The Cougars and Rose, however, should expect no such endorsement. Gaudio, after his team snapped BYU's nation-best home winning streak, pronounced he'd had enough of the tough atmosphere and that the Deacons were "very fortunate" to get out of Provo with a win. Even after applauding the facility, the students and BYU's program — saying the Cougars are a team "that does things the right way" — he used the famous Apollo Creed quote from the Rocky movie to reinforce his point.

"There ain't gonna be no rematch," Gaudio said. "Why would I want to come back and play in the Marriott Center?"

Even though many coaches feel the same, BYU officials are still working hard to get over that hurdle. Recently the coaching staff met to identify a dozen or so teams, some of the nation's top programs, of which they'd like to schedule home-and-home games.

"I'll play anybody who will return the game here in the Marriott Center. You find those people who want to do that and I'll play them first at their place. But right now that's not something that other coaches are excited about doing ... I don't think we're shying away from anybody," Rose said..

Regardless, BYU officials are making no apologies for how difficult it is to win at the Marriott Center. Having one of the nation's best sixth men is something every team hopes envies, and is a great recruiting tool for the Cougars.

"I think that's why players come to BYU to play. It's a great home court and we have great fans," Rose said.

Cougars on the air

BYU (11-2) vs. Western Oregon (6-4)
Today, 7:30 p.m.
Marriott Center
TV: None Radio: 1160 AM 102.7 FM

E-mail: jimr@desnews.com