Preference

Ok well now that BYU basketball is over, *tear*, I'm writing about some other stuff for a while until I start talking about football. March 15th was Preference at Timpanogos, and it was really fun! We went ice skating during the day and I didn't fall once! That was only the 2nd or 3rd time I've ever been ice skating in my life so that's quite an accomplishment. The dance was at the Cedar Hills golf course, so it's a good thing Kasey is a golfer or I never would have found it. I guess that's why I went with him.....haha.

This is also the first dance where I actually kind of like the pictures, so that's the only reason I posted them!

I know it's been a while since I've written, but I've been kind of upset about all that's happened. Not only did BYU lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but to make matters worse, UNLV won. UNLV was matched up with Kent State. Ya, I know, I've never heard of them either. Can you say easy? BYU on the other was to play Texas A&M, a big, athletic team. They've had their ups and downs this season, and they happened to give BYU their best game of the year.

Josh Carter had the game of his life, even with a defender in his face he was knocking down shots left and right. The game started 11-0 A&M. Though the Cougars clawed their way back to a tied score at half time, their poor start was the beginning of their end. They all looked nervous and intimidated, and that's not how they are at all. The irony of it all is that Jimmer Fredette, the freshman, was the bright spot of the team in the games that have counted the most. He was the reason the UNLV championship was as close as it was, and played a career-high of minutes with 34 in the NCAA tourney. He will do great things with his three remaining years, I can't wait to see him improve even more!

This was one of the best seasons in Cougar history, but a season without a tournament victory just isn't as satisfying. Here's to a victory(or two or three...) next year in the NCAA's. As good as they were this year, next year will be even better. The three leading scorers are all back(Cummard, Plaisted, Tavernari), and with Fredette they will be unstoppable next season!

From Tournament Drama to More Tournaments!

So it's been a while since my last post, and TONS has happened since then. The tournament took place, and I was right on 1 1/2 of my game predictions. In the first game, we won by over 20 (27 to be exact!), but we played Colorado State instead of Wyoming. Who knew the Rams could pull off their first conference victory of the year in the tourney? Good for them. My second game prediction was pretty much -on if I do say so myself. The game against San Diego State was pretty close, with the lead changing multiple times throughout, but the Cougars won by 9. And finally, I was unfortunately very wrong in the championship game prediction. :( Although BYU came out to lead by as many as 11 in the first half, but the crowd and the 3 other UNLV players, aka the refs, got the Rebels back in the game and they won, 76-61.

I would really like to know what would happen if the Cougars and Rebels played on an actually neutral court in the tournament, not UNLV's home court. Ya sure, people can say it wasn't really their home court because I mean, hello, instead of saying Rebels on the court it says the Mountain West Tournament, AND there were BYU fans there! How could it possibly be their home court if they were wearing the dark jerseys? Okay, well I don't think people realize what a good thing familiarity is. To be able to practice and play at the same place they've been playing all year, to sleep in their own beds, and to use their own locker rooms seems pretty home-courtish to me. Maybe everyone has forgotten the 74-48 BYU blowout they handed to the Rebels in Provo. Obviously home-court has a lot to do with it, but that's just me. I'm not saying the Rebels aren't good, and that's just the thing! If they are good, it makes the whole thing even less fair.

Not to mention, the Rebels barely escaped with their lives in the first round, winning by one point over TCU on a crap-foul call. Yeah, that still makes me mad. On top of all that, the Rebel fans are the most classless people on the face of the planet. After the game, they rushed the court after repeatedly told not to, then started riots by literally picking fights with the BYU fans. I heard one story where there was a pregnant woman crying in the bathroom because her husband was all y out in the hall after getting punched in the face. That's what you get when you sell alcohol mixed with losers. Now that I've vented a little....

On a better note, Lee Cummard made the all-tournament team after his 19 and 20 point performances in the first games, followed by a not-so-great but still good 11 points in the championship. AND the Cougars set tournament records in the game against Colorado State for highest margin of victory(27), and highest field-goal percentage(65.2%).

On to Selection Sunday:
The Cougars ended up in the Western Region as an 8-seed facing the 9-seed Texas A&M this Thursday. I'll admit I'm a little disappointed, especially because UNLV also received an 8-seed. BYU overall is much better and had a much better season--but at least they didn't get any better, that would have really been stupid. Alas, the Cougars are going dancing for the second year in a row, and I know they can win it! I can't wait for Thursday!

Go Cougars!!

Well, now it's official. We have the trophy to prove it. MWC Champions 2007-08!!! How cool is it that for the last two years, not only has BYU won the conference title outright, but both times the trophy was presented at the last game in front of all the fans. That just proves how important the New Mexico game last week was! And it was senior day! The three seniors, Sam Burgess, Ben Murdock, and Vuk Ivanovic were honored before the game. The song they played during the video tribute made me so sad though! What did they do that for? I will miss Sam most of all, he's such a big part of the team on and off the court. And Ben surprised everyone, having an excellent season as the starting point guard. Vuk has been injured so hasn't really been a factor this year.

The game went as just about everybody expected, with a huge win and an undefeated home season. Another big thing that happened was Jonathan Tavernari's record-breaking night. His four three-pointers put him at 76 treys for the season, 2 more than Andy Toolson's old record. Oh and one more thing. Tavernari is only a sophomore!

After the game, the trophy was presented by President Samuelson and Tom Holmoe, BYU's athletic director. Burgess held it high while walking to the student section, reflecting everything this team has been working for all season. Everything, that is, except for a MWC tournament championship and a run in the NCAA tourney. Speaking of which.....

Here are some of my post-season predictions.....
1. In the first round of the conference tourney in Vegas, BYU plays Wyoming and wins by about 20.
2. In the second round, BYU plays San Diego State, and will pull away to win a tight one by 10.
3. In the Championship the Cougars play UNLV on their home court, but will come out fired up and win it all!
4. For the NCAA tourney, the Cougars will get a 6th seed and we'll see from there.....

I know they can have a good run in the Big Dance if they play like we've been seeing.

One more regular-season game at TCU tomorrow and then......VIVA LAS VEGAS!!

Go Cougars!!

Repeat Champs!

New Mexico's win over UNLV all but guaranteed back-to-back championship seasons for the Cougars, now two games ahead of UNLV for first place! There are still two games left, one at home tonight to the second to last-place Wyoming Cowboys, and the last one on the road in Fort Worth taking on the seventh-place TCU Horned Frogs. I am VERY confident in both of them; neither should be a problem. The best part is after a win tonight, they will get their trophy in front of the fans just as it was last year after beating Utah.

The Air Force win on Saturday was full of 3-pointers, sweet assists, and awesome dunks! The first half was a little tight, but the second half was a different story. It started with a 28-5 BYU run, and the largest lead got up to 32! The highlight was definitely Tavernari's no-look, over the head pass over about three defenders, setting Plaisted up for a huge dunk! I can't even describe how amazing that pass was, but I've never seen anything like it! That Jonathan Tavernari sure knows how to be a crowd-pleaser. The victory also helped earn the Cougars a #24 national ranking, and kept the longest home win streak in the nation alive!

The game tonight is going to be sick....I can't believe it's already the last one! Let's go Cougars!
Take down the Cowboys!