BYU Basketball Will Host One More Home Game In NIT Run
Mar 20, 2022, 3:53 PM | Updated: 7:03 pm
Brigham Young Cougars head coach Mark Pope high fives with fans after scoring 27 points and winning over the Northern Iowa Panthers in an NIT game at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 19, 2022. (Mengshin Lin, Deseret News)
(Mengshin Lin, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball will have one final home game at the Marriott Center for the 2021-22 season. The Cougars, who defeated Northern Iowa in the NIT second round, waited on the result of SMU/Washington State to find out their next destination and opponent.
All-Cougar matchup with a trip to NYC on the line
It will be an All-Cougar matchup as four-seed Washington State upset one-seed SMU to move on to the NIT Quarterfinals against BYU.
#BYU will host Washington State in the #NIT Quarterfinals on Tuesday or Wednesday night at the Marriott Center.
A trip to @TheGarden will be on the line.#BYUHoops @kslsports pic.twitter.com/lDdNwefpSK
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 20, 2022
The two teams will square off on Wednesday, March 23 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 and KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM).
BYU has been a different team in the NIT than the one that struggled through a 9-6 record in West Coast Conference play. Mark Pope’s squad has scored more than 90 points in its first two NIT victories over Long Beach State and Northern Iowa.
BYU vs Washington State.
Wednesday (Mar23).
7pm MT.
ESPN2.#BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/H3uqOhpW1m— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) March 21, 2022
To get to Provo, Washington State had to defeat BYU’s WCC rival Santa Clara and SMU. These two Cougar teams will battle for a trip to play at Madison Square Garden in the NIT Semifinals.
BYU basketball history against Washington State
This will be BYU’s first time hosting Washington State in Provo since the 1997-98 season. That was the first home game at the Marriott Center under former head coach Steve Cleveland.
#BYU is 5-5 all-time against Washington State.
Last meeting: November 22, 2005 – The first win of the Dave Rose era.
Last time #BYU hosted Wazzu in Provo (1997) was the first home game of the Steve Cleveland era.#BYUHoops @kslsports
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 20, 2022
BYU is 5-5 all-time against Washington State, with the last meeting on November 22, 2005, in Spokane. That night concluded with a 76-68 BYU victory, the first of the Dave Rose era.
BYU enters this week’s NIT Quarterfinal with a 24-10 record, winning five of their last six games. Washington State is 21-14 and has won six of their previous seven contests.
The Cougs on the Palouse are coached by Kyle Smith, who has familiarity with BYU. Smith was the head coach at San Francisco from 2016-19, compiling a 2-4 record against BYU.
The winner of BYU/Washington State will face Texas A&M or Wake Forest in the NIT Semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
