BYU is reportedly playing in Las Vegas for the week of Thanksgiving in a four-team tournament.
The BYU basketball non-conference schedule for next year is becoming more and more clear, and it could include a familiar foe in NIT semifinal foe Valparaiso — who defeated the Cougars, 72-70. The rest of the four-team tournament field is expected to have Minnesota and Alabama participating.
Paul Orem of The Times in Northwest Indiana sent out a few tweets regarding Valpo’s Thanksgiving plans for next year’s basketball schedule.
Looking for Thanksgiving week plans? @ValpoBasketball in Vegas Nov. 21-23. @VandyMBB on Nov. 24-25. See you there.
— Paul Oren (@NWIOren) April 9, 2016
Valparaiso in tourney with BYU/Minnesota/Alabama. Vandy in tourney with Arizona and Butler. Sign me up.
— Paul Oren (@NWIOren) April 9, 2016
This is not official but Las Vegas hosts multiple tournaments in the preseason and also around Thanksgiving.
These games do not do a ton to beef up the Cougars non-conference schedule but there is some quality among these teams. Valparaiso is the best of the group as they had an RPI of 49, Alabama went 18-15 but did finish with a top-100 RPI at 78 and then Minnesota how won just eight games and had a 257 RPI.
Only the Golden Gophers would be a worse RPI than what BYU see’s in West Coast play as the league had only three top-100 teams and one was BYU, and even Alabama whose RPI was not great at 78 would have been the ninth toughest opponent BYU would have played last year.
Add this to the other neutral site game in Las Angeles where BYU will play USC as part of a double-header with Gonzaga taking on Arizona, and we now know seven of the non-conference games which also include Weber State, Colorado, Utah Valley and also Illinois in Chicago.
