BYU men's basketball: Jimmer Fredette nets 49 as Cougars roll

TUCSON — Basketball fans in Arizona, who were unfamiliar with Jimmer Fredette prior to Monday night, are quite familiar with the BYU junior guard now.

Behind Fredette's 49 points, the highest single-game total in BYU history, the Cougars routed Arizona 99-69. The 30-point blowout was the Wildcats' worst loss at the McKale Center in the arena's 37-year history. The Cougars are now 13-1, while Arizona drops to 6-6.

"It's an amazing feeling. It's not like any other," Fredette said of his historic game.

The former BYU single-game scoring record belonged to Bob Skousen, who dumped 47 on UCLA back in 1961. It's only the fourth time ever that a Cougar has scored more than 40 points. Fredette's 49 points is also the most ever scored at the McKale Center.

"He's playing with a lot of confidence right now and he's shooting really well," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "He thinks everything he throws up there is going to go in."

On Monday night, most of it did. Fredette hit 16-of-23 shots and made an incredible 9-of-13 from 3-point range. He also dished out a game-high nine assists and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

"One of the big keys is my teammates are doing a great job of setting screens. Also, when I get in the middle and they collapse, I'm kicking it out to (my teammates) and they're making shots. That's a big thing for us because that means they can't just key on me," Fredette said.

Even before the second half started, Fredette had Arizona's crowd and Wildcat defenders shaking their heads in awe, as he posted 24-points in the first half and guided the Cougars out to a 23-point lead.

"I'm not an NBA manager, but I would put Fredette up against a lot of guards in the country," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "When he does miss a shot, he goes and gets it."

Five minutes into the game, Fredette hit back-to-back threes that capped a 15-0 BYU run that put the Cougars up 22-5.

"At that point I was looking at the basket and it was looking pretty big. I just had a good stroke tonight, and that's kind of when I thought it could be a pretty good night," Fredette said.

After another trey by Fredette minutes later, and a short jumper by Tyler Haws, the Cougars were up 39-16. The Cougars hit 11 of their first 15 shots and seven of their first eight 3-point attempts. Jackson Emery, who scored 13 and hit three treys, and Haws, who scored 12 and hit two treys, picked up any slack that Fredette might have had Monday night.