It’s a perimeter world, but BYU’s Fousseyni Traore and Keba Keita and are definitely living in it.

Sometimes big men get lost in the shuffle of college basketball, with so much emphasis on 3-point shooting and high-tempo, transition offenses.

The Cougars are 6-1 after losing to No. 23 Ole Miss in overtime and handling North Carolina State at the Rady Children’s Invitational during Thanksgiving week. Traore and Keita are making big contributions to BYU’s strong start.

“It’s a fantastic luxury for me to have two different styles of bigs,” Cougars coach Kevin Young said. “Fous can really get going as a post threat down there and Keba gives us such a dynamic lob threat, where our pick and roll game gets opened up.”

Traore is averaging 13.3 points (third on the team), 7.9 rebounds and two assists per game while shooting 69% from the field and 91% from the foul line, both marks leading the team. His ability to post up and score — or throw down a spectacular dunk, as he did against two Ole Miss players last Thursday — make him a thorn in the side of opposing defenses.

“Fous, he surprises you,” Young said. “You don’t realize how long he is. He’s such a wide body but he’s got tremendous length and he gets off the floor well. The guys do a good job of looking for him. I think our spacing allows both he and Keba to kind of roll in a lot of space, because we have so much shooting on the floor, you got to kind of pick your poison against us.”

Keita’s numbers are 6.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 64% from the field. He is the favorite target for lobs from teammates, including one for a thunderous dunk on a pass from Trevin Knell against North Carolina State. He’s playing an average of 18.7 minutes per game and staying out of foul trouble, something that plagued him during his career at the University of Utah.

“When he’s active on the glass, like he was, and flying around defensively, blocking shots, I just think he’s going to get better and better and better as the year goes on,” Young said.

Traore and Keta, along with 6-foot-9 freshman sensation Egor Demin, are the leading rebounders on a team that is 16th in the country in that category (39.3 rebounds per game).

SCOUTING REPORT

Providence — projected to finish sixth in the 11-team Big East — started the season 5-0 against a weak schedule and lost all three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis last week, falling to Oklahoma (79-77), Davidson (69-58) and No. 14 Indiana (89-73).

Kim English coached the Friars to a 21-14 record (10-10 in the Big East) in his first season, qualifying for the NIT but losing to Boston College in the first round. Last year’s top scorer, Devin Carter (19.7 points per game) is now playing in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings.

Miami transfer guard Bensley Joseph leads Providence in scoring (11.9 points per game), followed by returning sophomore guard Jayden Pierre (11.0) and Chicago State transfer Wesley Cardet (10.7).

At some point the Friars will regain the services of two-time All-Big East forward Bryce Hopkins, who averaged 15.8 points per game last season before suffering a season-ending ACL injury against Seton Hall on Jan 3. Hopkins didn’t play in the team’s recent trip to the Bahamas but is said to be close to making his season debut.

Men’s College Basketball

Big 12-Big East Battle

BYU (6-1) at Providence (5-3)

Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. MT

Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I.

TV/Streaming: FS1

Radio: BYU Radio

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: BYU is 2-0 all-time against Providence, winning 81-78 in 1964 at the ECAC Quaker Classic and 66-52 in 1982 at Provo. … The Friars are 5-3 after losing three straight games at the Battle 4 Atlantis. … The Cougars are averaging 87.4 points per game, tied for 15th in the country.