PROVO, Utah — No. 17 BYU continues its home stand on Friday, Dec. 22, when the Cougars welcome Bellarmine to the Marriott Center for the first all-time meeting between the two schools. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.
Friday’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.
No. 17 BYU Cougars (10-1, 0-0 Big 12)
· BYU moved up one spot to 17th in the AP Poll after improving to 10-1 last week with wins over Denver and Georgia State.
· The Cougars have won 11 straight non-conference games at the Marriott Center dating back to December 2022.
· The Cougars rank first in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio after its 23-assist, four turnover performance against Georgia State. It marked the fifth time since 2010 that BYU had less than four turnovers in a game.
· Richie Saunders scored a career-high 20 points on Saturday, making BYU one of three schools in the nation with nine players with career highs of 20 or more.
Head Coach – Mark Pope
· Alma Mater: Kentucky, 1996
· Division I Career Record: 174-98 (9th Season)
· Record at BYU: 97-42 (5th Season)
Bellarmine Knights (4-9, 0-0 Atlantic Sun)
· Bellarmine makes its first trip to Provo on a two-game losing streak after falling 85-43 to Utah on Wednesday evening in Salt Lake City.
· 19th year head coach Scott Davenport led the Knights to a 2022 Atlantic Sun tournament title in their second season of transitioning to NCAA Division I.
· The Knights have been without their leading scorer, Bash Wieland, for the past two games. The graduate transfer was averaging 11.5 points per game prior to missing the Evansville and Utah games.
· Garrett Tipton is the top 3-pointer shooter for the Knights with the graduate transfer shooting 43.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Head Coach – Scott Davenport
· Alma Mater: Louisville, 1978
· Record at Bellarmine: 417-157 (19th Season)
Series Information
· Series Record: First All-Time Meeting
