On Tuesday night, BYU basketball returns home to host the Evansville Purple Aces. The Cougars, who are coming off a win over Fresno State, are looking to remain perfect against the Purple Aces. Evansville is 7-1 and coming off an overtime win over Northern Iowa.
KenPom, the industry leader in college basketball analytics, predicted BYU-Evansville. KenPom gives BYU a 98% chance to win with a projected final score of 86-64.
As of this writing, BYU is ranked 8th in KenPom while Evansville ranks 200th.
KenPom likes BYU's chances to have a great record going into the conference slate. KenPom picks BYU to win every game on the non-conference schedule. The game at Utah is expected to be the biggest remaining challenge for the Cougars in the non-conference. KenPom gives BYU just a 57% chance to beat the Utes on the road. BYU's next projected loss according to KenPom is January 9th at Baylor.
Game Information
BYU (7-0) vs Evansville (7-1)
Tuesday, December 4
Tipoff: 7:00 p.m. MT
Provo, Utah
Marriott Center
Fousseyni Traore Injury
BYU star big man Fousseyni Traore left the game against NC State with an injury. Traore will not play against Evansville. BYU head coach Mark Pope was asked about Traore's injury status last week, Pope said Traore was "day-to-day".
BYU in the Polls
The BYU basketball team is one of the fastest rising teams in college basketball. On Monday, BYU jumped up five spots in the AP Poll from no. 19 to no. 14. BYU is the fourth Big 12 team inside the top 15, joining Kansas (2), Houston (3), and Baylor (6). The Cougars had just one game last week, a dominant win over Fresno State in the Delta Center.
The high ranking speaks to BYU's complete dominance through seven games. The Cougars, who are 7-0, currently lead the country in point differential.
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