PROVO, Utah - No. 25 BYU opens the 2026-27 season on Monday, Nov. 2, when the Cougars face-off against Ohio State at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.
WHERE TO WATCH
Monday's season opener can be seen on FS1 with Aaron Goldsmith and Jim Jackson on the call.
LET'S GET IT STARTED IN HERE
Monday's showdown will be the eighth all-time meeting between the two programs and first since a 72-65 victory for the Cougars on Dec. 30, 1997 at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series 4-3 with three of those victories coming in Columbus while two of the Cougars three victories have come at neutral sites.
Kevin Young is 2-0 all-time against schools from the Big Ten, both of those wins coming against Wisconsin including a 98-70 victory over the 23rd ranked Badgers at the Delta Center last season. The 28-point margin of victory is the third-highest all-time in program history.
HE KNOWS A THING OR TWO BECAUSE HE HAS SEEN A THING OR TWO
Jaxon Kohler is no stranger to Ohio State as the 5th year transfer went 4-2 against the Buckeyes during his four seasons at Michigan State under Tom Izzo. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 4.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, shooting 52.4 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from three and 100.0 (2-2) from the free throw line.
The American Fork native just missed out on a double-double in his last showdown against Ohio State, finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds (2 offensive, 8 defensive) in a 66-60 victory for the Spartans on Feb. 22, 2026.
Collin Chandler has also played against the Buckeyes during his collegiate career, making a six-minute cameo in a 85-65 loss during his freshman season at Kentucky.
YOUNG BUT ACCOMPLISHED
Year three of the Kevin Young era officially gets underway on Monday evening in Salt Lake when the Cougars and Buckeyes face-off. It marks the second straight season BYU has opened the season away from the friendly confines of the Marriott Center and just ninth time since the beginning of the 2000-01 season.
The former associate head coach for the Phoenix Suns went 49-22 during his first two seasons in Provo, the second-most wins by a head coach through their first two seasons in program history. He also led the Cougars to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances including lead BYU to its third-ever appearance in the Sweet 16 in 2024-25.
A win over Ohio State on Monday would give him 50 victories in 72 games, tied for the sixth-fastest head coach to reach the mark in program history with G. Ott Romney.
YOU CAN ALWAYS COME HOME
This year's roster features two players, Collin Chandler and Jake Wahlin, who signed with the Cougars out of high school before beginning their collegiate careers at a another school after serving their two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Chandler, a 6-foot-6 guard from Farmington, played the past two seasons at Kentucky under former BYU head coach Mark Pope where he averaged 6.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. After only playing in 10 minutes per game as a freshman, Chandler started in 31 games for the Wildcats as a sophomore where he averaged 9.7 points per game shooting 41.0 percent from 3-point range.
When Collin Chandler makes his BYU debut Monday night, it will come 1,818 days after committing to the Cougars as a high schooler. His arrival in Provo may have been later than expected, but Chandler plans to be worth the wait for BYU fans. My story: https://t.co/P3AYdC7iAa
— Jackson Payne (@jackson5payne) October 29, 2026
Wahlin, a 6-foot-10 forward from Provo, began his collegiate career at Utah where he appeared in 53 games during his two seasons on The Hill. He averaged 4.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game for the Utes before transferring to Clemson for his junior campaign. In his lone season as a Tiger, Wahlin averaged 5.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
LOCKED AND LOADED
According to EvanMiya.com, BYU is the NCAA Division I menís basketball team entering the 2026-27 season with five elite shooters in Collin Chandler, Dawson Baker, Jaxon Kohler, Robert Wright III and Tyler Betsey. Each players must be 90th percentile or better in projected 3-point field goal percentage and excludes freshman.
Here are the teams with the most elite 3PT shooters on their roster, based on preseason projections at https://t.co/Zc0pvHlJ75: BYU has FIVE guys on the list 👇 https://t.co/k4VvV0oQhT
— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) October 28, 2026
Oklahoma, Texas Tech, West Virginia and Creight are the only schools in the nation with four.
