BYU baffled by continued disappointment in Las Vegas

By Case Keefer (contact)

Saturday, March 13, 2010 | 2 a.m.

BYU coach Dave Rose is confident he has figured out why so much parity exists among the top teams in the Mountain West Conference.

“If you look at the top four or five teams in this league, it’s really amazing how each team has a team that is a lot more difficult than the rest of the league to match up against,” Rose said.

For BYU, that team is UNLV. The Rebels proved it once again Friday night in their 70-66 victory against the Cougars in the conference tournament semifinals.

It was BYU’s eighth straight loss against UNLV at the Thomas & Mack Center. Although Rose might have an idea why the Cougars struggle in Las Vegas, his players can’t comprehend it.

“It’s just something I simply don’t have an answer for,” Jonathan Tavernari said. “Would I have liked to have beat them tonight? Of course. But I think it goes way beyond not being able to beat them.”

Tavernari lived in Las Vegas during his high school years and played at Bishop Gorman. He always speaks fondly of coming back and playing at the Mack.

But the victory he always craved against the Rebels on their home floor is never going to happen. Tavernari graduates this year, giving him no more chances to take on UNLV.

“It’s an interesting thing, because we’ve had a lot of chances here in the past,” Tavernari said.

But Tavernari knows a little too much about those chances coming up short. Tavernari found no rhythm against the Rebels Friday, going 1-for-5 from the floor and scoring four points.

UNLV’s defensive pressure, which Rose commended, stifled Tavernari and his Cougar teammates all night. Even Jimmer Fredette, who scored 45 points in the team’s first-round victory Thursday against TCU, couldn’t quite figured out the UNLV defense.

Fredette still scored 30 against the Rebels but went 7-for-20 from the floor and did not get many open looks. UNLV junior Tre'Von Willis guarded him for the majority of the night — a matchup Fredette never looks forward to.

“He’s quick, athletic, gets up in you and is aggressive,” Fredette said. “He’s definitely one of the best defenders. He does a good job.”

One thing was certain after BYU’s defeat: No one associated with the program was making any excuses.

“I’m really proud of our team,” Rose said. “I thought we played a really competitive game and played a really good team. I think our players executed our game plan and did everything we wanted them to do tonight. We just came up a couple points short.”

At 29-5, the Cougars will have no worries about missing the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday.

“We can’t cry over spilled milk,” Tavernari said. “Game is over.”

“We know for a fact we’re going to be able to play Thursday. We have three practices and a shoot-around to make the season more special than it already is.”

The Cougars have to be relieved that no tournament games will be played in Las Vegas.