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BYU head coach Kevin Young questions a call during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kansas State, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Manhattan, Kan.

Charlie Riedel, AP Photo

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BYU's Khadim Mboup dunks the ball against Eastern Washington a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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The mystery that is the 2026-27 BYU men’s basketball team begins to unfold Friday night.

The uncertainty of player eligibility, combined with the general chaos created by the transfer portal and NIL, has created a college hoops season unlike any other in memory.

BYU is pretty much like every other program around the country as the season tips off with an exhibition game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center.

There are a lot of questions to be answered.

Aside from a short local media access Zoom call in June, Cougar head coach Kevin Young and his team have pretty much kept to themselves preparing for the season. A huge addition to the roster is former American Fork standout Jaxon Kohler, a 6-foot-10 post player who completed four years at Michigan State last spring. In June the NCAA instituted a “5 in 5” rule allowing current players five years of eligibility but hundreds of Class of 2022 athletes have taken to the courtrooms to gain a fifth year, and Kohler is one of those players.

Back in June, Young said, “Obviously, a little bit more size would be good, but more than that, for me it’s just a skill set. You’re trying to pair Rob (Wright) up with someone that can play away from the basket a little bit more, not just shooting, but just functionality wise. We’ve been going after something very specific at that position, so we’ve casted a very wide net there and looked at a lot of different things.”

If Kohler is available this season, the Cougars look like a team that could make some noise in March. Without him, they are very young and inexperienced in the post but have recruited a bunch of 40% 3-point shooters including Collin Chandler (Kentucky) and Tyler Betsey (Syracuse).

There will be a lot of pressure placed on the shoulders of Wright, who averaged 18.1 points per game last season.

“I like the blend having the older guys that can show the younger guys the ropes,” Young said back in June. “So I do like the sort of battle-tested nature of a lot of the guys, including Rob, and yeah, it does give me confidence.”

Scouting Report

Nebraska is coming off one of its best seasons in history, advancing to the Sweet 16 before being eliminated by fellow Big Ten team Iowa. The Huskers were 28-7 in 2025-26 and 15-5 in Big Ten play.

Two key players — post Rienk Mast and point guard Sam Hoiberg — have moved on along with graduated starting guard Jamarques Lawrence and big man Berke Buyuktuncel (Vanderbilt). The 6-foot-10 Mast, who made 7 of 8 3-pointers against the Cougars in last year’s exhibition contest in Lincoln – went unsigned in the NBA Draft but inked an Exhibit 10 contract with the Indiana Pacers.

Nebraska returns leading scorer Pryce Sandfort (6-7 Sr.), who averaged 18.1 points per game and made 129 3-pointers last season. Double-digit scorer Braden Frager (6-7 Jr.) also returns after putting up 11.8 points per game in 2025-26.

The Huskers have added a number of transfers, including former Utah Valley point guard Trevan Leonhardt (11.9 points, 6.0 assists per game). South Dakota State transfer Damon Wilkinson (6-11 Sr., 13.9 points per game), Belmont transfer Sam Orme (6-10 Sr., 12.7) and Boston College transfer Boden Kapke (7-foot Sr., 10.6) gives Nebraska considerable size in the frontcourt.

The Huskers lost to St. Louis 79-74 in an exhibition game last Friday in Lincoln. Freshman Jacob Lanier led Nebraska with 15 points and fifth-year guard Cale Jacobsen, who missed most of last season with injury, added 10.

The Huskers were just 8 of 30 (27%) from the 3-point line, 18 of 28 (64%) on foul shots and 24 of 61 (39%) from the field against the Billikens.

Men’s College Basketball

Exhibition Game

Nebraska at BYU

Friday, 7 p.m. MT

Marriott Center, Provo

TV/Streaming: ESPN+

Radio: BYU Radio (at byuradio.org)

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: The two teams met in an exhibition game in Lincoln last season, with Nebraska holding on for a 90-89 victory. … BYU’s roster features just five holdovers from last year’s team in junior guard Robert Wright III, senior guard, redshirt senior guard Nate Pickens, junior forward Khadim Mboup, junior forward Brody Kozlowski and 5th-year guard Dawson Baker. … The Cougars will travel to Las Vegas for an exhibition game against UNLV on October 24.