BYU to take on USF at home

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s basketball will face San Francisco (10-11, 4-7) Thursday at the Marriott Center, and for the first time this season, the Cougars will play on their home court in front of more than just their families. Limited tickets have been made available for purchase. The Cougars are coming off of two dominant road wins last week. San Francisco is looking to pick up some steam before entering the postseason. The Dons have lost five if their last six games, dating back to the last time these two teams faced each other in San Francisco. The Dons’ last win was more than a month ago, Jan. 21 against Santa Clara.

The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m. PST. It will also be broadcast live on the BYU Sports Network on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM HD2 and KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.

BYU Notes (17-5, 8-3 West Coast Conference)

• The Cougars are 17-5, most recently defeating LMU 88-71.
• BYU is No. 2 in the WCC standings, with an .801 adjusted winning percentage.
• BYU has wins over LMU, Portland (twice), Pacific (twice), Pepperdine, San Francisco, Saint Mary’s, Weber State, Texas Southern, No. 18 San Diego State, Utah, Utah State, St. John’s, Utah Valley, New Orleans and Westminster. The four losses were to USC, Boise State, No. 1 Gonzaga (twice) and Pepperdine.
• BYU is led by senior guard Alex Barcello who is averaging 15.4 points, 4.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.
• Matt Haarms and Brandon Averette, BYU’s other two senior leaders along with Barcello, are the next behind Barcello in scoring with 11.5 and 11.2 points per game respectively.
• Haarms is coming off a season-high five blocks against LMU.
• Freshman Caleb Lohner has led the team in rebounding almost all season, averaging 6.7 boards per game. Lohner had a breakout game offensively against Pacific last, racking up a career-high 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. He followed that up with an 18-point performance against LMU, continuing to shoot lights-out from the field. He was named the WCC Freshman of the Week.
• BYU is one of only 11 Div. I teams currently in the KenPom top 30 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
• The Cougars have had six different players lead them in scoring in the last six games.
• BYU’s bench production has been big this season, outscoring opponents in 20 of 22 games played.
• BYU has never lost back-to-back games in the Mark Pope era and has the third-longest active streak of games played without consecutive losses at 56. The two teams above them are Houston and Gonzaga.

 Head Coach – Mark Pope

• Alma Mater: Kentucky, 1996
• Division I Career Record: 118-69 (6th Season)
• Record at BYU: 41-13 (2nd season)

San Francisco Notes (10-11, 4-7 West Coast Conference)

• USF is 10-11, with its most recent result being a 68-63 loss to LMU.
• USF is No. 8 in the WCC standings, with a .332 adjusted winning percentage.
• The Dons have wins this season over Santa Clara, Portland (twice), San Diego, Grand Canyon, Cal State Long Beach, Cal Poly, Nevada, No. 4 Virginia and Towson. Their losses have come to Pepperdine, BYU, LMU (twice), No. 1 Gonzaga (twice), Oregon, Cal, Rhode Island and Massachusetts-Lowell.
• After dropping their season opener to Massachusetts-Lowell, the Dons shocked No. 4 Virginia 61-60.
• The Dons are led by two stars in their backcourt — Jamaree Bouyea (17.8 points per game) and Khalil Shabazz (15.3 points per game). Shabazz came off the bench in the Dons’ home win over BYU last year, going 10-10 from the field, including 6-6 from three. His 32 points were a career high for the redshirt junior guard. He followed that up with another 30-point performance when the two teams met earlier this season.

Head Coach – Todd Golden

• Alma Mater: Saint Mary’s, 2008
• Division I Career Record: 32-23 (2nd Season)
• Record at San Francisco: 32-23 (2nd Season)

Series Information

• All-Time Series: BYU leads 20-9
• Last Meeting: BYU won 72-63 on Jan. 16 in San Francisco

Broadcast Information

• TV: CBS Sports Network
• TV Talent: TBA
• Radio: BYU Sports Network, BYU Radio Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM HD2, KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM
• Streamed Audio: BYURadio.org, BYUCougars.com/LiveRadio and the BYU Radio, BYUCougars and BYU Gameday apps
• Radio Talent: Greg Wrubell (play-by-play), Mark Durrant (analyst)
• Live Stats: BYUcougars.com