Utes familiar with MWC foe

When Utah and BYU tip it off Thursday night it will be just like old times in more ways than one.

For one thing, they'll be tipping off at 10 p.m. for the first time all season. The Utes and Cougars got used to the late-night tipoffs over the past seven years thanks to the Monday night ESPN telecasts.

And when they tip off for the 242nd time, it will mark the eighth time the two rivals have met in a postseason tournament over the past 16 years.

BYU holds a 4-3 edge in those meetings and is favored this year as the No. 3 seed, compared to the Utes' No. 6 seed. However, the Utes should be happy to know that the underdog has won four of those seven games.

It started back in the 1990 WAC Tournament when the No. 7 seeded Utes upset No. 2 BYU in overtime on Tommy Connor's last-second shot. The following year, the Cougars knocked off the No. 1-seeded Utes 51-49 in the finals.

Then in 2000, the Cougars shocked the No. 1 seeded Utes in the Mountain West Conference semifinals. And who can forget the 2004 MWC tourney when Nick Jacobsen's last-second 3-pointer sank the No. 2 seeded Cougars in the semifinals.

Of course Ute coach Ray Giacoletti said the Utes are looking at the game like the start of their "third" season with a clean slate. But the players are aware of whom they're playing.

"I don't think anyone can ignore the fact that it's BYU," said senior guard Tim Drisdom. "But we're going to try not to get stuck on that idea and stay focused."

ONE MORE: Chris Jackson just needs one more shot in Thursday night's game to put his name in the Ute record books, perhaps forever.

And he doesn't even have to make it.

Jackson is shooting 73.7 percent from the field, which is well above the record set last year by Andrew Bogut of 62.0 percent. However, he needs 100 attempts to be eligible for the record books and so far this year he has made 73 of 99 shots.

The fact that it took 14 years for Bogut to break Antoine Davison's record of 61.7 by three tenths of a percent, you have to think it will be a long time before any future Ute shoots above 70 percent for a season.

JOHNNIE BEEN GOOD: Another record that could go by the wayside is the season mark for 3-point shooting.

Johnnie Bryant has lifted his percentage to 46.4, which is just ahead of the record of Alex Jensen (46.0) set during the 1999-2000 season.

Bryant also sits in fifth place for 3-point goals in a season with 65 and he needs three more to tie Phil Dixon.