BYU basketball: Y. star gets to play true home game

As a young boy growing up in Mesa, Ariz., about 20 minutes from the campus of Arizona State University, Lee Cummard was a big Sun Devils fan, attending most of ASU's football and basketball games.

In fact, the BYU junior forward was in the stands six years ago when the Cougars last played and defeated the Sun Devils, 64-60, in Tempe. Also, following an outstanding prep career — which earned him the Arizona prep player of the year award — Cummard came within an eyelash of playing for the Sun Devils before making the tough decision to leave his home state to play for BYU instead.

So for many reasons, today's game against the Sun Devils at the University of Phoenix Stadium as the second part of the Stadium Shootout doubleheader — Game 1 features Louisville vs. Minnesota — is a special treat for the Arizona native and Cougar star.

"It will be a neat experience, and it will be a neat experience playing in a football stadium," Cummard said. "But even if it wasn't down in my home town, it's still a game I'd look forward to."

Cummard hopes he won't get too caught up in the hype and emotion of playing against a team that recruited him and in front of plenty of family and friends who watched him grow up and play in the Phoenix area.

"I don't feel too many nerves or butterflies at this point in my career. I'm just looking to go down there and help this team win," he said.

The 10-0 Cougars are off to their best start in 11 seasons, and this will be their first game against a ranked opponent since losing to Michigan State last December at EnergySolutions Arena. It's also going to be a good measure of how the Cougars are progressing as a road team, and in handling crowds in tough arenas.

"It will be a big game, a Pac-10 school, a team picked to finish toward the top of that league, so it will be good to see where we're at at this point," Cummard said.

Added BYU coach Dave Rose, "On paper, it's our toughest opponent yet. We expect it to be a very hard-fought, intense, and competitive game."

The Sun Devils are currently ranked No. 17 in the ESPN/Coaches poll and No. 20 in the AP poll. The Cougars almost cracked the ESPN Top 25 this week, sitting in the No. 26 spot only three points behind Clemson.

Earlier this week, Arizona State edged IUPUI 59-58 in overtime, a game in which the Sun Devils rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit. The Sun Devils' only loss was to Baylor. Early in the season, the Sun Devils defeated BYU's Mountain West foe, San Diego State, 59-52.