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Las Vegas • Basketball tournaments in Sin City haven't been particularly kind to the BYU basketball program recently, with the Cougars having failed to win the West Coast Conference tournament at the Orleans Arena in any of their five years in that league.
Perhaps a change of venue, and an early season tournament rather than a postseason event, will do the trick. And there is a unique trophy at stake as well.
Fresh off their three wins last week, the Cougars will meet the 2-1 Saint Louis Billikens of the Atlantic 10 Conference on Monday (7:30 p.m. MT) in what's called the heavyweight bracket of the MGM Grand Main Event tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The game will be live-streamed on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfYgbNOa0ac.
The BYU-Saint Louis winner will play the Alabama-Valparaiso winner on Wednesday at 10 p.m. MT on ESPN2 for the championship; Losers will play a consolation game Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. MT.
Instead of a traditional gold trophy, the champion of the heavyweight bracket will receive a championship belt like those usually awarded after boxing or mixed martial arts matches.
These are the first of four neutral-site games for BYU in November and December. The Cougars will also play USC in the Basketball Hall of Fame's 2016 Hoophall Classic in Los Angeles on Dec. 3 and vs. Illinois in the State Farm Chicago Legends event at the United Center on Dec. 17.
Monday's game will be challenging, coach Dave Rose said, because the Cougars played Saturday, beating Coastal Carolina 81-65, and will not be able to practice or prepare for Saint Louis until Monday morning due to school rules forbidding activities on Sundays.
BYU is getting used to it though, with the WCC tournament format being Saturday-Monday-Tuesday and having played Princeton last Monday to open the season.
"Yeah, I think it will be a little weird," said center Eric Mika. "It will definitely be a new experience for a lot of guys. … But our coaches at this point know how to get us right and ready for the [Monday] games."
Rose said he is "really looking forward" to BYU's first game away from the Marriott Center.
"Saint Louis is big and strong and [new coach] Travis Ford is a guy who runs a lot of stuff," Rose said. "We will see a lot of things that we will have to prepare for defensively. It is a quick turnaround for us without a practice day in between. But we will see how this team responds."
Ford, the former Oklahoma State coach, replaced Jim Crews, who was fired last March after the Billikens went 22-42 in their last two seasons. Crews coached at Saint Louis under former Utah coach Rick Majerus and was promoted in 2012 shortly before Majerus died.
Ford led Oklahoma State to the tournament championship here in 2014. The Billikens have two outstanding scorers in Davell Roby (16.3 ppg.) and Reggie Beko (16.0) and haven't played since defeating Eastern Illinois on Thursday.
As for the Cougars, Rose likes how the team is playing well together after welcoming nine new faces to the program.
"I kinda like the way this team is developing, but we are going to get a whole different set of opponents down in Vegas, as far as resistance is concerned," Rose said. "We will see how we do."
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU vs. Saint Louis
P At the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas
Tipoff • 7:30 p.m. MST
Live stream • YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfYgbNOa0ac)
Radio • 1160 AM, 102.7 FM, Sirius XM 143
Records • BYU 3-0, Saint Louis 2-1
Series history • BYU leads, 3-1
Last meeting • Saint Louis 86, BYU 74 (Jan. 5, 1954)
About the Billikens • They are coming off a 74-69 win over Eastern Illinois on Thursday, after having defeated Southern Utah 88-76 on Nov. 14 and lost to Ball State 85-64 on Nov. 11. … Coach Travis Ford was hired last March after he coached at Oklahoma State for eight years. … They are led in scoring by Davell Roby, who averages 16.3 points per game, and Reggie Beko, who averages 16.0 ppg.
About the Cougars • They are shooting 74.0 percent on free throws, 30.3 percent from 3-point range and 46.9 percent from the field. … C Eric Mika is averaging 21.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. … Guards Nick Emery (14.0) and TJ Haws (13.0) are also averaging in double figures. … Seven players are averaging 20.7 minutes or more.