No. 9 BYU (4-1) vs. Miami (5-1)
- Tip: Thursday, 3 p.m. MDT
- Venue: State Farm Field House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex, Kissimmee, Florida
- TV: ESPN
- Streaming: espn.com/live
- Radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM/Sirius XM 143
- Series: Tied 2-2 (most recent meeting: 1989)
The trends
- For BYU: 4-1 on the season, No. 11 in KenPom, averaging 87.2 points scored and 68.6 points allowed per game.
- For Miami: 5-1 on the season, No. 46 in KenPom, averaging 92.2 points scored and 64.3 points allowed per game.
The stakes
For BYU: The Cougars earned a statement win over No. 23 Wisconsin a week ago, blowing out the Badgers by a 98-70 margin.
With two wins in Florida, BYU would be crowned the winner of the ESPN Events Invitational, which would be the program’s first multi-team event title since 2023.
Miami boasts another high-scoring offense for the Cougars to face, averaging 92.2 points per game. Before Wisconsin played BYU, the Badgers were averaging 93.3 points per contest, but the Cougars held them to just 70.
For Miami: The Hurricanes are 5-1 on the year but still have yet to earn any sort of signature win, with their victories coming against opponents with an average KenPom ranking of 275.
But that isn’t to say that Miami isn’t talented, as the Canes did play defending national champion Florida tough and cut the deficit to as close as three points in the second half of an 82-68 loss.
Defeating BYU would put Miami in position to earn some AP top 25 votes this coming week, and after coming in at No. 8 in the ACC preseason poll, perhaps the Canes’ ceiling would be raised a bit into more of a threat within the conference.
Players to watch
- For BYU: Forward AJ Dybantsa, guard Rob Wright III, guard Richie Saunders.
- For Miami: Forward Malik Reneau, guard Tre Donaldson, guard Tru Washington.
