PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s basketball opens the 2020-21 season on Wednesday, Nov. 25, against in-state foe Westminster College at the Marriott Center in Provo. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv with tipoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. MT. BYUtv will debut its basketball preview show Countdown To Tipoff beginning at 5:30 p.m. MT.
The game will also be broadcast on the BYU Sports Network on KSL Radio 102.7 FM/1160 AM, BYUradio SiriusXM 143, BYUradio.org, BYUradio app, BYU Cougars app, BYU Gameday App.
The Cougars enter year two of the Mark Pope era with a promising roster in what will likely be one of the most unique seasons in college basketball history. The 2019-20 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about the virus continue to impact sports at all levels.The start date for the 2020-21 men’s basketball season was pushed back to November but the 2021 NCAA Tournament remains on schedule.
In 2019-20, Pope led the Cougars to a final national ranking of No. 18/16 in the AP/USA Today Coaches polls and a 24-8 overall record. BYU made significant improvements shooting from long range and set several program records along the way. The Cougars shot 42.2 percent in 2019-20 (first in the nation) after hitting 33.0 percent in 2018-19.
Several of BYU’s returning players made significant improvements from 2018-19 to 2019-20, including Connor Harding (30.9 percent to 44.2), Kolby Lee (25.0 to 71.1) amd Alex Barcello (29.2 to 48.6). The 2019-20 Cougars also set program record for 3-point field goals (332) and 3-point field goals per game (10.4) in a single season.
BYU’s 2020-21 squad is deep and experienced and features several exciting newcomers.