KenPom Predicts BYU Basketball at Utah

On Saturday night, BYU basketball travels up the road to take on rival Utah. The Cougars, who are coming off another dominant win over Evansville, are looking

Casey Lundquist | Dec 9, 2023

On Saturday night, BYU basketball travels up the road to take on rival Utah. The Cougars, who are coming off another dominant win over Evansville, are looking to remain undefeated. Utah is off to a good start of their own - the Utes are 6-2 with wins over Saint Mary's and Wake Forest.

KenPom, the industry leader in college basketball analytics, predicted BYU-Utah. KenPom gives BYU a 65% chance to win with a projected final score of 79-75.

As of this writing, BYU is ranked 6th in KenPom while Utah is ranked 39th.

KenPom likes BYU's chances to have a great record going into the conference slate. The game at Utah is expected to be the biggest remaining challenge for the Cougars in the non-conference. If BYU beats Utah, KenPom gives BYU a 94% chance to go undefeated in the rest of its non-conference games.

Game Information

BYU (8-0) at Utah (6-2)
Saturday, December 9
Tipoff: 5:00 p.m. MT
Salt Lake City, Utah
Huntsman Center

Fousseyni Traore Injury

BYU star big man Fousseyni Traore left the game against NC State with an injury. Traore will not play against Utah. 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 8-0, currently lead the country in point differential.

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Published Dec 9, 2023

CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.