1970–71 BYU Cougars men's basketball team

1970–71 BYU Cougars men's basketball
WAC Regular season champion
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record18-11 (10-4 WAC)
Head coach
Home arenaSmith Fieldhouse
Seasons
1970-71 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
BYU 10 – 4   .714 18 – 11   .621
UTEP 9 – 5   .643 15 – 10   .600
Utah 9 – 5   .643 15 – 11   .577
Arizona State 8 – 6   .571 16 – 10   .615
Colorado State 7 – 7   .500 15 – 10   .600
Wyoming 6 – 8   .429 10 – 15   .400
New Mexico 4 – 10   .286 14 – 12   .538
Arizona 3 – 11   .214 10 – 16   .385
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970–71 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University in the 1970–71 college basketball season. This was head coach Stan Watts's 22nd season at BYU. The Cougars finished the regular season with a record of 18–11, 10–4 in the Western Athletic Conference.

Roster

1970–71 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 42 Clyde Baker 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Ogden, Utah
C 55 Jay Bunker 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Escondido, California
C 11 Kresimir Cosic 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Zadar, Yugoslavia
G 32 Bernie Fryer 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Port Angeles, Washington
F 44 Craig Jorgensen 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Pocatello, Idaho
G 24 Steve Kelly 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Grand Junction, Colo
G 22 Jim Miller 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Las Vegas, Nevada
F 33 Kalevi Sarkalahti 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Helsinki, Finland
F 40 Phil Tollestrup 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Raymond Alta., Canada
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
December 4*
 Stanford W 70–62  1–0
 Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, Utah
December 5*
 Stanford W 85–64  2–0
 Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, Utah
December 7*
 No. 15 New Mexico State W 86–75  3–0
 Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, Utah
December 11*
 at No. 9 USC L 65–101  3–1
 L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
December 12*
 at Oregon State L 80–99  3–2
 Gill Coliseum 
Corvallis, Oregon
December 14*
 at Seattle L 80–99  3–3
 KeyArena 
Seattle, Washington
December 16*
 Denver W 100–72  4–3
 Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, Utah
December 19*
 No. 15 Utah State W 111–83  5–3
 Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, Utah
December 22*
 at Santa Clara W 68–67  6–3
  
 
December 26*
 vs. No. 13 Villanova
Rainbow Classic 		W 102–93  7–3
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
December 27*
 at Hawaii
Rainbow Classic 		L 90–94  7–4
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
January 8
 at New Mexico W 72–62  8–4
(1–0) 		University Arena 
Albuquerque, NM
January 9
 at UTEP L 64–66  8–5
(1–1) 		Memorial Gym 
El Paso, Texas
January 15
 Colorado State W 75–73  9–5
(2–1) 		Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, Utah
January 16
 Wyoming W 82–68  10–5
(3–1) 		Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, Utah
January 23*
 at Utah State L 70–72  10–6
(3–1) 		Dee Glen Smith Spectrum 
Logan, Utah
January 28
 at Arizona State L 86–87  10–7
(3–2) 		Sun Devil Gymnasium 
Tempe, Arizona
January 30
 at Arizona L 76–81  10–8
(3–3) 		Bear Down Gym 
Tucson, Arizona
February 6
 Utah W 103–89  11–8
(4–3) 		Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, Utah
February 11
 UTEP W 75–48  12–8
(5–3) 		Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, Utah
February 13
 New Mexico W 70–68  13–8
(6–3) 		Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, Utah
February 19
 at Wyoming L 72–78  13–9
(6–4) 		War Memorial Fieldhouse 
Laramie, Wyoming
February 20
 at Colorado State W 98–92  14–9
(7–4) 		Moby Arena 
Fort Collins, Colorado
February 26
 Arizona W 95–83  15–9
(8–4) 		Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, Utah
February 27
 Arizona State W 83–74  16–9
(9–4) 		Smith Fieldhouse 
Provo, Utah
March 6
 at Utah W 98–87  17–9
(10–4) 		Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
March 13
 vs. Utah State
NCAA Tournament • First Round 		W 91–82  18–9
(10–4) 		Dee Glen Smith Spectrum 
Logan, Utah
March 18
 vs. UCLA
NCAA Tournament • Semifinal 		L 73–91  18–10
(10–4) 		Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
March 20
 vs. Pacific
NCAA Tournament • Third Place 		L 81–84  18–11
(10–4) 		Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

[1]

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round Pick Player NBA Club
7 113 Steve Kelly Detroit Pistons

[2]

References

  1. ^ "1970-71 BYU Cougars Men's Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  2. ^ "1971 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.com.