SALT LAKE CITY — The BYU men’s basketball team will look quite different next season, as the Cougars had seven seniors on their 2019-20 squad.
Still, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm is confident BYU will be in the mix to make next year’s NCAA Tournament. Palm has the Cougars as a No. 11 seed in his projection for the 2021 tournament field released Thursday, with a first-round matchup against No. 6 Rutgers in Dallas in the Midwest Regional.
Utah was listed among the first four out in Palm’s bracketology.
The novel coronavirus pandemic caused last month’s 2020 NCAA Tournament to be canceled. The Cougars were seen as a lock to make the tournament for the first time since 2015, as Mark Pope’s team was 24-8 and had a No. 9 NET ranking nationally.
Guard Alex Barcello, a transfer from Arizona, will be back for BYU next season, as well as forwards Kolby Lee and Gavin Baxter and guards Connor Harding and Trevin Knell. Davis High’s Jesse Wade, a guard who started his college career at Gonzaga, missed last season because of injury, and a pair of big-men transfers from UVU — Richard Harward and Wyatt Lowell — will be eligible.
The Utes went 16-15 this past season. As one of the nation’s youngest teams, Utah went 12-2 at home and beat then-No. 6 Kentucky in Las Vegas in mid-December. The Utes struggled with consistency, particularly away from home, as they were 1-9 in true road games.
Forward Timmy Allen and guard Both Gach, who reportedly will declare for the NBA draft, would both be juniors next season for the Utes. Guard Ryan Jones and center Branden Carlson, who came on strong in the back half of last season, will be sophomores.