BYU announces 2018-19 nonconference schedule

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s basketball has finalized its 2018-19 nonconference schedule, featuring eight regular season home games, a challenging road schedule, four in-state games and a pair of high-profile neutral contests.

Seven of the Cougars’ non-conference opponents made postseason appearances in 2018, including NCAA tournament qualifiers Nevada, Houston and San Diego State.

The 2018-19 season will open on Nov. 6 when BYU plays at Nevada, a 2018 NCAA Tournament team that finished the season with 29 wins and ranked 20th in the final USA Today Coaches Poll. This will be the first time the Cougars open a season away from home since the 2011-12 campaign.

BYU then returns home for six-straight games in the Marriott Center, beginning with Utah Valley in the UCCU Crosstown Clash on Nov. 9. The Cougars then host Northwestern State (Nov. 13), Oral Roberts (Nov. 15), Alabama A&M (Nov. 17) and Rice (Nov. 21). The homestand concludes with another 2018 NCAA Tournament team in Houston, which finished last season with 27 victories and ranked No. 22 in the Coaches Poll.

November ends with a trip to Missouri Valley Conference power Illinois State on the 28th, the first of back-to-back road games. On Dec. 1, BYU plays Weber State in its first of three-consecutive in-state contests. Following the matchup with the Wildcats, the Cougars host Utah State on Dec. 5 and play Utah in the second-annual Beehive Classic on Dec. 8 in Vivint Smart Home Arena. BYU will look to repeat last season’s 4-0 record against in-state teams.

The non-conference schedule ends with four-straight teams that won 20-plus games in 2017-18, beginning with Portland State in Provo on Dec. 12. The Cougars then leave town for the final three games, beginning with a neutral-site tilt vs. UNLV in T-Mobile Arena followed by road games at San Diego State on Dec. 22 and Mississippi State on Dec. 29. The Aztecs earned an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament while the Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals of the 2018 NIT.

The annual Cougar Tipoff will be held on Oct. 19 and will be followed by exhibitions on Oct. 24 and Nov. 1.

All game times, television plans and the 2018-19 West Coast Conference schedule will be announced at a later date.