By SAM NEFF
sam@newsroom.byu.edu
The Cougar men's basketball team has a lot of reasons to be optimistic going into the Cougar Classic this weekend.
BYU's 4-1 record is the best start for the team in seven years. As of last week, the Cougars were leading all Mountain West Conference teams in field-goal percentage (.516), three-point percentage (.389) and free-throw percentage (.771). Mekeli Wesley was also leading the conference in scoring with 22 points per game.
Steve Cleveland notched his first win against a Pac-10 opponent Tuesday night as the Cougars defeated Arizona State 78-67. After Tuesday's win BYU was the highest ranked Mountain West Conference team in the USA Today Sagarin ratings (35th).
Tonight the Cougars will face Texas Southern (0-3) in the Marriott Center to kick off the Cougar Classic. Texas Southern is led by 6-foot-7 center Ifey Anyanwu, who is averaging 17 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Cleveland said he expects a battle from Texas Southern, which has played in three NCAA Tournaments in the 1990s.
'Not a lot of people have heard of Texas Southern, but they have a quality program,' Cleveland said. 'They've been to the NCAA Tournament three times this decade. Not a lot of teams can say that.'
Tonight's game will tip off at approximately 7:30 p.m. following the first game of the Cougar Classic between Weber State (3-2) and Western Oregon (1-5), which begins at 5:30 p.m.
The losers of tonight's games will meet in a consolation game Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Following that game the winners of tonight's games will meet in the championship game of the Cougar Classic at 7:30 p.m.
The most likely scenario would be BYU facing Weber State on Saturday night in the championship game. In March, Weber State upset North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and this season have already upset No. 19 Utah 84-72. Harold Arceneaux (14.4 ppg.) and Eddie Gill (17.8 ppg.) lead the Wildcats in scoring. The Cougars will look to avenge last year's 83-80 loss to the Wildcats in Ogden.
'We want to finish this week 6-1,' Cleveland said. 'In order to do that we need a great effort by the coaches and players and we need fan support.'
If the Cougars win both games in the Cougar Classic they will have a chance to match the team's best start since the 1992-93 season (7-1) when they face South Carolina State on Dec. 18, in the Marriott Center.
After the four-game home stand, the Cougars will look to improve their record on a three-game road trip. The Cougars will head down south to take on South Alabama on Dec. 21 and Florida International on Dec. 23. The third game will be at UC-Santa Barbara on Dec. 29.
BYU's schedule over Christmas break:
Dec. 18South Carolina State (KSL-TV)7 p.m.
Dec. 21at South Alabama7 p.m.
Dec. 23at Florida International7 p.m.
Dec. 29at UC Santa Barbara(KSL-TV)7 p.m.
Jan. 5UC Irvine7 p.m.