San Diego State vs BYU Basketball Recap

BYU 71, San Diego State 69


The San Diego State Aztecs had to have Saturday night's game. Jimmer Fredette wouldn't let them claim it.

There's always something special about a great basketball player who, despite being the focus of an adversary's entire defensive game plan, still wriggles loose and finds ways to score. Fredette - who threw down 49 points in a win at Arizona on Dec. 28 - returned to the Southwestern corner of the United States and made some more music on the Montezuma Mesa.

No matter what San Diego State and coach Steve Fisher tried to do, Fredette had a ready reply in this pivotal encounter. On a night when SDSU stood two games back in the Mountain West standings and desperately needed to bolster its NCAA resume, Fredette essentially ended the Aztecs' hopes of becoming an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament.

Fredette scored 33 points in a gradual return from mononucleosis, as the red-hot Cougars - already ranked 13th in the country - won their 15th straight game and buried the Aztecs in the middle of the Mountain West. The win moved coach Dave Rose's club to 20-1 on the season and 5-0 in the league, two games ahead of three pursuers ( New Mexico, UNLV and Utah) in the loss column. A lot of value came attached to this two-point triumph, and it was Mr. Fredette who carried the people from Provo across the finish line first.

On the 13-0 run that gave BYU a 60-50 lead with 6:18 left in regulation and allowed the Cougars to survive a furious late push by the Aztecs, it was Fredette who made things happen. He scored two baskets - one of them from 3-point range - and assisted on two other scores. By making himself valuable and dangerous as both a shooter and a passer, Fredette forced SDSU to his respect his Cougar teammates. This produced a pendulum effect in which Fredette exploited whatever the Aztecs did at the defensive end of the floor: When they sagged off Fredette and played the pass, Fredette shot the ball and attacked. When San Diego State pressed Fredette and got in his face, the native of Glens Falls, N.Y., was able to hand out one of five assists or generate ball movement that outpaced the home team's defense.

In the clutch, it was Fredette who brought down the hammer after SDSU pulled within a point of the Cougars, at 67-66, with just 54 seconds remaining. Fredette worked his way to the rim for a layup with 20 seconds left, and after an Aztec miss, he calmly drained two foul shots with five seconds on the clock to seal the outcome.

BYU is a terrific team; 20-1 doesn't happen without a great supporting cast. But make no mistake: Jimmer Fredette - one of the top 30 players in the United States (if not worthy of an even more select distinction) - is the straw that stirs the drink for a team intent on winning a fourth straight regular season title in the Mountain West Conference.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer