Cougar Insiders

October 27, 2026

The BYU basketball team opens the season against the Big Ten’s Ohio State Nov. 2 in the Delta Center after a pair of preseason non-counting wins against Nebraska and UNLV.

Kevin Young’s third team will have a different look than a year ago. It will feature shooters who can put the ball on the floor and score inside the paint. There is no towering presence inside, but Jaxon Kohler, a 6-foot-9 center from Michigan State, will make a huge difference with his rebounding, physical play, leadership and ability to hit the 3 and stretch defenses.

Jake Diebler’s Ohio State Buckeyes enter the 2026-27 season (his third full year as head coach) with a rebuilt roster after reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2025-26 for the first time since 2022. They finished 21-13 overall (12-8 Big Ten) last season, earned an at-large bid as a No. 8 seed, and lost in the first round. The program is receiving votes in preseason AP and coaches polls, is projected around the middle of the Big Ten (often eighth in media polls), and ranks in the 20s or so in some national projections.

Question of the week: What do you believe you know about Kevin Young’s team after two exhibition games, and what stands out, both positive and negative? Opine on ASU versus BYU in LaVell Edwards Stadium, and make a score prediction. Jackson Payne is stepping in for Jay Drew this week in this section of the newsletter.

Jackson Payne: I think we can safely say this BYU team is going to score a lot of points, especially from behind the arc. Headlined by sharpshooters Rob Wright III, Collin Chandler, Jaxon Kohler and others, the Cougars attempted at least 30 triples in each of their exhibition outings. The spacing Kevin Young will scheme up, especially with having a stretch five in Kohler at his disposal, will be fascinating to watch. Get ready to break out your “3-Y-U” merch again. The shotmaking should be night and day compared to last year.

Defensively, there are still plenty of questions for the Cougars. Their effort on that end of the floor in each exhibition was both laudable and encouraging following last season’s seemingly frequent lack thereof, but it will still need to result in more stops.

BYU doesn’t have a top-tier rim protector in the rotation, and it concerningly allowed UNLV’s guards to get into the paint far too often in Saturday’s first half. The Cougars have the horses — especially Bruce Branch III — to be a gritty, effective defensive unit, but they may need some more time to get there. Their development on defense will be my main focus against Ohio State next week and throughout the nonconference schedule.

On the gridiron, after being humbled by Texas Tech last season in Lubbock, BYU returned home to Provo and put together its most complete performance of the year by trampling TCU, 44-13. The Cougars need a similar type of outing against Arizona State to shed all doubts regarding their status as a legitimate playoff contender and get back on track before facing Utah on Nov. 7.

Kelly Poppinga’s defense, gashed in Orlando, needs to respond with some firepower (and turnovers) against a Sun Devils offense with questions at quarterback. Considering which two games it falls between on the schedule, perhaps Saturday against Arizona State will be the most revealing contest thus far in 2026 for the Cougars.

Prediction: BYU 27, Arizona State 13

Dick Harmon: This is an interesting ensemble of basketball players Kevin Young has assembled. I’m particularly interested in the cultural aspects. This version has the chance to have greater chemistry, greater passion playing for each other with better team bonding, and a strong locker room. Young really suffered last year when he lost great leaders when Richie Saunders and Dawson Baker were injured. A lot was thrown on the back of freshman AJ Dybantsa and it became his show, with Rob Wright trying to help with the load. The Cougars were easier to defend.

I look for this squad to share the ball, look for each other, and use the 3-ball to make up for deficiencies. I’m impressed that Young decided to load up the roster with traditional pieces comprised of local talent, some mature returned missionaries, and guys with ties to what it takes to be a BYU basketball team.

Kentucky transfer Collin Chandler and Clemson transfer Jake Wahlin fit this mold. With freshman Brooks Bahr and Michigan State transfer Jaxon Kohler added, Young gains great leadership and athleticism.

The big weakness is lack of a rim protector and that will hurt them as it did in the UNLV game when Rebel guard Sebastian Mack scored 26, most by making it to the paint. This will be a better defensive team, but it will need to increase its rebounding. Bruce Branch III is an exceptional basketball player and it will surface this season. I like what Bahr brings off the bench and Chandler and Wright should be regular scoring leaders.

This football matchup with ASU favors the Cougars at home and it will be a good rebound game after the loss at UCF. It is key BYU comes out of this game healthy and ready for the trip up I-15 to play the hot Utes Saturday morning. I’m curious if Sione Moa will continue to progress and if LJ Martin can get on the field. Also, look for Evan Johnson’s replacement at corner to get valuable experience if he can’t get back on the field for weeks.

Prediction: BYU 34, ASU 17

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BYU’s 25th-ranked golf team led the prestigious tourney at Carmel, California, at 24-under par when play was suspended Monday. Women’s volleyball won the Big 12 in-season tournament with an impressive performance. Women’s soccer blanked Iowa State 3-0 after going through three goalies.

BYU will be without corner Johnson when the Cougars host Arizona State on Saturday. Here are some stories on how the Cougars are preparing and adjusting after their first loss of the season and looking ahead to their game against ASU Saturday:

Comments from Deseret News readers:

It’s not time to worry.

This was a game of a series of individual mistakes and two very lucky plays for UCF who played a nearly perfect game against BYU and wanted it more.

This is the hard lesson the team needs to learn.

This is the game where they realize that you need to sack the QB and contain him and wrap up to tackle the runners.

If BYU beats UCF with that performance, they lose to Utah because the things UCF did to win are exactly what Utah does and will do to win the game.

Sometimes knowledge is expensive, that one cost a blemish on the record and a drop from #2 to #8 — but it’s not the head to head that determines the conference championship slot and it’s not a CFP elimination game because they beat ND. But if BYU loses to Utah kiss the CFP and championship game goodbye.

The fundamentals are all there, each players just got humbled, each player needs to play better on the field and we need some more effort from coaching staff and some elevated play calling because they entered the game thinking it was going to be easy eventually, and credit UCF for playing lights out football and being the better team on Saturday.

Move forward and don’t look back. — Josh from London

A lot of the fault was the coaching. They were being so careful not to lose that they didn’t do what was necessary to win. With 1:47 left, all we had to do was get the ball into field goal range. Instead, we ran three times up the middle (against a really good run defense) and then punted to mid-field. I love Kalani, but LaVell Edwards would have trusted any of his quarterbacks (McMahon, Young, Bosco, Detmer, etc.) to do short passes and move up the field. Unfortunately, the same thing happened on defense. If I counted right, there was only one blitz (by a single linebacker) the entire game. What happened to Jay Hill’s corner blitzes, safety blitzes, and multiple linebacker blitzes? The worst quarterbacks in the conference will pick us apart if there is no pressure on them. On both sides of the ball, we need to get much more aggressive and trust in the ability of our players. — Moag

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