UNLV may slow Jimmer Fredette

In some respects, the Mountain West -- at least for now -- has usurped the Pac-10 as the best western college hoops league. And the conference season really gets cooking on Wednesday night, when the AP's No. 15 team, the Brigham Young Cougars, heads to Las Vegas to play the No. 25 UNLV Rebels.

Offensively, you'd be hard-pressed to find two teams with more contrasting styles than the Cougars and Rebels. BYU's offense revolves completely around All-American guard Jimmer Fredette, who takes 34.4 percent of the team's shots, which ranks 20th in Division I. UNLV, on the other hand, is extremely balanced on offense, with its top five scorers averaging between 9.2 and 12.5 points per game.

Although Fredette is probably best suited to play off of the ball, he runs the offense. The senior thrives in the pick-and-roll with junior forward Noah Hartsock, and in addition to leading the Cougars in scoring (24.1 points per game) Fredette leads them in assists (4.4 assists per game). Whether it's an attempt to impress NBA scouts or simply because teams are giving him the shot, Fredette is taking two more 3-point shots per game this year than last; however, his 3-point shooting percentage has dropped from 44 percent to 37.5 percent.

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