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BYU-TCU Preview

Mar 5, 2010 - 6:19 PM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Brigham Young (27-4) at TCU (13-17), 6:00 p.m. EDT

A fourth consecutive Mountain West conference title isn't on the line for BYU this weekend, but it can still secure its place among the program's most successful teams with a victory.

The 14th-ranked Cougars will try to tie the school record for wins in a single season when they visit TCU on Saturday in their regular-season finale.

Regardless of the outcome, BYU (27-4, 12-3) will finish second in the conference and enter the tournament with a No. 2 seed after New Mexico clinched the Mountain West title outright with a win over TCU on Wednesday. The Cougars had won at least a share of it the previous three years.

BYU knew the outcome of the Lobos' game before taking the court Wednesday night, but despite any disappointment over ending a streak of conference championships, the Cougars didn't suffer any letdown, defeating Utah 71-51.

"We made a big statement - and we're not done," said freshman Brandon Davies, who led BYU with a career-high 21 points.

The Cougars are a win away from matching the school record for wins in a single season, set in 1950-51.

Davies figures to get a lot of playing time after impressing coach Dave Rose against the Utes this week.

Davies scored 11 points during BYU's 12-0 run to start the second half, giving the Cougars a 48-24 lead. He came in averaging 5.1 points in the previous 29 games, but was able to take advantage of extra playing time when Jimmer Fredette ran into foul trouble.

"I really have felt that the last 10 days or so (Davies) has been a different player in practice," Rose said. "He gave us great minutes against New Mexico and I probably should've played him more. ... If we can get that kind of offensive punch from our offensive players, that will really help us."

Despite the win, BYU, the highest-scoring team in the conference at 82.4 points per game, shot a season-low 36.8 percent and was held to its fewest points in 10 games. The lack of scoring could be attributed to Fredette picking up two fouls early in the first half. He scored six of his eight points after the break, playing 19 minutes.

In the loss to New Mexico last weekend, Fredette played 16 minutes because of illness. Despite scoring 14 points the last two games, he's still the conference's leading scorer, averaging 20.7 points.

After two quiet performances, Fredette will try to get back on track Saturday as the Cougars prepare for the conference tournament. Fredette scored 26 points in BYU's 76-56 win over TCU on Feb. 2.

BYU seeks its 12th straight win over the Horned Frogs (13-17, 5-10), who lost 73-66 to New Mexico this week. TCU shot 40.7 percent and went 8 of 28 from 3-point range, but stayed close until late in the second half when the Lobos pulled away.

Ronnie Moss scored 14 points and Zvonko Buljan had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Buljan has recorded a double-double in the last three games, averaging 16.7 points and 11.0 rebounds. However, he was just 3 of 14 from the field against BYU last month, scoring seven points.

The Horned Frogs, losers of three of four overall, have dropped six straight against ranked opponents.