BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth sets NCAA triple-double record

Kyle Collinsworth left rare territory to break new ground.

The BYU point guard produced his fifth triple-double of the season Saturday in leading the Cougars to a 87-68 victory at Loyola Marymount. It is the first time in NCAA history a player has produced five triple doubles in the same season.

Collinsworth’s line in the box score went like this; 23 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals, one turnover and two personal fouls. He made seven of 14 field goal attempts and nine of 11 free throws. He set the record with his 10th assist dished to Skyler Halford who knocked down a 3-pointer with nearly 7 minutes remaining in the game.

Collinsworth, a 6-foot-6 junior from Provo, Utah, is less than a year removed from suffering a torn ACL in the West Coast Conference championship game in March against Gonzaga.

BYU coach Dave Rose seemed to have mixed emotions about Collinsworth’s record.

“Kyle has an unbelievable game that sets a record, that is absolutely amazing,” Rose said. “But I hope we’re not to the point where that’s how he needs to play in order for us to be successful. I love that he’s on it, he’s doing it, but hopefully we can grow a little bit and we need to take those types of efforts and use them to continue winning.”

There are only four other men who have ever produced four triple-doubles in the same season. Collinsworth left Michael Anderson (Drexel, 1986), Brian Shaw (UC Santa Barbara, 1988), Jason Kidd (Cal, 1994) and Stephane Lasme (UMass, 2007) in the rearview on Saturday with the very real possibility of adding to his record before the end of the season.

Going into Saturday’s games there were only eight players in the nation who had registered a triple double this season. Collinsworth was the only player with multiple triple-double games.

While Collinsworth is having a memorable year, it might not be a season that ends in the NCAA tournament. The Cougars (18-8, 8-5) must continue winning over their final five regular season games and could really use a victory over Gonzaga in the regular season finale to bolster a case or they might need to win the WCC tournament.

– – – – – – –

[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo