BYU Basketball to Play in Legends Classic Tournament

With the college basketball season a month and a half away, programs are still scrambling to piece together schedules.

BYU’s schedule is starting to come together, as BYU is likely to play in the Legends Classic with USC, UConn, and Vanderbilt. The tournament is typically held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but will be at Mogehan Sun in Connecticut in early December.

One source close to the program told Vanquish the Foe that BYU will open with USC and then play UConn/Vandy the second game. USC finished last season ranked 55 in KenPom and is expected to compete for a tourney bid. Since BYU will be in Connecticut, the Cougars are also aiming to schedule a home-and-home series the same week with a Big East or ACC team starting on the road and the return game in Provo in 2021.

In other scheduling news, BYU is still likely to play Utah in Provo this season. The Arizona State game still has a solid chance to happen and the Oregon game is looking unlikely at this point — however, either one of those could change over the next couple weeks.

Overall, the Legends Classic is an upgrade. BYU was initially scheduled to play in the Junkanoo Jam with Boston College, Tulsa and George Mason, so the Legends Classic provides BYU with better opponents that can move the needle on a tournament resume. If BYU can add that home-and-home series with a Big East/ACC team and keep ASU or Oregon on the schedule, the Cougars will have a schedule to be a NCAA Tournament team.