Critical game for Cougars

There is only one team in the Mountain West BYU has yet to defeat — the first-place Aztecs from San Diego State.

The Cougars get that chance tonight in the Marriott Center. It will be an opportunity for BYU (16-7, 8-4) to avenge a loss in January to the Aztecs (18-7, 11-2). SportsWest Productions will televise the game at 7 p.m., on UPN-Z24 in Utah.

Head coach Dave Rose said the Cougars will need to be at the top of their game if they hope to defeat the Aztecs. "When we lost to them down there, they played what may be the best game of the season for them. We kind of helped by turning the ball over and never really got into our offense."

The Aztecs are led by two of the league's top players, Marcus Slaughter and Brandon Heath. Steve Fisher's team got a huge boost when 6-foot-10 Mohamed Abukar got eligible in January. The Aztecs ripped off an eight-game win streak in the middle of conference play, pushing SDSU atop the league standings, exactly where pundits predicted they'd finish in preseason polls.

"We really lost our composure," Rose said of the previous Cougar battle with the Aztecs.

"We turned the ball over and they turned our turnovers into points. We didn't execute offensively well enough and then we had troubles on defense in transition because of our turnovers. We've gotten better the last seven or eight games at handling the pressure. We will need to come really to play."

Senior Brock Reichner said the Cougars are getting a team effort and it has led to wins in six of the last seven BYU games. "If you watch our practices, they are very intense. That is a word I can use. The other is expectations. We're expected to play hard and coach pushes us to the limit where we're expected to win, pushed to win, wants us to win, especially in close situations," Reichner said.

"Right now we have a strong win streak at home. We feel confident and comfortable we can win at home and we're looking forward to the challenge of playing most of our final games in the Marriott Center."

The Cougars will need Reichner's leadership tonight. The senior from Provo has been a consistent catalyst in BYU's third-place spot in league standings.

He accepts that role.

"We need to come out. I need to play my game and hit shots when I have a chance to get them. I'm not going to have a night like I did at Wyoming, that's for sure."

Last Saturday in Laramie, Reichner was 2 of 6 for 6 points in 30 minutes.