PROVO, Utah – BYU opens the 2023-24 season on Monday, Nov. 6, when the Cougars welcome Houston Christian to the Marriott Center. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Monday’s contest will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Dave McCann and Blaine Fowler on the call. It will also be broadcast live on BYU Radio Sirius XM 143, KSL 102.7/1160 AM and BYURadio.org/BYU Radio app with Greg Wrubell and Mark Durrant.
BYU Cougars (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
· Spencer Johnson, Jaxson Robinson and Fousseyni Traore scored in double figures in BYU’s 83-55 victory over Life Pacific in an exhibition on Wednesday evening.
· Fifth year head coach Mark Pope is 4-0 in season openers with the Cougars having outscored opponents 313-232.
· BYU opens the season with four straight home games for the third since the Marriott Center was opened (2023-24, 2010-11, 1971-72).
· The Cougars are ranked 36th in Ken Pom, ahead of fellow Big 12 programs Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Oklahoma State and UCF.
Head Coach – Mark Pope
· Alma Mater: Kentucky, 1996
· Division I Career Record: 164-97 (9th Season)
· Record at BYU: 87-41 (5th Season)
Houston Christian Huskies (0-0, 0-0 Southland)
· Houston Christian was picked to finish eighth in the Southland Conference preseason poll, voted on by the league’s coaches and sports information directors.
· Ron Cottrell is the second-longest tenured coach among active NCAA Division I head men’s basketball coaches, heading into his 33rd season.
· Bonke Maring (bon-key mare-ing) was named to the preseason All-Southland First Team as the 6-foot-10 center ranked second in the league in total blocked shots and blocks per game in 2022-23.
Head Coach – Ron Cottrell
· Alma Mater: Arkansas, 1988
· Record at Houston Christian: 518-491 (33rd Season)
