BYU basketball coach Roger Reid says Northeast Louisiana is better than its record indicates. That's not really saying much, though. It would be impossible for the 0-5 Indians to have a worse record than it has at present.
Still, a look at NLU's schedule shows its losses have come against stiff competition. The Indians, who finished 19-9 overall last year and in first place in the Southland Conference, have lost to the likes of Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama-Birmingham and Mississippi State. The Indians have yet to play a home game."(Northeast Louisiana) has played a great schedule," Reid said. "They haven't won a game, but most of the starters back from last year's team that won their conference. They've been to the NCAA Tournament four of the past five years."
Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in the Marriott Center. The game will be broadcast live on KSL Radio (1160 AM) and on a tape-delayed basis by KBYU TV (Channel 11) at 10:30 p.m.
NLU has had a tough schedule and no home games, but the Indians haven't even been very close to winning a game. They lost to Nebraska by 22 points, to Oklahoma by 25 and to UAB by 18. The closest they've come to winning was a 12-point neutral-court loss to Montana State.
The Cougars will have a major size advantage. Of NLU's top eight scorers, only one is taller than 6-5, that being 6-7 center Alvin Edwards. BYU, on the other hand, has three starters 6-8 or taller, plus 7-foot center Cory Reader coming off the bench.
NLU's top player is 6-4 forward Larry Carr, who can score both inside and from beyond the 3-point arc. He made a school and conference record 85 treys and averaged 18.6 points last year. He's only played in three of the Indians' five games this season after requiring 16 stitches to close two separate cuts around his nose in the loss to Montana State. Edwards is the only other Indian scoring in double digits with a 10.4 average.
Russell Larson, BYU's 6-10 senior forward, leads the team in both scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg), with junior center Kenneth Roberts right behind (16.3 ppg; 6.6 rpg).