BYU 2007 NCAA Tournament Capsule

BYU Cougars - Mountain West Conference (25-8, 13-3)

Seed: #8 - South Region

Big Wins: 1/27 Air Force (61-52), 2/3 UNLV (90-63), 2/27 at Air Force (62-58)

Bad Losses: 11/29 at Boise State (73-69), 12/13 at Lamar (77-86), 1/20 Colorado State (78-90)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2004, First Round loss to Syracuse

Coach: Dave Rose (First NCAA appearance)

Probable BYU Starters:

• Austin Ainge, Senior, Guard, 7.8 ppg, 4.5 apg

• Jimmy Balderson, Senior, Guard, 8.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg

• Lee Cummard, Sophomore, Guard, 9.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.8 apg

• Keena Young, Senior, Forward, 17.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg

• Trent Plaisted, Sophomore, Forward, 12.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.4 bpg

Key Roleplayers for BYU:

• Jonathan Tavernari, Freshman, Guard, 6.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg

• Mike Rose, Senior, Guard, 6.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg

• Sam Burgess, Junior, Guard, 3.6 ppg, 1.0 apg

• Fernando Malaman, Senior, Forward, 2.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:
BYU has senior leadership and a smart, efficient style of play that makes them extremely dangerous. However, the two big pluses for the Cougars are having a couple great post players and an overabundance of quality shooters. In the post, Keena Young and Trent Plaisted are a lethal duo. Young averages 17.2 points and Plaisted adds 12.8 per game. Both are quality rebounders and will hit the glass hard on both ends of the floor.

Lee Cummard is the link between the great rebounding and the great shooting for BYU. The 6-6 wing averages 5.8 rebounds and knocks down 43.8% of his shots from behind the arc. Like Cummard, Austin Ainge, Mike Rose and Jonathan Tavernari will not take a lot of three-pointers, but each shoots over 37% from behind the arc and will rarely put up contested shots.

Why BYU Can Disappoint:
The free-throw numbers are surprisingly bad for a team that ranks in the top 20 nationally in field-goal and three-point field-goal percentage. However, much of that can be blamed on Plaisted who shoots 48.9% from the charity stripe and gets to the line twice as much as any of the guards. Plaisted will get into foul trouble quite often and that moves Fernando Malaman onto the court. Malaman does a good job in that role, but is nowhere near the offensive threat that Plaisted has become.

Find BYU Cougars clothing & apparel online through College Sports Fans!

Who To Watch:
Jimmy Balderson’s numbers will not jump out at anybody, but the 6-6 senior has the intangibles that hold the team together. Balderson can be a good scorer, but inconsistency has plagued him throughout his career. He has scored over 20 points twice this season, but also has been limited to two points or less six times since the New Year.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 78.1 (26th in nation, 1st in conference)

Scoring Defense: 68.7 (174, 5)

Field-Goal Percentage: 49.3 (10, 1)

Field-Goal Defense: 43.4 (139, 4)

Free-Throw Percentage: 65.8 (260, 8)

Rebound Margin: 6.4 (18, 1)

Assists Per Game: 16.1 (30, 1)

Turnovers Per Game: 13.5 (88, 4)

Joel’s Bracket Says: First Round loss to Xavier

> Check out the 2008 BYU NCAA Tournament preview from College Sports Fans.

> Find more coverage of the 2007 NCAA Tournament online from College Sports Fans.

NCAA Tournament Home & Historical Results

2008 NCAA Tournament | 2008 NIT Tournament | 2008 CBI Tournament | 2008 Women's NCAA Tournament

2009 NCAA Tournament Sites | 2010 NCAA Tournament Sites | 2011 NCAA Tournament Sites

2007 NCAA Tournament