PROVO, Utah - Basketball is officially back as BYU is set host Nebraska in its first of two exhibitions on Friday, Oct. 16, at the Marriott Center in Provo. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
WHERE TO WATCH AND LISTEN
Friday's exhibition will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler and Spencer Linton on the call. The game will also be available on BYU Radio SiriusXM 166, 107.9 FM, BYURadio.org/BYU Radio app and BYU Cougars app with Greg Wrubell on the call.
RETURN OF THE CORNHUSKERS
BYU and Nebraska face-off in an exhibition contest for a second straight season after the Cougars made the trip up to Lincoln last October. After trailing by 13 midway through the second half, BYU had a shot to win in the final seconds but Jared McGregor's 3-pointer was off the mark in the 90-89 setback for the Cougars.
The Cougars shot 45.3 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from 3-point range and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. They held a 39-34 advantage on the glass but allowed the Cornhuskers to assist on 23 of their 32 made field goals. Rienk Mast scored a game-high 31 points going 7-of-8 from behind the arc.
In AJ Dybantsa's unofficial collegiate debut, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year scored 30 points going 10-of-19 from the field, 2-of-4 from 3-point range and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He also had seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Robert Wright III had eight points, five assists and one steal in 17 minutes of action before sitting out the second half. Khadim Mboup recorded the games only double-double as the junior finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, four of those coming on the offensive glass.
THE PRICE IS (W)RIGHT
Robert Wright III is back for his junior season after averaging a career-best 18.1 points and 4.6 assists per game in 2025-26 playing alongside NBA draft picks Dybantsa and Richie Saunders. He also shot 46.7 percent from the field, 41.0 percent from 3-point range and 82.1 percent from the free throw line. He was one of two players on the roster to start and appear in all 35 games scoring in double figures 32 times including a career-high 39-point performance against Colorado.
He is one of two players unanimously selected to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team and was named a Preseason All-America First Team by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. For his collegiate career, which includes a season at Baylor, Wright III has scored 1,035 points with 310 assists, 194 rebounds, 78 steals and three blocks.
DANNY DIMES
Former Cougar Danny Ainge will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Thursday, Oct. 22 at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City, Mo. He is joined in the Class of 2026 by Jay Wright, Tubby Smith, Ted Owens, Glen Rice and the late Walt Hazzard.
He is one of six players in program history to score over 2,000 points, with his 2,467 points putting him third on the all-time list behind Tyler Haws and Jimmer Fredette. He still holds program records for career field goals made and consecutive double-figure scoring games.
ELITE COMPANY
With AJ Dybantsa being selected with the first pick in the 2026 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards, Kevin Young became the seventh active NCAA Division I menís basketball head coach to have a No. 1 draft pick joining Dukeís Jon Scheyer, Michigan' Mike Boynton, Texas' Sean Miller, Arkansas' John Calipari, Kansas' Bill Self and Pittsburgh's Jeff Capel.
Of those seven coaches, Calipari is the only head coach with multiple top pickes (Karl Anthony-Towns, Anthony Davis, John Wall).
