LAS VEGAS -- Jonathan Tavernari had to find his crew, somewhere way above.

The family he lived with in southern Nevada for a year, while he attended Bishop Gorman as a senior, rented a suite at the Orleans Arena and invited all of the BYU sophomore's former high school teammates and friends.

Worth every penny, as he scored a career-high 29 points in Friday's historic 78-76 win against No. 6 Louisville in the semifinals of the Las Vegas Invitational.

"I tell everyone this, when I get out of school and get a job, I'm going to get a home and live here," Tavernari said. "I love this place."

And it adores him, too.

North Carolina and Old Dominion fans, catching the end of the game as they settled in to watch their teams do battle, congratulated Tavernari as he searched out his friends. He hit 10-of-22 shots, going 5-for-11 from his beloved long-range spots, and generally did his best to take the Cougars to another level.

It was the kind of night that could define the program for the rest of the season -- NCAA tournament resume builder, for sure -- and show the potential of the next couple of seasons.

These are sorta, kinda, your grandaddy's Cougars. It's been 42 years -- Dec. 21, 1965, to be exact -- since BYU defeated such a highly ranked opponent. The second-ranked St. Joseph's of that era has company now.

"It's something we should be real proud of, celebrate for another hour or so and then get ready for our next opponent," BYU head coach Dave Rose said as UNC and ODU were about 20 minutes from tipoff, and after his team improved to 5-0.

His team will play the winner tonight at 8:30 p.m. MT on ESPN2.

"The most important thing is to not let this be the high point of our season," Rose said. "It's been a long time since we beat a team that's been ranked that high and not to let that distract us from what our goal is and what we want to do. I have a lot of confidence that we can build on this and become better."

True, this should not be the high mark. Frankly, BYU had every ability to turn this one into a rout. Aside from trailing 7-2, looking dazed from the initial Louisville charge, it was mostly Cougars all the way.

It was a 10-point lead with about two minutes left in the first half. Tavernari kept hitting shots that were enough to suck the starch right out of Louisville coach Rick Pitino's tailored shirts.

And it had to perturb the 1996 national championship coach (plus three different teams to the Final Four) that the part of UL's game that threatened the Cougars so much, turnovers, was never an issue.

The starting guard line of Sam Burgess and Ben Murdock combined for 70 minutes, six assists and one turnover (shame on you, Sam -- who also had a pair of steals and four points). The backup to Murdock at the point, freshman Mike Loyd, also had three assists and no turnovers. BYU had 10 total, six fewer than UL.

Yes, Rose's team came to play. After four no-brainer wins to start the year, games that were never in question during the second half, it wanted the challenge -- and answered it wholeheartedly.

Pitino, after the loss, twice used the word "depleted" to describe his team. It has lost four players to injury or punishment, most recently starting center David Padgett. He broke his kneecap last weekend. No doubt the Cardinals were tired birds, and even less doubt BYU tried to push the pace to make that a severe advantage.

The legendary coach gave BYU credit for putting his squad in that condition. "They deserved to win," Pitino said.

BYU's large first-half lead shrunk to 41-37 as UL connected on consecutive three-pointers in the final minute. Those were rare conversions, as the Cardinals went 5-of-17 from behind the arc.

BYU went 7-for-22, but its most important team stat was 12 team assists. That's six more than UL, and the teams each scored 28 field goals. Translation: UL was either forced, or compelled, into more 1-on-1 work. It backfired.

"We turned it over way too much," Pitino said of 16 turnovers, including four BYU steals.

As much as that characteristic had to irk UL, Rose had to be thrilled by how this program has blossomed.

It's no surprise that BYU was in this type of game. Look at the program's history since 1997. As an assistant or head coach, Rose's teams have put BYU in positions to win. There was the NCAA tournament against UConn in 2003, which the Cougars were in it until the last two minutes. There was the postseason loss to Syracuse a year later, when BYU would've won if not for the brilliance of Gerry McNamara.

Rose's first year produced an empty NIT bid.

Last year, BYU fought tough at UCLA but couldn't get some baskets down the stretch. It didn't give itself a fair shot against Michigan State because of early foul trouble to its best scorer, now-graduated Keena Young.

Chances have come and gone.

This one stuck around, thanks to some veteran players who wouldn't let UL get away with a comeback.

Plaisted, the 6-foot-11 center who had 21 points, is the poster child of this evolution. Early in the second half, BYU trailing by three, he missed a sure-thing dunk off a rebound.

The UL crowd jeered, BYU's bench looked despondent.

Plaisted changed attitudes awfully quick, scoring 12 of BYU's next 16 points. He hit much tougher shots -- hooks, gorgeous drop-steps -- than the one he blew.

Then BYU's two leading scorers let loose with the play of the game.

It isn't the one Rose wants to define this season, so early. But Murdock's steal, pass ahead to Tavernari and then a behind-the-back pass to Plaisted produced a vicious dunk.

Talk about a right-left combo, in a town known for dramatic knockout punches.

A 62-57 lead was created with 7:57 left, and BYU never trailed again.

Louisville had a last shot with 11 seconds left. Jimmer Fredette's missed free throw led to a three-point attempt to force overtime. Earl Clark, who had 17 points in what Pitino described as way too many (38) minutes, came up short.

With 1.4 seconds left, Tavernari calmly sank a pair of bonus free throws. After the first, UL called timeout.

Tavernari strolled to the bench, where Plaisted and just about every other Cougar mobbed him.

"I might have had the most points, but it was every one doing all of the little things that made this happen," Tavernari said.

Now this'll happen: BYU's first shot at a No. 1-ranked team since Duke in December of 1992.

• Weak crowd: Las Vegas Invitational officials have been trying to convince folks that the two-day tournament in the 7,500-seat Orleans Arena is sold-out. Well, there were sure a lot of empty seats last night. Even BYU, which normally thrives with support in Sin City, had minimal support.

North Carolina, which always travels well, appears to have the best support.

BYU players and team officials racked it up to being a holiday weekend. Plus, let's not forget about a sort-of important football game to be played today in Provo.

The Cougars are hopeful for better turnout tonight.

"We understand it's still football season," Tavernari said. "Shoot, we were watching USC-Arizona in the hotel (Thanksgiving) night. But hopefully people see what we did, and what this program is up to."

Ticket prices are being mocked by people who cover the Las Vegas sports scene. The cheapest ticket was $94, and that's if it was bought at the casino's ticket office. That price is good for both days -- fans couldn't buy seats for just one.

The tickets were good for up to eight games, but how many really wanted to watch such lineups as Iona-South Carolina State or Jackson State-Hartfordfi

•A chance to show off: Plaisted barely missed a chance to square off against Ohio State's Greg Oden, the future No. 1 NBA draft pick, last year. It would've happened had BYU defeated Xavier in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Now, he gets a shot at UNC's Tyler Hansbrough, arguably the best college center today.

Plaisted, a junior, was interested in watching the junior who has been tabbed by some hoops publications as the country's best player entering the season.

"If that matchup were to work out, obviously he's one of the marquee players in college basketball...it'd be a great matchup for me and our team," Plaisted said after his game, 20 minutes before UNC-Old Dominion got started.

A lot of scouts will be curious, too. The tournament as 40 NBA officials credentialed.

•Tip-ins: It's impossible to understate senior center Vuk Ivanovic's quality minutes -- six, for six points in relief of Plaisted. ...Fredette, a freshman, was on the floor at the end of the game as one of BYU's more reliable foul shooters. ...Derrick Caracter had 24 points and 11 rebounds at center to lead UL. Standout Terrence Williams had just 11 on 3-for-12 shooting. ...Will Scott banked a three-pointer at the buzzer to make the final score.