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BYU-UTEP Preview

Jan 8, 2010 - 6:44 PM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Brigham Young (15-1) at UTEP (10-3), 9:00 p.m. EDT

Despite an illness, Jimmer Fredette did his best to contribute in BYU's conference opener. Had he played for the Cougars 11 years ago, he likely would have been just as determined for a league matchup with UTEP.

The 25th-ranked Cougars, hoping their leading scorer is finally over an ailment that has hampered him this month, renew an old conference rivalry as they visit UTEP on Saturday night.

Fredette has been slowed by strep throat since scoring a team-record 49 points in a 99-69 win at Arizona on Dec. 28.

In the Cougars' Mountain West Conference opener, Fredette was also affected by an allergic reaction he had to some of the medication he received, but BYU got clutch performances from Noah Hartsock and Jonathan Tavernari in a 77-73 victory over UNLV on Wednesday night.

Fredette wore long sleeves under his jersey and was obviously struggling in his 25 minutes. He finished with seven points, 13.7 below his average, and went 2 of 10 from the field.

BYU (15-1), though, managed to win its 10th straight despite shooting a season-low 36.8 percent.

"Hopefully he can get back to normal as soon as possible," coach Dave Rose said.

Fredette, a junior point guard, is averaging 5.3 assists, 1.7 steals and shooting 44.6 percent from 3-point range. He'll try to get back on track as BYU faces UTEP (10-3) for the first time since the old Western Athletic Conference split following the 1998-99 season.

These teams met annually for more than 30 years as league opponents. The Miners won the last meeting 87-72 at home Jan. 28, 1999, and trail the series 39-25.

UTEP, now in Conference USA, has lost 12 straight to Top 25 teams. This will be the last non-conference matchup for both squads.

The Miners face a daunting task in trying to stop BYU, which ranks 10th in the nation with 84.6 points per game.

"They are as talented of an offensive team as I've seen in all my years in college basketball," coach Tony Barbee said.

UTEP has already faced two ranked teams this season, falling short after valiant efforts in both games.

The Miners led then-No. 20 Mississippi by 12 with 3:59 to play Dec. 16 but lost 91-81 in overtime. On Sunday, they were up by six in the second half against then-No. 20 Texas Tech before losing 86-78.

UTEP bounced back from that defeat with a 49-45 victory over SMU on Wednesday night in its first league game.

Randy Culpepper, averaging 18.2 points, was held to 14 but made a pair of free throws with 49 seconds left and a layup with 6 seconds remaining to secure the victory. The 6-footer is one of three Miners averaging double figures in scoring.

Arnett Moultrie, a 6-11 sophomore, leads UTEP's frontcourt, averaging 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds. Moultrie, though, is shooting 33.3 percent (7 for 21) over his last two games.