world of college sports is that 17 TCU students,

The highlight of BYU's basketball practice came just over the lengthy workout concluded at the Marriott Center: Coach Dave Rose walked up into the bleachers to retrieve a ball. Sitting down in the eighth row, Rose sort of chucked the ball, with two hands, at one of the portable baskets directly across from the visitors' bench.
Swish.
Unfortunately, none of the television crews -- who were interviewing Noah Hartsock at the time -- managed to catch the shot on tape.

The best news out of practice for the Cougars was that junior shooting guard Brock Zylstra practiced for the second-straight day. He should be able to play on Thursday at USF after missing the Pepperdine ga...

BYU finally released its 2012 football schedule on Monday, with few, if any, surprises. Here's the schedule, in case you missed the reports.
Naturally, it's time to look ahead to the 2013 schedule, which football coach Bronco Mendenhall and athletic director Tom Holmoe have said will be difficult.
How difficult?
After a teleconference with Holmoe on Monday night, I tweeted out that "Holmoe agreed with Bronco that the 2013 BYU football schedule will be the most difficult in school history."
Actually, Holmoe said, after being asked if he agreed with Mendenhall's assessment, that "it will be the toughest schedule ... I am sure."
Both men may have meant that the 2013 sc...

After announcing BYU's 2012 football schedule on BYUtv Monday night, Cougars athletic director Tom Holmoe spent some time with reporters on a conference call and answered questions about not only the 2012 docket, but other scheduling-related matters.
One of the most pressing questions regarding BYU's future football schedules has to do with the University of Utah, and whether the Utes and Cougars will play beyond 2012. As of right now, nothing is contracted beyond the Sept. 15 meeting at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Here's Holmoe's response to my question about the series continuing after this year:

"[Utah athletic director] Chris Hill and I have talked about the possibil...

BYU has officially released its 2012 football schedule for its second season of independence.
The schedule includes six home games and six road games and is highlighted by an Oct. 20 trip to Notre Dame, followed by an Oct. 27 game at Georgia Tech.
The Cougars will play just one home game after Oct. 13, and will have a bye the first weekend in November.
There were no surprises on Monday, with the only remaining unknowns being when the Cougars would play Idaho and Georgia Tech.
They will play host to the Vandals on Nov. 10.
Athletic director Tom Holmoe agreed with football coach Bronco Mendenhall's assessment last month that the 2013 schedule -- yet to be released, in ...

Rumors that the scoreboards at LaVell Edwards Stadium will be upgraded soon were confirmed by BYU on Monday with a news release saying the project will including state-of-the-art LED video walls in both end zones.
The project will also include LED ribbon boards across the top of both end zones.
The upgrades are expected to be completed before the Cougars' home opener against Washington State on Sept. 1.

Speaking of the 2012 schedule, which has not been announced officially in its entirety,

A couple of people asked me over the weekend if this BYU basketball team is legitimate, and worthy of a national ranking (which hasn't come yet) after pounding another hapless West Coast Conference foe on Saturday in the Marriott Center. The Cougars (21-6) crushed woeful Pepperdine 86-48 in front of 19,008 fans.
Hard to tell.
But if the Cougars can shoot a decent percentage from 3-point range, like they did against the Waves (12 of 32), they will be tough to beat anywhere because they've got such a strong pair of inside players in Noah Hartsock and Brandon Davies.
After posting 23 points and 12 rebounds in his second-to-last game in the Marriott Center, senior Charles Abouo s...

BYU basketball players Damarcus Harrison (left) and Charles Abouo discuss Saturday's 86-48 win over Pepperdine at the Marriott Center.

Abouo had 23 points and 12 rebounds in the game, and did not commit a foul.

...

BYU basketball coach Dave Rose talked about the Cougars' 86-48 win over Pepperdine on Saturday at the Marriott Center. Rose said the Cougars gained confidence by making their early shots and were active on the defensive end as well in scoring more points against the Waves than any other team this season.

BYU improved to 21-6 overall and 9-3 in the WCC with the win.

...

Amazing, what making a couple early shots -- especially early 3-pointers -- can do for a team.
The Cougars did that Saturday in front of 19,008 fans at the Marriott Center -- drilling four of their first five 3-point attempts -- and pasted Pepperdine 86-48 to improve to 21-6 on the season.
The team that had made just 17 of 101 3-pointers was 6-for-13 from long range in the first half, before the game got out of hand. They finished 12-for-32, which isn't all that great, but considering where they've been, nobody in the postgame interview room was complaining.
Actually, coach Dave Rose's only complaint was that the Cougars took too many 3-pointers.
Here's his postgame reply...

I've mentioned in tweets, blogs and articles that BYU basketball fans often overtake the arenas/gymnasiums in the WCC when the Cougars are in town -- far more than they did when the Cougars were in the MWC.
It is happening despite the fact that general admission ticket prices are doubled when BYU visits. I know that happened at Loyola Marymount, San Diego, Pepperdine and Portland because I stopped at the ticket booths at each place and asked. Officials at those schools aren't stupid; they are going to take advantage of BYU's national draw (due to church members, of course) and pad their athletic department coffers, if they can. Ticket prices are raised when Gonzaga and St. Mary's visit...

BYU basketball coach Dave Rose talks about the Cougars' game Saturday against Pepperdine in the Marriott Center....

The Cougars wrapped up their Thursday practice at the Marriott Center an hour or so ago, and the BYU women are now warming up, getting ready for their big game against No. 21 Gonzaga. The Zags are warming up, too.
The Tribune's Marty Renzhofer will cover tonight's game, so I am heading home to watch the big St. Mary's-Gonzaga men's game from Spokane.
Strangely, the three Cougars I talked to after practice today said they probably won't watch the game. Coach Dave Rose said he might not, either.
"I don't think I will watch it tonight," Rose adi. "But I will be interested in what the score is. When you look at it in the long scheme of things, whatever happens is your next ch...

It has been assumed for more than a year now that BYU offensive lineman Matt Reynolds would be taken in April's NFL Draft. The four-year starter was even mentioned as a possible first-round pick, although his stock has dropped some over the course of the last year.
Will any other Cougars be drafted?
Don't rule out defensive tackle Hebron "Loni" Fangupo.
According to this list put out by the NFL Scouting Combine, both Reynolds and Fangupo will take part in the combine in Indianapolis, Ind., from Feb. 22-28.
They are among more than 300 college football players invited to this year's combine.
Coa...

Kinda strange not having a BYU basketball game this week until Saturday. But after the Cougars play host to Pepperdine this weekend (4 p.m., BYUtv), they will return to the regular Thursday-Saturday rotation for the remaining two weeks of the regular season.
Then it is on to the WCC tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. BYU fans accustomed to the MWC tournament format are in for a surprise, though. If they finish in the top two, the Cougars won't begin play in the tournament until the semifinals on Saturday, March 3.
If they finish in the top four, they won't begin play until the quarterfinals on Friday, March 2.

Coach Dave Rose said after the Portland game on Satur...

Looks like the Cougars have played their way back into the good graces of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, if Joe Lunardi's Bracketology projections are to be believed.
The latest iteration has the Cougars (20-6) as a No. 11 seed, playing No. 6 seed Louisville in Albuquerque. UNLV is a No. 3 seed in the same quadrant. Wouldn't a BYU-UNLV second-round matchup in the Pit be intriguing?
The polls are also out this morning, and BYU is not ranked. No surprise there. The Cougars did get one vote, a No. 25 pick by Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News in the

BYU basketball coach Dave Rose answers questions after the Cougars' 83-73 win over No. 24 Gonzaga on Thursday night at the Marriott Center.

The coach explains why he decided to start Anson Winder at the two-guard position instead of Brock Zylstra.

...

BYU basketball players Noah Hartsock (right) and Matt Carlino answer questions about the Cougars' 83-73 win over No. 24 Gonzaga on Thursday night at the Marriott Center.

The Cougars led by 14 points at halftime, and held off a couple Gonzaga runs in the second half to right the ship after losing two straight home games at the Marriott Center.

BYU coach Dave Rose picked up his 100th home win Thursday (against eight home losses).

...

This isn't the way the Cougars wanted to start their hoped-for rivalry with Gonzaga. They are coming off two-straight home losses, and they simply cannot make 3-pointers, having gone 11 of 73 from beyond the arc in the past four games.
What's more, Gonzaga figures to have the emotional edge tonight (9 p.m., ESPN2), seeing as how the Cougars kicked the Bulldogs around a year ago in the NCAA Tournament. That loss couldn't have sat well with Gonzaga coach Mark Few and his assistants, two of whom have ties to the state. Of course, Ray Giacoletti was Utah's head coach and Donny Daniels was a longtime assistant.
Both were with Few that night in Denver last March when BYU blitzed t...

Interesting column in the Spokesman-Review (Spokane) newspaper today by John Blanchette about BYU's entrance into the West Coast Conference.
Of note is a portion of the column in which the author says WCC commissioner called BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe after BYU fans' unsportsmanlike behavior during and after the 80-66 loss to St. Mary's on Saturday in the Marriott Center.
Apparently, the commish asked Holmoe why it didn't stop after the first warning, and what he has done to ensure it doesn't repeat itself in the future.
Interesting quote/shot at the MWC from Holmoe:
"The ...

What does BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall think about recruiting services such as rivals.com and scout.com? The coach addressed the issue at his signing day news conference on Wednesday.

Mendenhall also talks about the dozen or so players who will be returning from missions in time for the 2012 season, including Russell Tialavea, the defensive lineman who will be a senior.

...

Which of the players signed today by BYU will have an immediate impact? Coach Bronco Mendenhall says he's not sure, but it might be worthwhile to keep an eye on RB Jamaal Williams of Fontana, Calif. Williams is just 16 years old, but the Cougars need help at the RB position with the graduation of J.J. Di Luigi and Bryan Kariya.

Also, Mendenhall talks about how he prefers players that don't have a sense of entitlement.

...

In this video segment of BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall's signing day news conference, the coach explains how the Cougars were able to land quarterback Taysom Hill. Mendenhall says Hill decided on his mission he wanted to transfer from Stanford to BYU and that the quarterback initiated the discussions with BYU. Mendenhall said BYU followed NCAA rules to a T once Hill's mission president notified the coaches that Hill was interested in transferring.

Also, Mendenhall talks about how Jake Heaps' transfer effected recruiting.

...

More from BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall and his signing day news conference on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Mendenhall answers questions about what he means when he says he is building a "complete program" and what effect independence has had on his recruiting efforts.

...

Here's Part II of BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall's news conference on signing day. Mendenhall answers questions about getting early commitments and why he signed three quarterbacks on Wednesday.

The coach says BYU might not seek as many early commitments in the future as it has in his seven-year tenure. Regarding the quarterback situation, the coach says it is better to have too many QBs than not enough.

...

BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall used the first five minutes of his signing day news conference to summarize his program's accomplishments and relay the recruiting pitch he and his coaches give prospective recruits.

This is the first of five video segments to be posted here from Mendenhall's news conference.

...

I've already posted some video of what BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall had to say today at the luncheon celebrating BYU's 2012 signing class. Most of that was Mendenhall's state-of-the-program report -- mostly stuff about 10-win seasons and national rankings, etc.
After that address, Mendenhall turned his attention to describing the 17 players who signed with BYU on Wednesday.
Of particular note was the coach's description of quarterback Tanner Mangum. Mendenhall never mentioned the name Jake Heaps when describing Mangum, but Heaps is clearly who he had in mind when he talked about Mangum not coming in feeling "entitled" to get a scholarship offer.
Actually, only 14 players really...

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall spoke to boosters after a luncheon at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Wednesday to celebrate National Signing Day and introduce his 2012 signing class.

Here are the first few minutes or so of Mendenhall's address. mainly a state-of-the-program report.

...

Throughout his seven-year tenure as BYU's head basketball coach, Dave Rose has been proud of the fact that the Cougars seemingly play better in February than they did in January.
As the new month approaches, the coach hopes that this team continues that trend, he said after a spirited practice on Tuesday at the Marriott Center.
"The most important thing is to handle February like we always handle February, and that's trying to get better," Rose said when he was asked what the Cougars need to do to right the ship after two straight home losses.
"Each practice we try to get better. With every loss comes a renewed urgency. Right now we are not shooting the ball as well as w...

After their 80-66 loss to St. Mary's on Saturday night, BYU players Noah Hartsock and Matt Carlino were adamant that the team would bounce back this week, saying Dave Rose-coached teams are known for not losing two games in a row.
But the test on Thursday is huge, with Gonzaga rolling into Provo having won four straight games and well-rested. The Zags haven't played since beating Portland 74-62 in Portland last Thursday. The Cougars should have their legs, too, finally getting some rest after playing at Virginia Tech on Wednesday and in Provo on Saturday.
Fresh legs are huge to shooting, coaches say, and BYU knows all about bad shooting after going 11 of 73 from 3-point range in it...

Brigham Young University athletic director Tom Holmoe issued a statement Monday regarding the "poor sportsmanship" displayed by BYU students and fans during and after the Cougars' 80-66 loss to St. Mary's on Saturday at the Marriott Center.
Students threw wadded paper and wadded rally towels on floor several times to show their displeasure with the officiating. The first incident, right before halftime, resulted in a warning.
When a wadded towel hit the floor early in the second half, the officiating crew of James Giron, Glen Mayberry and Frank Harvey issued an "administrative technical foul" and awarded the Gaels two free throws.
More debris -- nothing that could have ser...

As you have probably read already in The Tribune, BYU's basketball program received a commitment over the weekend from 6-2 guard Raul Delgado of Western Nebraska Community College. Delgado made his official campus visit on Saturday, took in the BYU-St. Mary's game, and committed shortly thereafter. He will sign with the Cougars when the late signing period begins in April.
WNCC coach Russell Beck, a native of Alpine, Utah, who has coached at SLCC, said Delgado has not used a redshirt year, so he will have three years to play two at BYU if he wants. However, he's not viewed as a redshirt ...

Looks like those rumors/fears/reports that former BYU head football coach Gary Crowton would join Utah's coaching staff aren't going to happen.
According to this report, Crowton will become the new offensive coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.


Check out our recruiting blog for more on BYU's latest football commit. Bingham High's Keegan Hicks, a junior, committed to the Cougars at Junior Day last Saturday. Hicks, a 6-foot-3, 280-pound offensive lineman, is just the latest ...

For the first time in coach Dave Rose's tenure, the BYU basketball team has lost three home games in one season. Struggling throughout the game, especially on offense, the Cougars fell hard tonight to No. 21 St. Mary's, dropping an 80-66 decision at the Marriott Center.
It was a tough night for Rose, who picked up only his second technical foul in his head-coaching career for snarling at a ref who had called a foul on Matt Carlino with just over two minutes remaining. Actually, the ref whom Rose was disgusted with did not call the technical. It was another ref, perhaps making up for a technical he called on St. Mary's bench earlier in the game.
BYU's studentbody also picked up a...

BYU students showed up in force for Saturday night's game against St. Mary's, filling their section an hour before the 7 p.m. tipoff.

Forward Stephen Rogers, shown warming up in this video, said "we will see" when he was asked if he will play. Rogers has a sore right knee.

...

Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the BYU Cougars during their last game against St. Mary's, and the result was a WCC-opening 98-82 loss to the Gaels.
But BYU big man Brandon Davies played well, scoring a career-high 28 points on 11 of 18 shooting. He also had seven rebounds and five steals. The performance was a precursor of things to come, as the 6-9 junior has put together a phenomenal WCC season.
Davies will be a huge key to tonight's game (7 p.m., ESPNU) as the Cougars look to avenge that 16-point loss.
"We are all expecting to play well. We got to play better than we did out there. That includes myself and everyone else on the team," Davies said.
...

BYU basketball coach Dave Rose says he believes his team is better than it was a month ago when it fell 98-82 to No. 21 St. Mary's in Moraga, Calif. The rematch is Saturday night at the Marriott Center, and a sellout crowd of 22,700 is expected.

...

BYU forward Noah Hartsock talks about Saturday's showdown with No. 21 St. Mary's at the Marriott Center....

BYU guard Brock Zylstra talks about the importance of the Cougars' next two WCC games -- against St. Mary's on Saturday night and against Gonzaga next Thursday -- for BYU's hopes of getting an NCAA Tournament bid.

...

After allowing reporters to talk to players and coaches prior to practice on Friday at the Marriott Center, BYU basketball coach Dave Rose closed the actual practice itself to the media as the Cougars made final preparations for Saturday night's humongous game against No. 20/21 ranked St. Mary's (7 p.m. MST, ESPNU).
Rose said that junior wing Stephen Rogers would practice a little bit on Friday, after having done some practicing on Thursday, but is not expected to play against the Gaels. Rogers' right knee is still sore and partly swollen from his torn meniscus surgery in December.
Rogers is "really trying to push through this. Hopefully we can get him back here in the next week o...

Football signing day is right around the corner (Wednesday, Feb. 1, to be exact) and as usual we've got you covered as far as BYU's 2012 class is concerned.
Check out Sunday's Tribune for a complete list of players who are expected to sign with BYU on Wednesday, and some details about each prospect.
If you can't wait, a lot of the information will be posted online as early as Friday night.
On the BYU football recruiting front, it has been a slow month, a slow couple of months, actually, as recruiting for the 2012 class was pretty much wrapped up by October.
The Cougars have one last scholarship to give out, and it appears that one will go to Theodore King, a defensive...

BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall is losing one of his prized graduate assistants. Shaun Nua, a former Cougar player who has been a G.A. the past three seasons, has accepted a full-time job on Navy's staff as a defensive line coach.
Nua graduated from BYU in 2005 and spent four years in the NFL before returning to his alma mater.
"Shaun is a bright and enthusiastic coach and I'm very excited to have him join our staff," said Navy head coach Ken Niumatolo in a school news release. "He is a man of character and coaches with a great deal of passion. I went to BYU last spring to watch a couple of spring practices and he immediately caught my attention with the way he coac...

Whether you believe the BYU basketball team is out of the NCAA Tournament as of right now (as Joe Lunardi of ESPN Bracketology fame does), or whether you believe the Cougars are among the Last Four In (as SI's Andy Glockner does in his Bracket Watch feature), you have to think that tonight's game at Virginia Tech (12-7) is huge for the Cougars (17-5).
Here's my preview of tonight's game, which tips off at 5 p.m. MST and can only be viewed on ESPN3 (online only).
Looks like Virginia Tech...

Congratulations to the BYU women's basketball team for cracking the national rankings for the first time in five years. The Cougars (18-3) are tied for No. 23 in the Associated Press Top 25, which was released Monday morning.
BYU's men's basketball team (17-5) is not ranked in either poll, and is no longer receiving votes in either after falling to Loyola Marymount last Thursday. The Cougars are no longer considered an NCAA Tournament team in Joe Lunard's Bracketology report, either.
The Cougars are among Lunardi's "First Four Out" in this week's projections.
It all makes Wednesday's nonconference game at Virginia Tech of the ACC even more important for the Cougars, but co...

Lost somewhat in BYU's 77-64 win over Pepperdine on Saturday in breathtakingly gorgeous Malibu, Calif., was the fact that senior forward Noah Hartsock joined the Cougar's 1,000-point club. With 20 points against the Waves -- his eighth game of 20 or more points this season, and ninth in his career -- Hartsock now has 1,003 career points and is the 43rd player in school history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau.
Hartsock is No. 43 on BYU's all-time scoring list; He can catch Dave Eastis (1,015 points) on Wednesday when the Cougars play at Virginia Tech, although scoring a lot of points on the defensive-minded Hokies is going to be difficult for all the players.
Tipoff for that g...

The Cougars bounced back nicely here in beautiful Malibu, Calif, on Saturday night, whipping Pepperdine 77-64 after suffering that humilating loss to Loyola Marymount in Provo on Thursday.
The story of the game was Brandon Davies, who made 15 of 18 free throw attempts and finished with a career-high 29 points. His previous high was 28 at St. Mary's a few weeks ago.
Noah Hartsock added 20 points and surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Hartsock now has 1,003 points, the 43rd Cougar in the school's 1,000-point club.
In typical Hartsock fashion, he joked that it only took him four years to do what Jimmer Fredette did in one (Fredette had 1,068 points last season)...

Great basketball teams find ways to win games when they aren't shooting well, especially on their home court. That's what BYU coach Dave Rose said Thursday night after the Cougars were ambushed 82-68 at the Marriott Center by Loyola Marymount -- a team that's better than its 11-8 record.
Obviously, the Cougars couldn't pull off the feat.
"We need to shoot better than that to win. But I still think the nights that you are not shooting [well] you can still find ways to win games. Tonight we didn't do that," Rose said.
Here's my game story from last night with all the gory det...

Some people in Utah's Canyons School District apparently believe BYU's mascot is offensive to middle-aged women.
As reported in this story by the state's Fox-TV affiliate, Ch. 13, the Canyons' board rejected the mascot "Cougars" for the new high school in Draper that will be known as Corner Canyon High School. The new school will draw students that currently attend Alta High and will open in 2013.
They will call themselves the Corner Canyon Chargers.
Apparently, prospective students were polled and the majority chose Cougar...

I hope you were able to catch our college basketball page in The Tribune this morning, a page that includes some commentary and analysis sure to spark some debate among BYU fans and the state's college basketball fans in general.
I wrote about the differences BYU's basketball team is facing as a member of the West Coast Conference as opposed to the MWC in this piece. It's just not the same, obviously, although I am well aware that 1) students at USD and LMU were not back from the holiday break when their schools hosted BYU and 2) the atmospheres at St. Mary's and Gonzaga were close (SMC) or...

Less than 24 hours after handling San Diego 82-63 on Monday night, the Cougars returned to practice Tuesday as a "banged up" basketball team, in the words of coach Dave Rose.
"We are kinda banged up," Rose said. "Stephen's got a knee, Matt's hamstring is kinda sore, and Noah has some issues, Brock has an elbow [problem]. So it was a physical game, and we got some shots up -- got a lot of shots up today. We will put the game plan in for LMU tomorrow and get ready."

Rose said Stephen Rogers did not practice after apparently re-injuring his surgically repaired right knee Monday night against the Toreros. Rogers will visit a doctor later tonight.
"He's got similar pain that ...