The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Saturday, January 5, 10 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: War Memorial Gym (5,300) -- San Francisco, California. Television: BYUtv. Home Record: BYU 8-0, San Francisco 6-1. Away Record: BYU 1-2, San Francisco 1-3. Neutral Record: BYU 2-2, San Francisco 0-3. Conference Record: BYU 1-0, San Francisco 0-1. Series Record: BYU leads, 7-5.

GAMES NOTES: Looking to extend a three-game winning streak the BYU Cougars will travel to War Memorial Gymnasium to battle the San Francisco Dons in a West Coast Conference matchup on Saturday night.

Not only has BYU won three straight games, but the Cougars have dominated. The Cougars have won each game by at least 26 points including a 92-51 rout of Loyola Marymount on Thursday.The Cougars' last loss came on the road, a 79-64 setback against Baylor, where they are just 1-2 this season. Up next the Cougars return home to face Pepperdine.

In its WCC opener on Wednesday night the Dons came up short in a 74-69 loss to Santa Clara. The setback ended a brief two-game winning streak for the Dons who are now 7-7 overall this season. San Francisco has found the bulk of its success at home where the Dons are 6-1 on the campaign. San Francisco will remain at home in its next contest against San Diego.

BYU has won three straight against San Francisco, including a season sweep last year. The Cougars lead the all-time series 7-5.

In its win over Loyola Marymount, BYU was simply dominant. The Cougars shot an even 50 percent from the field, including a 10-of-23 showing from 3-point range, while holding a 55-28 edge in rebounds. Matt Carlino and Tyler Haws each had big games scoring 21 and 20 points, respectively.

In a conference filled with teams that can light it up, BYU has been one of the best. The Cougars are scoring 79.0 points per game, which ranks third in the WCC and 26th nationally. Ball movement is a big key for the Cougars who are 16th nationally and tops in the conference in assists (17.1 ppg). The Cougars also clean the rate at an impressive rate (41.5 pg) good enough for 15th in the country. On the defensive side of things the Cougars let up 67.8 points per game on just 40.6 percent shooting. Haws (20.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg) has been piling up the points this season, as has inside force Brandon Davies (19.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg), who has done so by shooting better than 57 percent from the field. Carlino (8.1 ppg, 4.0 apg) has been a more subdued scorer, but can obviously fill it up when called upon.

Despite shooting a solid 47.3 percent from the floor, including a 9-of-22 showing from beyond the arc, San Francisco couldn't make enough plays down the stretch against Santa Clara. A big reason was points off turnovers, which favored the Broncos by a 15-8 margin.

The Dons have been the only team in the conference that has managed to rebound better than BYU (41.6 pg). San Francisco does not compare as favorably offensively though as the Dons are scoring 69.9 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting, which while solid marks, pale in comparison to the production of the Cougars. Defensively San Francisco is letting up 67.1 points per game on 43 percent shooting. A trio of scorers are averaging in double figures, led by Cole Dickerson (15.5 ppg, 11.9 rpg). However, Dickerson's real dominance has come on the glass as he is the fourth most productive rebounder in the country. Cody Doolin (12.2 ppg, 6.3 apg) is also scoring in double figures and is second in the conference in assists.

This game should feature an intriguing battle underneath between Davies and Dickerson. Davies will likely have the upper hand as will the Cougars who are playing at an extremely high level of late.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: BYU 84, San Francisco 70