Game Preview: BYU Basketball vs Omaha

Time: 7pm MT
Location: Marriott Center | Provo, UT
TV: ESPN+
Radio: BYU Radio

After a thrilling 94-83 win over Ohio State to open the season, the Cougars play Omaha in their first game at the Marriott Center this year. KenPom predicts a 93-66 BYU win.

BYU is coming off an incredible offensive display in which Rob Wright exploded for 35 points and the Cougars scored 60 in the second half while shooting 11-of-24 (46%) from three.

Omaha also won its opener 73-65 over Mid-America Christian.

Chris Crutchfield took over as head coach of Omaha in 2022. He played for the Mavericks and began his coaching career there as an assistant in 1995. He led Omaha to the NCAA Tournament during the 2024-25 season.

Before returning to Omaha, Crutchfield was an assistant at Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Oregon under Lon Kruger, Eric Musselman, and Dana Altman, respectively.

Now, he faces a tall task as Omaha heads to Provo. The Mavericks return just four players from last season, losing four of their five top scorers.

BYU is the first of four power conference teams that Omaha will play this season. The Mavericks will also face Utah State, Texas Tech, and Kansas State in non-conference play.

Omaha’s key players

Cahmai Crosby (G): The North Texas transfer scored 21 points in his Omaha debut, going 4-of-7 from three.

Deke Thompson (G): The Texas State transfer scored 13 points in the opener and added four assists and three rebounds.

Grant Stubblefield (G): The only starter to return from last season, he averaged 9 points a game last year and had 11 points and six rebounds in the opener.

What to watch

Will BYU’s defense continue to show some promise?

BYU’s opponents had 18 turnovers in each exhibition, and Ohio State had 12 in the opener. The Cougars continued to apply full-court pressure, as they did consistently in the preseason. Omaha had 15 turnovers in its opener, so BYU should look to make things difficult again.

Paint protection remains an area of concern, especially against teams that play through their guards, so this game is a good opportunity to shore things up.

It’s still early, but so far BYU seems to have more defensive potential than many expected.

Can BYU get more production from its bench?

Wright had a big scoring night against Ohio State, but even more impressive was that the rest of the starters also reached double figures.

However, the Cougars had just eight bench points. Brooks Bahr, Khadim Mboup, and Nate Pickens each had one field goal, while Jake Wahlin was the only BYU player who played without scoring.

We saw how important depth was for BYU last season and how its absence changed the team’s trajectory. Will the rest of the group contribute more in this one?

On paper, there’s a good mix of experience, shooting, and talent on the bench. Wright and the other starters are more than capable of scoring, but consistent production from the bench would take pressure off them and make BYU even harder to guard.

Can BYU dominate the battle on the boards?

BYU had 32 rebounds in the opener, one fewer than Ohio State. Tyler Betsey pulled down seven boards, tying his career high, while Jaxon Kohler also had seven. BYU will hope to get Khadim Mboup and Jake Wahlin, who were both key rebounders in the exhibitions, more involved against Omaha.

BYU used several lineups against Ohio State with four players 6-foot-7 or taller on the floor. Omaha’s starting lineup doesn’t feature a player taller than 6-foot-8, so the Cougars should look to exploit that by using their length to crash the glass aggressively.

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