PROVO, Utah — BYU concludes its five-game home stand on Saturday, Nov. 23, when the Cougars welcome Mississippi Valley State to the Marriott Center for the first time since 2017. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.
WHERE TO WATCH
Dave McCann and Blaine Fowler will be on the call on ESPN+ with Jarom Jordan serving as the sideline reporter.
MASHED POTATOES
Fousseyni Traore scored 20 of his career-high 29 points in the second half of BYU's 95-71 win over Idaho on Saturday. The senior from Bamako, Mali went 11-of-12 from the field en route to moving up to 49th on the all-time scoring list, passing Scott Runia (1976-80) and Keena Young (2004-07). His 91.7 field goal percent is tied for the highest by a Cougar in a game at the Marriott Center and highest for a bench player (min. 10 FGA) in program history.
𝑷𝑶𝑺𝑻-𝑮𝑨𝑴𝑬 𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑫𝑩𝑰𝑻𝑬𝑺:
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 17, 2024
Fouss Traore pic.twitter.com/wmc4KnUp6f
He also went went 7-of-7 from the charity stripe, making him one of 27 NCAA Division I players over the past 30 years to score 25-plus while shooting 90.0 percent from the field and 100.0 percent from the free throw line (min. 7 FGA).
EGOR TO PLEASE
Egor Demin was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for a second consecutive week after averaging 15.0 points, 6.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in wins over Queens and Idaho.
BIG 12 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK (again😏) pic.twitter.com/LUfOiIe8sq
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 18, 2024
In Saturday's win over the Vandals, Demin finished with 16 points, seven assists, three blocks and three steals, making hime one of five NCAA Division I freshmen since 1992 to have 15/7/3/3 in a single game, joining the likes of former No. 1 picks Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz.
THE ADMIRAL
Richie Saunders also scored a career-high 26 points in the win over the Vandals, going 10-of-15 from the field, 4-of-8 from three and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe. The junior also had a career-high four steals, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Saturday marked the first time two different Cougars had scored 25 or more points in the same game since Jan. 23, 2020 (Jake Toolson, 28; Yoeli Childs, 26).
ALL-TIME SERIES
BYU is 3-0 all-time against Mississippi Valley State, with all three wins coming inside the friendly confines of the Marriott Center.
In their last meeting on Nov. 11, 2017, Elijah Bryant was one of four Cougars to score in double figures, finishing with a game-high 27 points. Yoeli Childs flirted with a triple-double in the victory, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
HONORARY MEMBER
Saturday will be the third of four games against Big 12 opponents for Mississippi Valley State this season. The Delta Devils are scheduled to face Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at the Huntsman Center.
UP NEXT
BYU heads to San Diego next week to take part in the Rady Children's Invitational on the campus of UC San Diego. The Cougars face Ole Miss on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, at 2:30 p.m. PT. The game will air on FS1.
