PROVO, Utah-As BYU basketball (5-3) hosts NAIA Frontier Conference foe Montana Tech (4-3) for a non-conference showdown Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center.
This game represents the last time new Cougars coach Mark Pope (5-3, .625 at BYU, 82-59, .582 as a collegiate head coach) will have to do without the services of star senior forward Yoeli Childs.
In August, Childs received an NCAA-mandated 9-game suspension to start the season and will be eligible to play December 4 at Utah.
The Cougars are coming off of a 90-77 win over Virginia Tech November 27, which caused them to place third at the prestigious Maui Jim Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii.
In Childs’ absence, BYU currently scores 72.4 points per game, ranking them 107th nationally in scoring offense.
Senior guard Jake Toolson (14.8 points, 4.9 rebounds per game) leads the Cougars with fellow senior guard TJ Haws (13.9 points per game, a team-best 31 assists, tied with the team lead for steals with 10) closely behind him in a complementary role.
Junior guard Alex Barcello (10.4 points per game, tied with Haws for the team lead in steals with 10, also tied with Haws and senior forward Dalton Nixon for the team lead in blocks[2]) has been highly valuable since his transfer from Arizona this season.
The Cougars’ defense gives up 68.9 points per game, ranking it 181st nationally in scoring defense.
Senior guard Zac Seljaas currently posts a team-best 5 rebounds per game to also pace the Cougars.
Montana Tech is coached by Adam Hiatt (41-56, .423) who is currently in his fourth season leading the Orediggers’ program.
High-scoring Montana Tech averages 95.6 points per game, ranking them second in the Frontier Conference behind Providence (Mont.) (103.8 points per contest).
Junior guard Sindou Diallo (20.6 points per game), senior guard Troy Owens Jr. (14.5 points per game), junior forward/center Taylor England (14.1 points per game, a team-best 8.9 rebounds per contest), senior forward Dylan Pannabecker (11.3 points per game, a team-best 15 steals) and redshirt freshman Connor Kieckbusch (11 points per game) all score in double figures on average for the Orediggers.
Redshirt sophomore guard Drew Huse (a team-best 23 assists) and junior forward Cody Baumstarck (a team-best 11 blocked shots) also contribute excellently for a solid overall Montana Tech squad.
Defensively, the Orediggers give up 71.4 points per game, ranking them fourth in the Frontier Conference.
Saturday’s tilt is the first meeting in each of these respective programs’ histories.
