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BYU guard Richie Saunders, bottom, is fouled in the final minute by North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson, top right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball exhibition game, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Tyler Tate, AP Photo

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BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) goes to the basket for a dunk during the first half of an NCAA college basketball exhibition game against North Carolina, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Tyler Tate, AP Photo

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BYU guard Robert Wright III (1) dribbles through the defense of North Carolina guards Kyan Evans (0) and Seth Trimble, left, during an NCAA college basketball exhibition game, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Tyler Tate, AP Photo

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BYU men’s basketball coach Kevin Young made everything look easy his first year in Provo.

At least, that’s what Cougar fans choose to remember about a year where the team won 26 games, finished 14-6 in the Big 12 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.

There have plenty of offseason wins as well, including the return of first team All-Big 12 guard Richie Saunders and the addition of the nation’s No. 1 prep recruit, AJ Dybantsa.

Even so, Young enters the 2025-26 season with much work to do.

When asked what he’s learning about his team in exhibition games against Nebraska and North Carolina, Young replied, “Everything.”

“I’m still learning about our group, and so I was telling the coaches in our meeting just now, it’s 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,” Young continued. “So it would be really hard for me to just pinpoint one thing. I think I’m learning where to get AJ the ball. I’m learning about what do we need to do when Rob (Wright) penetrates. I’m thinking about when we take Rob out, who do we put in? Literally a litany of things.”

More lessons are on tap Monday night, when the eighth-ranked Cougars open the season in the Las Vegas Hall of Fame Series against Villanova at T-Mobile Arena.

Young’s first season was terrific, no doubt, and there were bumps along the way. But he’s solely focused on the new task at hand.

“We want to be a contender and about all things college basketball,” Young said. “It’s not like a badge of honor, because we got a big game. That’s what we’ve got to do and what we should want, and I’m glad that we have it. Now it’s a matter of going out and producing.”

Young sang the praises of playing exhibition games instead of secret scrimmages, saying that he wishes the NCAA would add even more exhibitions.

“I think the two exhibition games forced us to get a lot more ready, with all due respect to what we did last in year’s preseason,” Young said. “It’s a lot different playing the caliber of opponents. So I think through that, that’s helped us. But at the same time, it’s early, right? It’s super early in the season, and we’re still learning on how to play together. I’m still learning on how to sub this group. I’m still learning on the on the right actions that need to be run, the defenses that need to be employed.

“I just told the coaches in our meeting, this is the best I’ve felt all off season or preseason, in terms of just how I’m wrapping my personal head around what this team and what this group of players needs. It’s an exciting challenge. That’s what makes coaching really fun, especially in this era, where things change or are changing constantly year to year. It really, really puts a lot of strain on your mental capacity to have to think through all this stuff and get things ready. But I’m enjoying that challenge.”

The Cougars still won’t be at full strength, though senior guard Dawson Baker, who missed both exhibition games, could be ready to go against Villanova. Young said the status of senior guard Nate Pickens, a transfer from UC Riverside who also hasn’t played yet, is still to be determined.

SCOUTING REPORT

Villanova fired Kyle Neptune after a 21-15 record in 2024-25 and hired former Maryland boss Kevin Willard. The Wildcats also said goodbye to leading scoring Eric Dixon (23.3 points per game) as well as two other double-digit scorers in seniors Wooga Poplar (15.3) and Jordan Longino (11.1).

Willard brought in eight transfers, including three (6-9 senior Tarara Gapare, 7-foot sophomore Braden Pierce and 6-6 sophomore Malachi Palmer) he coached at Maryland. The Wildcats top recruit is 6-2 freshman Acaden Lewis out of Washington, D.C., ranked No. 31 in the Class of 2025 by ESPN.com.

Lewis led Villanova in scoring in both exhibition games, getting 15 points in a 70-51 win against VCU and totaling 16 in a 75-72 loss to Virginia. Former BYU guard Dallin Hall started for the Cavaliers and played 27 minutes, scoring seven points and leading his team with five assists.

Several key additions likely won’t play for Villanova against BYU. Long Beach State transfer Devin Askew (18.9 points per game last season) is out and Temple transfer Zion Stafford (13.1) and James Madison transfer Bryce Lindsay (13.4) are questionable.

“You just try to do your homework the best you can,” Young said. “I think it can cut both ways, where you try to forecast too much, and maybe they don’t even do what you had forecasted. So I 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. I still want to give our guys a little bit of a heads up the best we can based on the things that you know, what we think they’re going to do. So it’s a bit of a balancing act.”

Men’s College Basketball

Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas

No. 8 BYU (0-0) vs. Villanova (0-0)

Monday, 7:30 p.m. MT

T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

TV/Streaming: TNT, TruTV, HBO Max

Radio: KSL 102.7/1160 AM, BYU Radio-Sirus XM 143,

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: This is BYU’s fourth all-time meeting against Villanova, which leads the series 2-1. … This will be the fourth time the two teams have played at a neutral site. … The lone Cougar win against the Wildcats came in the 1970 Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. … BYU guard Richie Saunders has made 23 consecutive free throws heading into the opener.