PROVO, Utah –
BYU men’s basketball improved to 5-0, defeating Mississippi Valley State 87-43 Saturday night at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.
Senior Fousseyni Traroe led the way for the Cougars, recording his 20th double-double of his collegiate career, scoring 15 points and 11 rebounds. Traroe was coming off a career-high performance of 29 points on Saturday, Nov. 16th. He also climbed into 47th place on the all-time Saturday night, surpassing Eric Mika and Bruce Burton.
The Bamako, Mali native averaged 10.9 points and 5.2 rebounds last season for the Cougars. This year, he’s close to averaging a double-double with 13.4 points per game and 8.8 rebounds.
Mississippi Valley State was ranked the worst team in college basketball according to KenPom, 364th out of 364th in the 2024-25 season, and BYU covered the 42.5 spread.BYU would notch at least another 85-plus points in the first four games for the first time since 2014-15.
Kanon Catchings also added 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, along with three and three assists, contributing to the team’s 53% percent shooting. The Cougars have shot 50% or above for the fourth game in a row.
Trevin Knell would come off the bench for the first time this season, adding 12 points going 3-of-5 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range. Knell would get to the charity stripe five times in Saturday’s contest, knocking down four of the five attempts.
The Return of Dallin Hall
Dallin Hall returned from injury Saturday night, taking his place back in that starting line-up.
“It’s fun to be back playing with my brothers,” said Hall.
The Junior from Plain City, Utah, has been dealing with a toe injury since the season began and has missed the last four games. Hall scored 10 points, dished out five assists, and grabbed four rebounds in his return.
BYU recorded 21 assists on 31 made attempts, while the Delta Devils were held to just eight. True freshman Egor Demin’s six assists would be added to that total. Hall and Demin would take the floor together for the first time this season and combined for half of the team’s assists.
The Cougar’s five-game home stand is complete, and they now turn their attention to the Rudy Invitational in San Diego, California, which will take place next Thursday, Nov.28th, and Friday, Nov. 29th. BYU will open up play against Ole Miss on Thanksgiving, as tip-off is set for 3:30 pm MST at LionTree Arena.
