BYU basketball: This Marriott a heartbreak hotel

PROVO — As construction was being completed on BYU's 23,000-seat basketball arena and activities center, school administrators held a contest to determine the name of the new facility. The prize was $100 for the winning entry.

Hotel magnate J. Willard Marriott donated $1 million and, in essence, won the contest by a landslide. With that, the Marriott Center was born. At the time — 1971 — it was the largest on-campus arena in the country.

It's ironic that the Marriott Center carries the same name as the Marriott hotel chain that strives to provide pleasant stays for its guests. Judging by the Cougars' record at home, they have been downright inhospitable to their guests, as opposing teams regularly check out of the Marriott Center with a loss.

BYU has won 45 consecutive games at the Marriott Center, which is the nation's longest homecourt winning streak. It's also the longest home winning streak in school history.

During the streak, BYU has outscored those 45 opponents by an average of 83-65.5 per game and outshot them by an average of 48.9 percent to 38.8 percent.

"I like being at home," said Cougar center Trent Plaisted. "We're very, very confident here. We know we've got a great history here and we've had a lot of success here. When we play here, we expect to win."

While the list of the Cougars' 45 opponents during the streak doesn't feature any eye-popping non-conference foes, they have defeated two ranked teams — No. 13 Air Force on Jan. 27, 2007, and No. 25 UNLV on Feb. 3, 2007.

Since 2000, the Cougars own a 108-10 record at the Marriott Center — a .915 winning percentage. Amazingly, eight of those 10 losses happened in the same season, 2004-05. BYU also enjoyed a 44-game homecourt winning streak that was snapped during the 2003 campaign.

The Cougars have produced a perfect home record four times since 2000 — 2000-01, 2001-02, 2003-04 and 2006-07. A win over Air Force Saturday and one against Wyoming next Wednesday would give the Cougars their fifth perfect home season in eight years.

To put that in perspective, from 1971-2000, BYU posted a total of five seasons with an undefeated home record.

Meanwhile, fans are turning out in droves again to the Marriott Center. BYU drew 19,932 fans in its victory over New Mexico on Jan. 26; 16,042 in a win over TCU on Feb. 6; 22,580 in a rout of UNLV on Feb. 16; and 19,640 in a triumph over Utah on Feb. 20.

"It's as good as it gets in college basketball anywhere," BYU coach Dave Rose said of the Marriott Center atmosphere.

Why has it been so difficult to beat the Cougars at home?