No. 8 BYU, No. 25 North Carolina face-off on Friday in The Bad Boy Mowers Series

PROVO, Utah - It's a Top-25 exhibition matchup on Friday, Oct. 24, when No. 8 BYU takes on No. 25 North Carolina at Delta Center as part of The Bad Boy Mowers Series. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT. 

Friday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler and Jarom Jordan on the call. The game will also be available on BYU Radio SiriusXM 143, 107.9 FM, the BYU Radio app and BYUradio.org with Jason Shepherd and Mark Durrant on the call.

LINCOLN LOGS
Aleksej Kostic and Jared McGregor missed potential game-wining shots in the final seconds as No. 8 BYU lost 90-89 to Nebraska in the first of its two exhibition contests on Saturday, Oct. 18, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb. 

In the Cougars' first trip to Lincoln since 1935, BYU shot 45.3 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from three and 87.5 percent from the free throw line, while the Huskers shot 50.0 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe. They outrebounded Nebraska, 39-34, with 10 assists, 10 turnovers, five steals and two blocks. 

AJ Dybantsa scored a team-high 30 points to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. He went 10-of-19 from the field, 2-of-4 from three and made all eight of his free throw attempts. Nebraska's Rienk Mast made the most of his return to the court finishing with a game-high 31 points, going 7-of-8 from 3-point range. 

In his first game in a BYU uniform, Khadim Mboup recorded a double-double as the redshirt freshman finished second on the team in scoring to go with a game-high 11 rebounds, four of those coming on the offensive glass. He was also a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and free throw line. Richie Saunders and Kostic finished with 11 points a piece, combining to knock down six of BYU's 10 3-pointers. 

 

BUY YOUR POPCORN NOW
NBA scouts will have their eyes set on Friday's matchup between BYU and North Carolina as it features two of the Top 5 recruits in ESPN's 100 for the Class of 2025 in AJ Dybantsa (No. 1) and UNC's Caleb Wilson (No. 5). The duo were teammates at the 2025 McDonald's All-American game as the West defeated the East 105-92. Dybantsa finished with 17 points and five rebounds, with Wilson contributing three points and six rebounds, four coming on the offensive glass. 

They went against each other at the Jordan Brand Classic where Wilson went 13-of-14 from the field en route to a game-high 28 points. Dybantsa wasn't far behind with 25 points, going 10-of-19 from the field, 2-of-7 from three and 3-of-4 from the free throw line, as Team Air defeated Team Flight 141-124. 

Three other members of the Top 100 will also be involved in BYU's Xavion Staton (No. 56) and the Tar Heels' Derek Dixon (No. 55) and Isaiah Denis (No. 60). According to 247Sports, North Carolina signed the fifth-best class in the nation (66.63 points), with the Cougars coming in at No. 18 with 62.95 points. 

A LITTLE PRESEASON LOVE
Dybantsa is now one of two Cougars to be named to the AP Preseason All-American team joining former Naismith Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette (2010). 

The 6-foot-9 forward and No. 1 recruit in the nation, according to ESPN's 100, becomes the ninth different true freshman to be named a preseason All-American by the Associated Press since 2010. 

Player	School	Year
AJ Dybantsa	BYU	2025
Cooper Flagg	Duke	2024
Cade Cunningham	Oklahoma State	2020
James Wiseman	Memphis	2019
RJ Barrett	Duke	2018
Michael Porter Jr.	Missouri	2017
Ben Simmons	LSU	2015
Jahil Okafor	Duke	2014
Andrew Wiggings	Kansas	2013

Of the previous eight freshman who were selected as All-Americans before they played a minute of college basketball, four of them earned AP First Team All-American honors (Flagg, Cunningham, Barrett, Okafor) with two others being named to the Second Team (Simmons, Wiggins).

INSIDER TRAINING
Assistant coach Chris Burgess knows what it takes to beat the Tar Heels as the former Duke Blue Devil (1997-99) went 4-2 against North Carolina during his time in Durham. After dropping two of the three contests including the ACC Championship game during his freshman season, Burgess and Duke won all three matchups against the Tar Heels in 1998-99 en route to making the NCAA Championship game.

GOOD TRY KIDDO
Saunders enters the 2025-26 season having scored in double figures in a career-best 12 straight games. In most families that may get you an extra piece of pie during Thanksgiving dinner, but at the Saunders household that means you have more work to do. Richie's dad, Rich, scored in double figures in 48 straight games during his two-year career at UC Davis, which is still a program record. 

BEST CONFERENCE IN ALL THE LAND
A total of 63 players from 14 Big 12 programs are on rosters as the National Basketball Association opens the 2025-26 schedule. Several rookies are included on the list, including first-round picks VJ Edgecombe, Egor Demin and Carter Bryant. Hunter Dickinson, Curtis Jones, Caleb Love and Javon Small are other member of last season's All-Big 12 First Team to be rostered as the season begins. 

DELTA CENTER MAGIC
The game won't go against the Cougars' record, but they are 25-5 all-time at Delta Center, including wins in 19 of their last 20 games at the home of the Utah Jazz. They defeated Wyoming 68-49 last season in Young's first game in the building as a head coach, after having spent many games on the opponent bench during his time in the NBA.