After beating Weber State on Saturday, BYU men’s basketball coach Mark Pope said he would have each player choose a Christmas song to sing on Monday’s flight to Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic.

After that, he said, it would be a business trip.

That business begins on Wednesday with a game against South Florida at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu as the Cougars come down the end of a challenging preseason schedule.

The Cougars are actually the highest-ranked team in the Classic, based on the NET ratings, at No. 25. The next highest ranked team is Vanderbilt at No. 84. BYU will have to win three games in four days to win in the tournament.

The Cougars have never won a preseason tournament in Hawaii, finishing second at the Rainbow Classic in 1970 and again second at the Maui Invitational in 1992.

BYU’s outside marksmanship has made a jump in the past three games, shooting 39 of 73 (53%) from beyond the arc. In Saturday’s 89-71 victory at Weber State, BYU made a season-high 16 of 26 (62%) from distance.

“We’re a good shooting team,” Pope said. “Even when we were shooting bad, we still knew we were good. It’s got to be super frustrating for opponents to be dedicating so much to Alex Barcello (28 points vs. Weber State). Every time he has the ball defenses are sending two players. They’re doing what they have to do from their scout, and he still goes 5 of 6 from the 3-point line and everybody else is getting open shots. They’re working so hard to take away the thing they have to take away. It’s a real credit to the guys for working hard for each other to earn great shots.”

The last time the Cougars played in the Diamond Head Classic was in 2015, memorable because of a 41-point, nine 3-pointer performance from Chase Fischer in a 96-66 win against New Mexico.

“I’m feeling it right now, the gauntlet of playing four of the past six on the road,” Pope said. “Right now we’re playing the sixth hardest schedule of any team in the Top 100 in the country and it’s not getting any easier. We’re playing in a big-time tournament.”

The winner of the BYU-South Florida game moves to the semifinals on Thursday to play the winner of the Vanderbilt-Hawaii matchup. The other side of the bracket includes Liberty, Northern Iowa, Wyoming and Stanford. The championship game will be staged on Saturday.

“I’m super excited to be able to go out there for free and do something I love,” said BYU’s Seneca Knight, whose parents are also making the trip to Honolulu. “You can’t ask for anything more.”

Scouting Report

Pope is quite familiar with the South Florida program: In his last game as coach at Utah Valley in 2019, the Bulls beat the Wolverines in the second round of the College Basketball Invitational.

South Florida is 4-5 this season after playing tough at Florida before falling 66-55 on Saturday. The Bulls four wins have come against Bethune-Cookman, North Carolina A&T, Hampton and Austin Peay.

Redshirt freshman Caleb Murphy, a 6-foot-4 guard, leads South Florida with 13 points per game. The Bulls have a 7-foot center, Russel Tchewa, and the Cougars have struggled to guard seven-footers in losses to UVU and Creighton.

South Florid has been winning with defense, allowing just 57.4 points per game (13th in the country).

BYU has played the Bulls only once. The Cougars earned a 77-75 double overtime win at the South Padre Invitational in 2010, with Jimmer Fredette, who scored 32 points, passing to Noah Hartsock for the game-winning jumper as time expired in the second extra session. BYU also defeated Chicago State, Mississippi Valley State and Saint Mary’s (on a 3-pointer from Fredette with 11 seconds left) to win the tournament, the last time the Cougars claimed a multi-team event championship.

Men’s College Basketball

Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic

BYU (9-2) vs. South Florida (4-5)

Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. MT

Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu

TV: ESPNU

Radio: KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM, BYU Radio on Sirius XM 143, BYU radio app

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: BYU is 1-0 all-time against South Florida, beating the Bulls 77-75 in double overtime at the South Padre Invitational in 2010. … The Cougars last played in the Diamond Head Classic in 2015, finishing with a 2-1 record. … Alex Barcello is in line to make his 71st consecutive start on Wednesday, which would tie Mekeli Wesley and Brandon Davies for the 10th longest streak in program history.

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