Cougar fans pack the Marriott Center for the BYU basketball preseason exhibition

The immense excitement for BYU basketball among Cougar fans has finally spilled over into the Marriott Center.

When Kevin Young’s new-look team took care of business against Division II Colorado Christian on Wednesday night, it did so in front of an announced crowd of 16,323 — an absurd amount of spectators for a preseason exhibition game.

By comparison, Wednesday’s attendance had more fans than 10 of BYU’s 18 contests in Provo a season ago. Clearly, the “KYU” effect is real.

However, the Cougars’ first-year head coach was far from surprised by the impressive turnout at the Marriott Center. In fact, he “expected”.

“I mean, this place is special,” Young told reporters after BYU’s 93-49 victory. “To see so many people here for an exhibition game, I thought it was great.”

Tickets for the ROC student section sold out within an hour of becoming available. When the first play of the game — a pass from Egor Demin to Kanon Catchings for a slam dunk — led to a wild eruption of the arena, it became clear that the night was going to feel a lot more like the postseason than the preseason.

“You don’t really get exhibition games like this where it’s packed,” Cougars guard Dawson Baker said. “Shellout at Cougar Nation and ROC. They made tonight feel really special.”

While there were plenty of highlights on the court — Catchings scored 19 points, Demin dished out 11 assists and the team shot a collective 50 percent from 3-point range — the activities in the stands proved just as exciting, as a Cougar Tail eating contest went. down to the wire and BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff received a rousing ovation when it was shown on the video board.

“There’s a lot of excitement with BYU athletics in general,” Young said. “The football team is killing it and I’m happy for these guys. It was great to have Jake in the building tonight.”

Excursions around BYU have skyrocketed since Young was hired just over six months ago, with the veteran NBA assistant turned Cougars coach igniting the fan base with a major recruiting success that could only get better in the coming weeks . The buzz of basketball is palpable, and the players certainly feel it too.

“Walking out, looking up and seeing the whole ROC full, it’s awesome,” forward Richie Saunders said. “People should be excited about what’s coming this year. It’s such a great thing to step on this floor and play when this place is humming.”