No. 10 BYU continues home stand against Pacific

PROVO, Utah - No. 10 BYU continues its four-game home stand on Tuesday, Dec. 16, when the Cougars host former West Coast Conference foe Pacific at the Marriott Center. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT. 

WHERE TO WATCH
Tuesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler and Spencer Linton on the call. 

EYE OF THE TIGER
The Cougars are 18-7 all-time against Pacific, including a 9-2 record in Provo. They have won six straight over the Tigers at the Marriott Center, including an 81-66 victory in their final meeting as members of the West Coast Conference on Feb. 4, 2023. 

Gideon George and Fousseyni Traore both had a double-double in their final meeting as league mates. Traore had a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds, seven of those coming on the offensive glass, while George had 12 points and 10 boards. Rudi Williams and Jaxson Robinson combined for 22 points off the bench.  

HOME SWEET HOME
The Cougars extended their non-conference home win streak to 23 games with the win over the Highlanders. That is the ninth-longest streak in NCAA Division I men's basketball, according to research done by Texas Tech's Wes Bloomquist. 

The win over UC Riverside also saw Kevin Young improve to 18-2 at the Marriott Center, the second-most wins by a head coach in his first 20 games at the arena since it opened during the 1971-72 season. 

LIFE WITH YOUNG
Since being held to six points on 2-of-4 shooting in a loss to Texas Tech last season, Richie Saunders has scored in double figures in 11 straight home games, including a 19-point performance in Saturdayís win over UC Riverside. 

The senior guard has appeared in 19 of Young's 20 games at the Marriott Center, where he is averaging 16.5 points per game while shooting 53.5 percent from the field, 44.6 percent from three and 75.5 percent from the free throw line. He has knocked down a career-high six pointers five times, with two of those coming at the friendly confines of the Marriott, including going 6-of-11 from deep in the Cougars' comeback victory over Delaware earlier this season. 

THAT'S PRETTY COOL
BYU has never trailed in 12 of the 46 games (26.1 percent) that Young has coached at BYU following Saturday's win. The Cougars' 48-point lead with a little more than three minutes remaining in regulation in the win over UC Riverside was also the biggest lead the second-year head coach has ever had during his time in Provo. 

NO. 10 FOR A REASON
BYU is 11-2 all-time when ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll, including a perfect 7-0 record in Provo. Saturday's win over UC Riverside was the Cougars' first as No. 10 in the Marriott Center since defeating UTEP 57-53 in double overtime on Feb. 5, 1972. 

FIT FOR A KING
AJ Dybantsa was named the Lute Olson Award National Player of the Week on Monday after leading the Cougars to wins over Clemson and UC Riverside. The freshman averaged 27.0 points, 8.5 rebounds. 6.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 58.8 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and 68.4 percent from the free throw line. 

His 28-point performance in the Jimmy V Classic against Clemson has been well documented, but he followed that up with 26 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, five steals and a block against UC Riverside. He is one of two players this season to go for 25/5/5/5 and only one of 11 freshmen to do it since the beginning of the 2006 season. 

Saturday also marked the fifth game this season that Dybantsa had 20 points, tied with Eric Mika and Yoeli Childs for the fifth-most by a freshman in program history. His 11 field goals against the Highlanders are tied for the seventh-most in a single game by a first-year player.