LAS VEGAS — BYU opened the most highly-anticipated basketball season in program history with a win.
The No. 8-ranked Cougars fended off Villanova 71-66 Monday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, moving to 1-0 in Year 2 of the Kevin Young era.
3 takeaways
BYU’s stars carried the load offensively. Of the Cougars’ 71 points, 50 came from AJ Dybantsa, Richie Saunders and Rob Wright III.
In his regular season collegiate debut, Dybantsa scored a team-high 21 points with six rebounds and three assists.
The defending All-Big 12 First Team selection Saunders posted 15 points with seven boards, two assists and two steals.
Making his own BYU debut, Wright added another 14 points.
The Cougars’ power trio was far from perfect, however. Dybantsa missed five free throws, and Saunders and Wright were a combined 9 of 29 (31%) from the field.
But even with the various missteps, Dybantsa, Saunders and Wright each offered flashes of brilliance — big and small — that should keep BYU fans encouraged regarding the team’s ceiling going forward. There was a lot to like and plenty to build on.
It should be noted that the Cougars only attempted 17 3-point shots against Villanova (making five of them), a far cry from last year’s average of nearly 30 such attempts per contest. Perhaps BYU won’t be so dependent on the triple this season.
BYU allowed the game to become unnecessarily dramatic. With just under 18 minutes left to play, the Cougars led by 14 points.
Less than 10 minutes later, however, they trailed by one.
BYU ultimately got its act together late to secure the win, holding Villanova without a field goal for a six minute stretch that bled into the final 10 seconds.
But inconsistency and sloppiness prevented the Cougars from winning in more emphatic fashion against an unspectacular Wildcats team.
BYU missed 15 total layups — though a few of them were caused by questionable contact that didn’t yield a whistle — but the Cougars also lost the rebound battle by a 49-43 margin, allowed Villanova to score a whopping 31 second chance points and disappeared for sizable stretches offensively, only dishing out a single assist in the second half.
BYU is a talented team with immense potential, but the Cougars also still have plenty of work to do. Much like last year, all of the new pieces on the roster will take time to gel together.
Monday’s result shouldn’t alter anyone’s expectations for BYU in 2025-26, but patience will be necessary, especially during the Cougars’ loaded nonconference slate.
BYU’s has some intriguing big men. Keba Keita, Mihailo Boskovic and Khadim Mboup were all excellent on opening night.
Keita scored eight points on a few lob dunks and tip-ins while adding seven rebounds and swatting three blocks for the 10th time in his career.
Despite a 1 of 5 shooting night, Boskovic grabbed four boards, dished out three assists and had a block.
Mboup was incredibly active defensively and managed to snag six rebounds along with a block.
Keita, Boskovic and Mboup are all quite different from each other in terms of their skillsets, but the diversity in what each brings to the table can be a major boost for the Cougars’ frontcourt moving forward.