Coach fights for Mountain West

When Brigham Young got an up-close look at two nationally ranked teams in November -- and beat one of them -- it only reinforced a point coach Dave Rose already believed.

That is, the Mountain West is better than conventional wisdom seems to believe and it deserves more than one token bid in the 65-team NCAA Tournament field.

The Cougars defeated then-No. 6 Louisville 78-76 on Nov. 23 at the Orleans Arena and gave then-No. 1 North Carolina a good game the next night before losing 73-63. Those teams are now No. 13 and No. 3, respectively.

BYU (21-6, 10-2 MWC) joined them in the Top 25 on Monday, slipping in at No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. The Cougars hold a one-game lead over UNLV (20-6, 9-3) with four league games remaining for each team.

"(North Carolina and Louisville) were no more difficult to play than (the top) three or four teams in our league," Rose said Monday during the MWC coaches' teleconference. "Whoever gets in from our league will be very deserving. Our league can easily be deserving of three or four teams in the tournament."

The Cougars, whose nine-game winning streak ended with a 69-65 loss Saturday at San Diego State (18-9, 8-5), face another tough test tonight against third-place New Mexico (22-6, 9-4) at The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M. The Lobos are 15-1 at home.

"These are the games why players sign up to play Division I basketball. (The Pit) is as good a basketball environment as there is anywhere in the country," Rose said. "We have quite a few players on our team who haven't been there, but they're going to get (New Mexico's) best shot.

"I feel confident our guys are going to respond, compete and make a game out of it."

The Lobos, who have won six straight, were beaten at BYU, 83-66, on Jan. 26. Their lone home loss was to San Diego State, 72-67, on Jan. 12.

"New Mexico has multiple scorers, multiple shooters and real good post players who are all capable of 20 points a game," Rose said.

Tonight's game can be seen locally on Cox Cable channel 334. The Cougars also play at Air Force on Saturday.

• HOW SWEEP IT IS -- When BYU beat Utah 67-59 on Wednesday, it completed back-to-back season sweeps of the rival Utes (15-10, 6-6) for the first time in 28 years.

• STILL STREAKING -- BYU's 45-game home winning streak is now the longest in the nation. Previously unbeaten Memphis had won 47 in a row at home before losing to Tennessee 66-62 on Saturday.

• STAT SHEET -- The Cougars have their best 27-game record since they were 22-5 during the 1992-93 season. Only four other BYU teams have had a record better than 21-6. ... Bishop Gorman product Jonathan Tavernari had two 3-pointers against San Diego State, giving him 69 for the season. Andy Toolson set BYU's record with 74 in 1989-90. ... Guard Lee Cummard led the Cougars with 20 points at San Diego State. He has at least 20 points in five of his last eight games.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0354.