As BYU basketball prepares to host Eastern Washington, the outcome of the game seems predetermined with a Cougars romp. There aren't a lot of X's and O's to break down in this lopsided matchup.
BYU enjoys a top 10 ranking and has wins against the likes of Villanova, Wisconsin, Miami, Dayton, and Clemson.
Eastern Washington has losses against the likes of Seattle U (by 27 points), Central Arkansas (also by 27 points), Denver, and Cal Baptist, a team BYU beat by 31.
So rather than breaking down this matchup, let's instead break down the three most important decisions coach Kevin Young will make in his team's final nonconference tune-up game.
Who can fill the Dawson Baker void?
While BYU's starting five has been exceptional this year, the Cougars bench has struggled to score at times. Senior guard Dawson Baker was well equipped to fill the "scorer off the bench" role for this squad and was more than capable of dropping 7-10 points per game. But Baker was lost for the season with an injury three weeks ago and nobody from BYU's bench unit has emerged as a consistent scoring threat.
The two most likely candidates to make an impact from the second unit are freshman guard Alexsej Kostic and junior forward Tyler Mrus.
Kostic is averaging 3.5 points in 8.0 minutes per game, shooting 40.9% from the field and a healthy 40% from the 3-point line. Mrus has struggled so far averaging just 2.3 points in 11.9 minutes per game, shooting 29.6% from both the field and the 3-point line.
Let's see if Kevin Young plays Kostic and Mrus a little more against Eastern Washington and help them find some rhythm before Big 12 play kicks off.
How much can Khadim Mboup's skills be leveraged?
The biggest development that has flown under the radar so far is the rapid rise of redshirt freshman post player Khadim Mboup. The 6-foot-9 project from Senegal joined the team last year and seemed like a curious roster addition given his relative low profile.
But after a redshirt season in Kevin Young's system, Mboup is thriving this year. His development is way ahead of schedule and he has carved out a consistent role on a Top 10 team. On the season he's averaging 16.9 minutes per game as a solid interior presence for the Cougs. His 5.7 rebounds per game rank third on the team behind Keba Keita and AJ Dybantsa, and his 0.9 blocks per game rank second.
While Mboup's offensive game still needs a ton of development -- he's scoring an opportunistic 2.8 points per game on an efficient 55.6% shooting -- BYU doesn't need him to score. Against Eastern Washington, let's see how Kevin Young deploys the raw but emerging freshman post player.
Just what do the Cougars have in Dominique Diomande?
Dominique Diomande was a celebrated prospect from France who redshirted last year at Washington without appearing in a game before transferring to Provo this season.
At one point the 6-foot-7 wing was a projected Top 50 NBA Draft prospect, but the move to the United States and transition to college basketball has altered that trajectory.
In his time with the Cougars this year, Diomande is averaging 2.8 points in 7.7 minutes per game. As BYU gets in one last nonconference game that they should easily control, let's see if Diomande gets some extended minutes in an attempt to find his flow before Big 12 play begins.