PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s basketball opens the 2021-22 regular season on Tuesday evening when the Cougars host Cleveland State at the Marriott Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on BYUtv. It will also be broadcast live on BYU Sports Network on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM HD2 and KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.
BYU Notes (0-0, 0-0 West Coast Conference)
- BYU opens the season at home for the third consecutive season and for the ninth time in the past 11 seasons.
- Alex Barcello scored a game-high 16 points in the Cougars 63-45 exhibition victory over Colorado Christian on Nov. 4. The senior scored 14 of BYU’s 26 first half points as the senior All-American was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
- Barcello was one of two Cougars picked to the Preseason All-West Coast Conference Team. He scored a team-high 16.1 points per game last season while shooting 52.3 percent from the floor and 47.7 percent from beyond the arc.
- Caleb Lohner was also named to the Preseason All-WCC team after becoming the sixth freshman in program history and first since 2005-06 to lead the team in rebounding. His 7.1 rebounds per game were also the fourth most by a freshman in program history.
- Of the nine new faces on the roster, two of them have previous college experience. Te’Jon Lucas played for two seasons at Milwaukee after spending his freshman and sophomore seasons at Illinois. Seneca Knight made the move to Provo after stints at LSU and San Jose State.
- Fousseyni Traore, a freshman from Bamako, Mali, has already become a fan favorite for the Cougars after recording a double-double in the Blue-White Scrimmage. In his first game at the Marriott Center, the Wasatch Academy product scored 20 points with 11 rebounds as BYU White won 68-62.
- BYU enters the 2021-22 season receiving votes in the AP Poll released earlier this month. They are slated to face two schools currently ranked in the poll with No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 13 Oregon.
Head Coach – Mark Pope
- Alma Mater: Kentucky, 1996
- Division I Career Record: 121-71 (7th Season)
- Record at BYU: 44-15 (3rd Season)
Cleveland State Notes (0-0, 0-0 Horizon League)
- Cleveland State was picked to win the Horizon League after going 19-8 in 2020-21 and achieving the program’s third all-time NCAA Tournament berth.
- The Vikings defeated Division III’s Otterbein 74-33 on Friday in their final exhibition before opening the season in Provo.
- Senior guard Torrey Patton was selected to the All-Horizon League Preseason First Team. The Dayton, Ohio native averaged 14.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in 2020-21 while shooting 46.3 percent from the floor.
- D’Moi Hodge also returns for the Vikings after starting in 26 games last year where he scored 10.5 points per game. The junior guard from Tortola, British Virgin Islands shot 40.5 percent from the floor, 29.9 percent from 3-point range and 64.9 percent from the charity stripe.
Head Coach – Dennis Gates
- Alma Mater: University of California
- Division I Record: 30-29 (3rd Season)
Series Information
- Tuesday will be the first all-time meeting between the two programs.
- BYU is 1-0 all-time against schools from the Horizon League.
Broadcast Information
- TV: BYUtv
- TV Talent: Dave McCann (play-by-play), Blaine Fowler (analyst), Spencer Linton (sideline)
- Radio: BYU Sports Network, BYU Radio Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM HD2, KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM
- Streamed Audio: BYURadio.org, BYUCougars.com/LiveRadio and the BYU Radio, BYU Cougars and BYU Gameday apps
- Radio Talent: Greg Wrubell (play-by-play), Mark Durrant (analyst)
- Live stats: BYUCougars.com