BYU Basketball Takes On Idaho In Saturday Matinee
Nov 15, 2024, 9:11 PM
BYU basketball guard Egor Demin will face the Idaho Vandals on Saturday afternoon. (Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
(Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah — BYU football has a late-night home game, so BYU basketball is playing a Saturday matinee to give Cougar fans a doubleheader.
The Cougars welcome the Idaho Vandals into the Marriott Center for the first time since 2001.
Saturday will be the sixth meeting all-time against Idaho from the Big Sky Conference. BYU leads the all-time series 4-1. Before two meetings in the 2001 calendar year, the programs met twice in 1937 and once in 1947.
BYU comes into the game with a 3-0 record this season, while Idaho is still looking for its first win against a D-1 opponent.
BYU vs. Idaho: How To Watch, Listen
Date: Saturday, November 16, 2024
Location: Marriott Center
Tip-Off: 1 p.m. (MST)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM)
BYU basketball is crashing the offensive glass
BYU entered the season with questions in the frontcourt because it had only one player taller than 6 feet 9 inches. So far, this hasn’t been an issue for BYU.
The Cougars are 10th nationally in offensive rebounds per game at 17.33.
In their 44-point blowout victory over Queens, BYU nearly grabbed more offensive rebounds (21) than the Royals’ total rebounds (22).
BYU centers Keba Keita and Fousseyni Traore outrebounded Queens by themselves as the duo combined for 25 boards.
Keita has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in all three of BYU’s games this season. He’s the first BYU player to have three consecutive double-figure rebounding efforts since Traore did it as a freshman.
BYU is currently third nationally in rebound margin (20.7).
Jake Retzlaff shows BYU hoops some love
BYU football quarterback Jake Retzlaff was on ESPN’s SportsCenter this week with Kevin Connors. Retzlaff was asked for his thoughts on BYU basketball star Egor Demin.
Appreciate the kind words @jretz11 🤝 pic.twitter.com/PcUzLrcoJp
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 14, 2024
“He’s so fun to watch; he’s going to have more than a few triple-doubles this year in college ball, and as anybody knows, that’s pretty insane,” Retzlaff said to ESPN.
Demin has been impressive to start his freshman campaign. The former Real Madrid standout is shooting 75.8% effective field goal percentage. He’s averaging 17.3 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Personnel notes
Dallin Hall has missed BYU’s first three games. Head coach Kevin Young remains optimistic that Hall will return to action this month.
BYU has Saturday’s game against the Vandals, then will have a week off before hosting Mississippi Valley State to close out a five-game homestand. Then, the schedule heats up with the Rady Children’s Invitational, beginning with a game against Ole Miss on Thanksgiving.
Young has noted that Hall is BYU’s starting point guard when he returns. It would be great for the Cougars to have him back in a game or two before the trip to San Diego for Thanksgiving.
BYU guard Dawson Baker scored 22 points in Wednesday night’s win over Queens. The backup point guard right now to Demin knocked down 80% of his field goal attempts and hit six threes.
Getting to know the Idaho Vandals
The Idaho Vandals enter Saturday’s game with a 1-2 record. They have yet to win a game against a Division 1 opponent this season.
The Vandals have one of the top frontcourts in the Big Sky Conference, led by 6-foot-9 Julius Mims. Mims was a preseason All-Big Sky selection. He’s only shooting 48.1% from the field, down 15% from last year, when he knocked down 63% of his attempts.
Last year, Mims was named to the Big Sky All-Defensive Team as he was second in the league in blocked shots.
Second-year head coach Alex Pribble coaches Idaho.
BYU/Idaho Projections
- KenPom: BYU 86, Idaho 62 (99% win probability)
- ESPN BPI: BYU is favored by 27.6 points (98.8% win probability)
- Bart Torvik: BYU 88, Idaho 65 (96% win probability)
- Haslam Metrics: BYU 83, Idaho 62
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
