LAS VEGAS — BYU basketball coach Kevin Young has delivered on his promise of making the Cougars’ non-conference schedule as difficult as possible in his second year in Provo after it wasn’t all that great last year.
It begins in the season opener on Monday, as No. 8 BYU takes on perennial power Villanova at T-Mobile Arena (7:30 p.m. MST, TNT) as part of the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas.
Arizona and Florida will kick off the double-header at 5 p.m. MST, followed by the Cougars-Wildcats.
The Cougars, who are entering arguably the most-anticipated season in their history, will also play UConn, Wisconsin, Miami, Dayton or Georgetown and Clemson before Big 12 play begins in January.
This is the first time they’ve ever been in the top 10 of a preseason college basketball poll.
Given the chance in a pregame news conference Friday to crow about the Cougars’ rapid ascension up the college basketball ladder and into the national spotlight — BYU vs. Villanova is one of the top games on opening day — Young simply told people to get used to it.
“It is what it should be. This is what I said we wanted to make this place when we got here,” Young said. “I’m grateful that people have decided to come here to help us, put us in that situation, but this isn’t like a feel good moment, because we have a ‘quote, unquote’ big game.
“We want to play with the big boys. We want to be a contender in all things college basketball. It’s not like a badge of honor because we got a big game. That’s what we should want. And I’m glad that we have it. And now it’s a matter of going out and producing.”
Young and the Cougars produced last year, making it to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 and then surrounding No. 1 high school recruit AJ Dybantsa with plenty of talent from the transfer portal, most notably Baylor’s Rob Wright III, Idaho’s Tyler Mrus, Southern Illinois’ Kennard Davis Jr. and Washington’s Dominique Diomande.
The stakes are even higher this year, with BYU having been picked to finish second in the Big 12 in one poll and third in another. Young said the Cougars are more prepared right out of the gates this year, thanks to having played two exhibition games against quality opponents, Nebraska and North Carolina. The Cougars fell 90-89 to the Cornhuskers in Nebraska and edged the Tar Heels 78-76 at Delta Center.
“The two exhibition games forced us to get a lot more ready. With all due respect to what we did in last year’s preseason, it’s a lot different playing this caliber of opponent,” Young said. “That has helped us, but at the same time, it is super early in the season, and we’re still learning how to play together.”
Young said he’s also learning how to use his bench, while dealing with a couple of injuries; Returning guard Dawson Baker and Nate Pickens, a transfer from UC Riverside, did not play in either exhibition game.
“Still to be determined on Dawson,” Young said, when asked about the status of those two players. “I think we’ll have an update on Nate shortly. That’s where we are at.”
The starters are seemingly set, though, with newcomers Dybantsa, Wright and Davis joining returning stars Richie Saunders and Keba Keita in the starting five.
“I feel good (about the group),” Young said. “I just told the coaches in our meeting that this is the best I’ve felt all offseason or preseason, in terms of just how I’m wrapping my head around what this team, and what this group of players. needs. It is an exciting challenge. That’s what makes coaching really fun.”
Of course, the reason why BYU was able to upgrade its non-conference schedule is Dybantsa, who will be the headliner in Las Vegas and virtually everywhere else he plays this season as a presumptive top three pick in next June’s NBA Draft.
Young said that the 6-foot-9 freshman did nothing in the two exhibition games to make him not think that Dybantsa will be one of the best players in the country in 2025-26.
“Honestly, I’m still learning about our group,” Young said. “… It is really hard to learn about your team when you’re just playing against the same bodies every day and the same schemes, and everyone knows what you’re doing.”
That’s why playing exhibition games was helpful. Young not only endorses them, he would like to play more moving forward, as the NBA does with its preseason (non-counting) games.
“I think it’s really good for the game. I think it helps the product when the regular season comes, to be that much better,” Young said.
Of course, Villanova also played two exhibition games — although only one was in front of a crowd, a 75-72 loss to Virginia. The Wildcats, under new coach Kevin Willard, who was hired away from Maryland after three seasons there, defeated VCU 70-51 in a secret scrimmage and so no video is available from that.
Villanova was picked to finish seventh in the Big East, a result of a heavy roster turnover in Willard’s first year. Guard Tyler Perkins is the only holdover from Kyle Neptune’s era.
The Wildcats’ best player might also be a freshman — point guard Acaden Lewis was one of the most highly recruited players from the class of 2025.
Young said he’s chatted with new VCU basketball coach Phil Martelli Jr., friends from their days in the Philadelphia 76ers organization, about Villanova, and has also tapped into some of his assistant coaches who know the East Coast well.
“You just try to do your homework the best you can. … It think it’s really important to go out there and be the best version of ourselves and not try to get so caught up in a guessing game of what they could do,” Young said. “We still want to give our guys a little bit of a heads up the best we can based on things that, what we hink they’re going to do. It is a little bit of a balancing act.”
Because BYU doesn’t practice on Sundays for religious reasons, the Cougars would seemingly be at a disadvantage in a Monday game. But Young said that’s not a big factor, especially since this is a season opener.
