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PROVO β Saturday evening's Big 12 opener between No. 12 BYU and Cincinnati won't just be a matchup between two of the league's four newcomers in a series that has been off since the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
It will also be a matchup of two of the top rebounding teams in the country.
The Bearcats (11-2, 0-0 Big 12) rank second nationally in rebounding margin (+13.6), sixth in rebounds per game (43.8) and ninth in offensive rebounds (15.1).
And that was with a largely injured or limited 7-footer in Utah Valley transfer Aziz Bandaogo, who head coach Wes Miller expects to work his way back into the rotation as conference play opens.
"We have to rebound, for sure. They're a top team in defensive rebounding-wise as well, and one of our strengths is offensive rebounding," said BYU wing Spencer Johnson, whose squad averages 13.9 boards per game on the offensive glass. "We've definitely got to be locked in on that. It's going to be key."
Throw in Bandaogo, the NBA Academy Africa product by way of Akron and UVU, to an already talented rebounding team and the task becomes even taller in the first matchup between the two teams since Cincinnati's 84-59 win over Mountain West player of the year Mekeli Wesley and the Cougars in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2001.
BYU coach Mark Pope certainly knows what it means to defend the 7-footer from Senegal who had 14 points and seven rebounds a year ago in the Wolverines' 75-60 win over the Cougars.
"We have our work cut out for us. The offensive glass is really important for us, and we're probably not going to have a breakthrough in minute 1-5 or 5-10 β¦ but it might come in 35 minutes," Pope said, before later mentioning Bandaogo. "Aziz is so long and so vertical. He's one of the elite shot blockers in the country, an elite-level rebounder and super mobile for his size. He's an elite-level roller, and it's just a race to the rim. The point of contention is one foot above the rim, and it's really hard to get there. It's easy for him, though. β¦ He's a really special player, and when he's full-go consistently for them, he'll be a massive impact player for Cincinnati."
All the more reason for BYU to be cautiously optimistic in a return for Fousseyni Traore, the team's top rebounder who hasn't played since the day after Thanksgiving while nursing a hamstring injury. Traore made a return to practice this week, and while his minutes will likely be limited, the coaching staff has spoken regularly about wanting to bring him back for conference play.
"We're still dancing with him a little bit," Pope said of the 6-foot-6, 240-pound native of Bamako, Mali, who averaged 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists on 64.1% shooting in six games prior to his injury. "He's been in practice Monday and Tuesday. But I'd like to use him at full speed. He's really close, knocking on the door, for sure."
The Bearcats know they'll need every advantage they can get β on the glass and otherwise β against a BYU side that ranks first nationally in assists per game (22.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio, as 3-pointers per game (12.8).
"It's going to be this way in the Big 12 every night," Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. "You're going to be able to sit at this podium and talk about how great the other team is and how difficult of a challenge it's going to be, how great the environment is. BYU is all those things. But you look at the way they are shooting the ball, it's better than everybody in the country. Sometimes as coaches, we say things not totally literally but to emphasize; they are the best shooting team in the country. They are literally and statistically the best 3-point shooting team in the country. They shoot it from every position. Their ball movement is phenomenal. β¦ They're old, they're tough, their rebounding numbers jump off the page. Physical, old, tough and a really good basketball team."

One of four new additions to the Big 12 in 2023-24, Cincinnati is led by Viktor Lahkin, the redshirt junior from Anapa, Russia who is averaging 13.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game coming off a career-high 26 points against Eastern Washington.
BYU's top scorer comes off the bench in Jaxson Robinson, who made his return from a mild ankle injury to score 10 points in 28 minutes against Wyoming for a season average of 16.0 points per game.
But the rising NBA prospect isn't alone; six BYU players averaged double-figure scoring during nonconference play, including Johnson (10.8 points per game) and Trevin Knell, who is second on the team at 11.8 points that includes 43.1% shooting from 3-point range.
"I'm pumped. I'm super excited, and I know the team is excited. But our main thing is to keep our emotions in check, not get too amped for a game," Knell said. "We're really trying to keep the standard the standard, and keep our mindset on Cincinnati. They're a great team, but don't get too amped just because it's the Big 12. Wyoming was a great team, and I feel like our mindset was really good going into it. We need to continue to have that same mindset going to Cincinnati."
Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. MST on ESPN2.
Big 12 Tipoff
No. 12 BYU (12-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Cincinnati (11-2, 0-0 Big 12)
Saturday, Jan. 6
Marriott Center
- Tipoff: 8 p.m. MT
- TV: ESPN2 (Chuck Kempf, Sean Farnham)
- Streaming: WatchESPN
- Radio: BYU Radio Sirius XM 143, KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM (Greg Wrubell, Mark Durrant)
- Series: BYU leads, 2-1
π΄π¬π«π°π¨ πΊπΆπΌπ΅π« π©π°π»π¬πΊ: @trevin_knellpic.twitter.com/RbmrnDvb9h
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) January 4, 2024
