On Thursday afternoon, Kevin Young and the BYU basketball program face their first true test of the season. The Cougars will take on the no. 23 Ole Miss Rebels in a battle of two unbeaten teams. KenPom, a predictive algorithm created by Ken Pomeroy, predicted BYU-Ole Miss. KenPom gives BYU a 61% chance to beat Ole Miss with an expected final score of 77-74.

This game will be played in San Diego in the first round of the Rady Children’s Invitational. The winner of this game will take on the winner of Purdue-NC State in the championship. The loser will take on the loser of Purdue-NC State in a third place game.

The next two weeks are by far the most important of the non-conference slate for the BYU basketball program. After facing Ole Miss on Thursday, they will take on either Purdue or NC State in the next round of the Rady Children’s Invitational. After that game, BYU will travel to take on Providence in a true road game. A 2-1 record over the next three games could boost BYU’s resume come March.