Y. plays on — without Broadus

PROVO — Mountain West leader TCU will get the first shot at BYU in its post-Rashaun Broadus season that begins tonight at home.

The Horned Frogs will not have to game plan for Broadus, who was suspended Monday in a college-career-ending move by Cougar coach Dave Rose following a traffic incident in which the senior from Hawaii was suspected of driving under the influence.

The Frogs (10-4, 2-0) and Cougars (11-4, 1-0) tip off at 7 tonight in the Marriott Center in a game that will be televised on The mtn.

Senior co-captain Austin Ainge, who will replace Broadus at the point guard position against TCU, says he welcomes the challenge.

"We wish the best for Shaun and now we have to have guys step up. I'll have to play well, and Ben Murdock will have to step up and show what he can do," Ainge said.

"Ben is very solid. He's not flashy, but he hits his shots and plays good defense. He's a good player," Ainge said. "Ben and I are up to the task."

The Horned Frogs are fresh off a home win over New Mexico and road victory over Utah in the Huntsman Center last Saturday.

Ainge knows the Frogs will be a tough assignment. His coach believes he can handle it.

"Austin is a very confident and aggressive player. I have all the confidence in the world in our point guards," said Rose.

Ainge actually played more minutes than Broadus during the three-game BYU Holiday Classic to end the 2006 calendar year, part of a six-game Cougar win streak.

Breaking down the numbers, Ainge has outshot Broadus from the field (44 to 34 percent); he is more accurate from beyond the 3-point line (46 to 30 percent); has shot better from the free-throw line (71 to 58 percent) and has dished more assists (52 to 33) than Broadus. Their scoring averages both hover around six points a game.

Ainge said the challenge is not having depth. "I was going to have off games certain nights and Shaun was going to have off games and that's why it's good to have multiple players at every position. Now we're going to have to play consistent and we'll have to have more than the point guards to step up and make up the difference."

Ainge said he likes to play 40 minutes a game, and having more minutes helps for him to keep in the flow and get more continuity. "Hopefully we can maintain the same level of productivity, but it will be tough."

Broadus logged an average of 22.5 minutes playing time with 11 starts in 15 games. Ainge averages 19.6 minutes and has started 7 of 15 games this season. Ben Murdock, a junior transfer, will back up Ainge and he has played a total of 58 minutes this season.

"TCU is good, they were a lot better than their record showed last year and should have beat us here last year," Ainge said.

The Frogs will play uptempo and pressure the Cougars and would have without or without Broadus in the lineup, according to Ainge.

---

E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com