SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A pair of games in the mountains of Utah awaits the Bellarmine men's basketball team following a three-game homestand. The Knights will battle Utah on Wednesday before clashing with BYU on Friday.

The Pac-12 Network will have Wednesday's coverage from Salt Lake City. ESPN+ will have Friday's coverage from Provo. Both games are scheduled to tip at 9 p.m. ET. and each will mark Bellarmine's first matchup between the schools.

Bellarmine (4-8) dropped a back-and-forth 70-61 decision to Evansville on Saturday at Freedom Hall. Langdon Hatton went for 18 points and 11 rebounds to help him become the first Knight to record three straight double-doubles in Bellarmine's Division I era. Dezmond McKinney delivered 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in his first start for BU.

The Knights face a tough task as they look to rebound from Saturday. Utah (8-2) checks in at No. 31 in the NET rankings and rides a five-game winning streak into Wednesday night. They defeated in-state foe Utah Valley on Saturday, 76-62, though they needed a 9-0 run late in the game to seize control for good.

Utah's signature win to this point in the season came much to the dismay of Bellarmine's Friday night opponent, BYU. On Dec. 9, the Utes handed the Cougars, then ranked No. 13 in the Coaches Poll, their first loss of the season, 73-69, in front of a raucous crowd at the Huntsman Center. Gabe Madsen led Utah with 17 points. Seven-footer Branden Carlson chipped in 15 points with eight rebounds.

Carlson leads the team in scoring, averaging 18.0 points per game. The lead distributer, Rollie Worster, is currently 13^th in the country averaging 6.4 assists per game. Madsen is 21^st in the country shooting 45.3% from beyond the arc.

"This Utah team has what all great team have—balance," said Bellarmine head coach Scott Davenport. "They score inside and outside while playing great defense holding their opponents to 42% from the field. They are the biggest team in the country and utilize the length at both ends of the floor."

Friday night, the Knights head down to Provo to take on BYU (10-1), currently No. 15 in the Coaches Poll and No. 4 in the NET rankings. The Cougars are off to their best start since opening the 1987-88 season 17-0 and currently lead the nation in point differential, outscoring their opponents by an average of 27.9 points. Their 89.1 points per game are good for seventh, as well.

BYU dominated Georgia State at the Marriott Center on Saturday, 86-54. Richie Saunders came off the bench to lead the team with a career-high 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting. Starters Trevin Knell (15 points), Noah Waterman (13) and Dallin Hall (12) also scored in double figures.

The Cougars lit it up from the outside against GSU, making 15 of 38 three-point attempts (39.5%). Seven different players hit from distance. Jaxson Robinson, their leading scorer at 16.5 points per game, played just seven minutes and did not attempt a three-pointer, but he is currently 33^rd in the country, shooting 43.4% from three on the season. BYU also boasts five other players averaging double figures: Spencer Johnson (11.3), Knell (11.2), Waterman (11.2), Richie Saunders (10.8) and Fousseyni Traore (10.2).

"Former University of Kentucky great Mark Pope has assembled a team with everything it takes to contend for conference and national championships," said Davenport of BYU. "They have tremendous experience, skill, depth and they play together at a high level."

If BU is going to win in a tough road environment at elevation, they'll have to do it without senior guard Bash Wieland, who is currently sidelined following a Dec. 8 surgery on his left pinkie finger. Wieland was inserted into a starting role when the Knights' leading scorer, sophomore guard Ben Johnson, sustained an injury against West Virginia and missed four games. He was averaging 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds during Johnson's absence. Johnson returned for Saturday's game against Evansville.

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