Brigham Young Cougars guard Alex Barcello (4) runs through San Diego State Aztecs guards Jordan Schakel (20) and Malachi Flynn (22) during the first half of an NCAA basketball game at Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. | Colter Peterson, Deseret News

By Jeff Call

Southern Utah (2-0) at BYU (1-1)

Wednesday, 7 p.m. MST

Marriott Center

TV: BYUtv

Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM

PROVO — What the BYU basketball team lacks in size, it’s trying to make up for in effort. 

The undersized Cougars were out-rebounded by 16 in last Saturday’s 76-71 loss to San Diego State and they’ll be challenged again in that phase of the game when they host Southern Utah Wednesday (7 p.m., MST, BYUtv).

What’s the key to being competitive on the boards?

“Just coming out with a dog mentality, not letting anyone beat you. It’s having high energy,” said guard Alex Barcello. “We win as a team, we lose as a team. So we’ve got to be together as a group collectively, crashing the glass, playing with that dog mentality … We’ve got to come out with energy. Obviously, we’ve got to crash the glass because we’re not that big.”

The Aztecs out-performed BYU 15-4 on the offensive boards.

“We win as a team, we lose as a team. So we’ve got to be together as a group collectively, crashing the glass, playing with that dog mentality … We’ve got to come out with energy. Obviously, we’ve got to crash the glass because we’re not that big.” — BYU guard Alex Barcello

Not surprisingly, rebounding has been a major point of emphasis in practice this week. 

“We’ve talked a lot about it schematically, too. We’ve talked about it a lot. You never know the psychology of a team. Sometimes when you overkill something, it becomes a complex,” said coach Mark Pope. “I don’t think that’s the case with these guys. These are veteran, savvy guys. We understand the challenge we face. We are thinking about it every day and working on it every day. Some of these guys are taking it really personally. Every team has challenges and questions they have to answer. That’s one of the ones we have to answer. We have to figure it out and we will.”

Last Saturday at Big 10 foe Nebraska, SUU’s Cameron Oluyitan buried a 10-foot jumper with two seconds left to lift the Thunderbirds to a 79-78 win in double overtime. SUU found itself trailing by 11 points at halftime and it had the lead only two times in the second half, prior to the OT periods. 

SUU out-rebounded the Cornhuskers by 14 in that contest. 

“They’re really good. They’re really, really long and athletic. Last year, they were in the bottom 100 in offensive rebounding efficiency and this year, they’re devouring the offensive glass,” Pope said. “They’re really long and they’re playing really hard. They’re going really hard in transition. They have some incredibly talented players.”

The Thunderbirds boast 6-foot-8 forward Dwayne Morgan, a transfer from UNLV, who’s averaging 18.5 points and seven rebounds. And 6-9 forward Andre Adams averages eight points and 11 rebounds.

After knocking off Nebraska on the road, SUU would love nothing more than to add an upset of an in-state program like BYU on its resume. 

“We’re excited to have them in here,” Pope said. “We know intimately what it feels like to be on the other side of these in-state games. It means a lot. You circle it on your calendar. In-state games are awesome, because there’s more at stake than just winning or losing the game.”

Wednesday marks the first meeting between BYU and Southern Utah since 2007. The Cougars are 11-0 all-time against the Thunderbirds.

BYU forward Dalton Nixon said his team is looking forward to getting back on the court after that setback to SDSU over the weekend.

“That was a tough loss. We had a really good run in the second half,” he said. “Our mindset this week has been to build the things we did well and fix those things that hurt us.”

Of course, that includes doing a better job on the glass. 

TIP-INS: First-year BYU assistant Nick Robinson served as SUU’s head coach from 2012-16 … Wednesday is National Signing Day for basketball. The Cougars are expected to sign at least two players during the signing period — guards Richie Saunders (Wasatch Academy) and Spencer Johnson (American Fork High/Salt Lake Community College) … Sophomore guard Jesse Wade underwent exploratory surgery last week and Pope said he will likely be sidelined for three or four months.