Yoeli Childs’ First Game Back From Suspension Will Be Against Rival Utah

PROVO, Utah – The Mark Pope era is well underway for the BYU basketball program.  But for the longest time, we didn’t know who the Cougars were going to face in Pope’s first campaign.  Now we have a clear picture of what the road ahead looks like for Pope and his reenergized program.

BYU’s 2019-20 Non-Conference schedule was officially released on September 6 and it’s a challenging schedule that poses a lot of great opportunities for BYU to gain quality wins to bolster a potential NCAA Tournament resume.

The Cougars will have to navigate the first nine games of the non-conference without their star player Yoeli Childs.  Childs will serve a nine-game suspension that was handed out by the NCAA for not following proper protocol when hiring an agent and entering into the NBA Draft process.

Will BYU have Yoeli Childs for the Utah game?

After BYU announced the nine-game suspension to forward Yoeli Childs, one of the big question marks surrounding the suspension was whether or not Childs would miss the rivalry game against Utah?

Childs will be playing his first game back from a nine-game NCAA suspension against the rival Utes. Last year, Childs had one of the best slam dunks in the history of the BYU basketball program in a win against Utah in the Beehive Classic.

Beat Utah 😏

pic.twitter.com/NSRmVGonhs

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) August 29, 2019

BYU and Utah square off at the Jon M. Huntsman Center for the first time since 2015.

Tip-Off to the Mark Pope era

BYU’s first game to tip-off the Mark Pope era is against Cal State Fullerton from the Big West Conference on the opening night of the college basketball season, Tuesday, November 5th, 2019.

The last time BYU faced Fullerton in hoops was in the 1-25 season 23 years ago.

This never gets old. 👀🍿#BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/CYbY4WeSze

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) July 16, 2019

BYU’s game against Fullerton is the first of the season, but it’s definitely not first in terms of games that highlight the non-conference slate.

That honor goes to the Maui Invitational which will take place November 25th thru the 27th in the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui.

Aloha means BYU is headed to Hawaii

BYU will open up the Maui Invitational tournament against the UCLA Bruins who are coached now by former Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin in a nationally televised game on ESPN2.

JOIN THE COUGARS IN MAUI!!

Click here for more info ➡️ https://t.co/UiA7BPuX1c#BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/jyjPIYDaOv

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) July 27, 2019

BYU will then face either host school Chaminade or pre-season No. 1 ranked squad the Kansas Jayhawks.  Other teams in Maui include the Michigan State Spartans, Virginia Tech Hokies, and Georgia Bulldogs coached by Tom Crean.

Quality teams coming to the Marriott Center

One of the challenges of scheduling for BYU basketball has been getting quality opponents to the Marriott Center.  The home schedule is improved compared to years in the past and it features some familiar names.

Former Mountain West Conference rival San Diego State heads to the Marriott Center on Saturday, November 9th.  This meeting will mark the first visit to the Marriott Center for the Aztecs since Jimmer Fredette helped lead BYU to a win over a Kawhi Leonard-led Aztecs squad in 2011.

(2011) Kawhi and Jimmer. 🗣 pic.twitter.com/GjKEYyaBwv

— Timeless Sports (@timelesssports_) June 3, 2019

Former UCLA and New Mexico head coach Steve Alford landed with the Nevada Wolfpack as their new head man after being fired in Westwoodlast season.  The Wolf Pack will face BYU on December 10th in the Marriott Center.

Other home matchups include in-state games against Southern Utah on November 13th as part of the mainland portion of the Maui Invitational and a revenge game against Weber State.  Oral Roberts and Division II program Montanna Tech round out the home slate.

Two Games At The Viv

BYU will have a pair of games at the Vivint Smarthome Arena in Salt Lake City, home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz.  Former Mountain West Conference rival UNLV comes to Salt Lake on Saturday, December 7th.  Last year, UNLV defeated BYU on a buzzer-beater at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

One week later on December 14th, year three of the Beehive Classic takes place.  BYU is 2-0 in Beehive Classic games so far and this year’s matchup will mark the toughest challenge in the event as the Cougars will face defending Mountain West Conference Tournament Champion Utah State.

Toughest Road Game

The battle of the Cougars takes place in Clutch City as BYU will square off against Sweet 16 participant Houston coached by Kelvin Sampson on Friday, November 15th.  Five days later, BYU will head north to Boise State on Wednesday, November 20th.

I spy @BYUBasketball on the Houston Cougars basketball schedule.

NOVEMBER 15thhttps://t.co/kzqcQKGfli#BYU #BYUSN pic.twitter.com/LCUUpvS8cq

— Spencer Linton (@Spencer_Linton) August 5, 2019

Three of BYU’s non-conference opponents appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season and three in the Maui Invitational field were in the Big Dance.

BYU Basketball’s 2019-20 Non-Conference Schedule

November 5th (Tue) – CAL STATE FULLERTON
November 9th (Sat) – SAN DIEGO STATE
November 13th (Wed) – SOUTHERN UTAH
November 15th (Fri) – @ Houston
November 20th (Wed) – @ Boise State
November 25th (Mon) – vs. UCLA (Maui Invitational)
November 26th (Tue) – Maui Invitational
November 27th (Wed) – Maui Invitational
November 30th (Sat) – Division II Team
December 4th (Wed) – @ Utah
December 7th (Sat) – UNLV (Vivint Smarthome Arena)
December 10th (Tue) – NEVADA
December 14th (Sat) – vs. Utah State – Beehive Classic (Vivint Smarthome Arena)
December 21st (Sat) – WEBER STATE
December 28th (Sat) – ORAL ROBERTS

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.