PROVO — When BYU and Houston agreed to a home-and-home basketball series, part of the idea was that Dave Rose would have a chance to face his alma mater in its new home. 

Houston’s Fertitta Center, a transformation of the former Hofheinz Pavilion — where Rose played for the Houston Cougars in the early 1980s — is a sparkling, state-of-the-art venue that cost $60 million and is entering its second season. 

Rose retired last spring after being BYU’s head coach for 14 years. But he’ll be in attendance at the Fertitta Center Friday (7 p.m., MST, ESPNU), as a spectator, when BYU takes on Houston, where he helped those Cougars reach the 1983 Final Four.

“We’re hungry. It’s exciting. We’re just going to be some road warriors and keep doing what we do.” — BYU guard Jake Toolson

Meanwhile, this marks BYU’s first road trip of the regular season under first-year coach Mark Pope. It’s also the first of five consecutive games away from the Marriott Center. 

“We’re hungry. It’s exciting,” said guard Jake Toolson, who scored 22 points and nailed the game-clinching 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining in Wednesday’s 68-63 win over Southern Utah. “We’re just going to be some road warriors and keep doing what we do.”

Certainly, it will be a difficult challenge for BYU. Houston whipped BYU in Provo a year ago, 76-62. Coach Kelvin Sampson’s team ended up posting a 33-4 record and lost in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament to Kentucky. 

Yes, Houston has lost four of its top players from last year’s squad but it is still loaded. 

“I know they lost a few guys but their coach always gets them ready to go,” said BYU senior Evan Troy. “Historically, Houston’s been a great program. I’m excited to play them again.”

Houston opened its season last Tuesday with a resounding 84-56 home victory over Alabama State. Guard Quinton Grimes, a former McDonald’s All-American who started all 36 games at Kansas as a freshman, scored a team-high 13 points while guard DeJon Jarreau added 11. 

Turns out, Pope and Sampson go way back.

“Kelvin Sampson, I love him dearly. He is a great human being,” Pope said. “When I was being recruited, he was the first coach to start recruiting me in high school. He started recruiting me when I was in the seventh grade in the state of Washington. We’ve had a great relationship ever since.”

This is a quick turnaround for BYU, which left Thursday morning for Houston after Wednesday night’s win over SUU. 

“It’s not ideal. But I’m excited about it because our whole goal, everything we’re thinking about and talking about every single day, is how can we get better? How can we prepare ourselves to be a great team by the end of the season?” Pope said. “These obstacles are great because they expose things. I’m really grateful that we got to play San Diego State the second game of the season because we got to compete at an elite level. … It lets us know exactly where we are right now and where we need to grow. There’s no guessing and no wondering. You just know. We learned so much from that game.”

BYU learned more lessons after the SUU game. The undersized Cougars struggled shooting and defending in the post — BYU made 15 of 38 2-point shots while the Thunderbirds went 28 of 44 on 2-point shots. 

“We’re not really playing at all like we hope to play,” Pope said. “I don’t think there was even a spurt where we played like we hope to play offensively. And we did a poor job for 30 minutes protecting the rim.”

Over the final 10 minutes of the game, the Cougars tightened up their defense and made crucial shots. 

“Shots weren’t falling but toward the end, they did when they counted,” Toolson said. “We put in a lot of work during the summer to be able to shoot those shots. We can’t afford not to take them.”

Not only are the Cougars undersized, but they’re also shorthanded. Then against SUU, Dalton Nixon, who scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, received three stitches under his left eye after the game. But he’ll be ready Friday.

“We’re running on fumes a little bit. It seems like our roster gets shorter by the day,” Pope said. “Jake didn’t practice the last two days and we weren’t sure if he was going to be able to go (Wednesday). Then he gutted it out.”

BYU held a practice Thursday morning before leaving for Houston. When Pope talked to reporters Wednesday night after the SUU win, he admitted that at that point, he didn’t know much about this Houston team.

“I think they’re good,” Pope said with a smile.

Cougars on the air

BYU (2-1) at Houston (1-0)

Friday, 7 p.m. MST

Fertitta Center

TV: ESPNU

Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM