When BYU opens NCAA tournament play against 14th-seeded Wofford on Thursday in Denver, some of Jimmer Fredette's most ardent supporters won't be in the stands at the Pepsi Center or watching from home in Provo.

Instead, they'll be huddled around TVs in the housing barracks at a medium-security prison in Wilton, N.Y.

Each time Fredette plays a nationally televised game, inmates at Mount McGregor Correctional Facilitygather in the TV lounge in their respective housing units to cheer for the senior guard. Their connection with Fredette dates back to spring 2007 when the Glens Falls, N.Y., native and his older brother joined a civilian team that played a handful of basketball games at the prison against the inmates.

"The inmates vote on what they want to watch on TV each week, and of course, they want to watch Jimmer," Mount McGregor recreational director John Montgomery said. "If BYU's on our local television, every dorm will have the game on. Every inmate will want to watch. They do have that connection to him. They think, 'God, he was up here playing against us.'"

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