BYU basketball is officially back in action. The Cougars opened Year 3 of the Kevin Young era with an exhibition Friday against a reigning Sweet 16 team in Nebraska, defeating the Cornuskers 72-61 at the Marriott Center. BYU will play another exhibition at UNLV on Oct. 24 before opening the regular season against Ohio State on Nov. 3 in Salt Lake City. 3 conclusions BYU let the triples fly. “3-YU” is back in full force, with the Cougars attempting 36 shots from beyond the arc against Nebraska. Efficiency can be improved, as BYU shot just 3 of 19 (16%) from deep in the first half and a collective 28% on the night. But the Cougars still made 10 3-pointers in total, and the fact that nine different players attempted 3-pointers (and four different players made more than one) is promising for the depth and potential of BYU’s perimeter operation. Photo gallery: 1 of 30BYU huddles before a free throw during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 2 of 30BYU’s Robert Wright III (1) is crushed between two Nebraska players during a game at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 3 of 30BYU Collin Chandler (5) shoots the ball during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 4 of 30Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg coaches his team during a game against BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 5 of 30 BYU students move back and forth during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 6 of 30BYU Jaxon Kohler (0) shoots a layup through contact during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 7 of 30BYU Bruce Branch III (3) catches an alley-oop and dunks the ball during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 8 of 30BYU Nate Pickens (2) catches a ball that goes out of bounds during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 9 of 30BYU’s Jaxon Kohler (0) shoots a layup during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 10 of 30BYU’s Jaxon Kohler (0) and Nebraska’s Cale Jacobsen (31) fight for a rebound during a game at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 11 of 30BYU’s Tyler Betsey (9) shoots the ball during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 12 of 30Nebraska’s Cale Jacobsen (31) drives to the hoop during a game against BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 13 of 30Nebraska’s Jacob Lanier (13) shoots the ball over BYU’s Jaxon Kohler (0) during a game at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 14 of 30 Nebraska’s Taj DeGourville (8) dribbles the ball during a game against BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 15 of 30Nebraska’s Cale Jacobsen (31) shoots the ball during a game against BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 16 of 30Nebraska’s Jacob Lanier (13) shoots the ball during a game against BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 17 of 30BYU Jaxon Kohler (0) shoots a 3-pointer during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 18 of 30BYU Collin Chandler (5) shoots a layup during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 19 of 30Nebraska’s Cale Jacobsen (31) shoots a layup during a game against BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 20 of 30BYU Collin Chandler (5) shoots a free throw during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 21 of 30BYU Bruce Branch III (3) shoots a 3-pointer during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 22 30BYU’s Tyler Betsey (9) shoots the ball over Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort (21) during a game at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 23 of 30BYU head coach Kevin Young coaches during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 24 of 30Nebraska’s Cale Jacobsen (31) points at BYU’s Robert Wright III (1) to point out his fault for knocking the ball out of bounds during a game at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 25 by 30BYU’s Robert Wright III (1) drives to the hoop for a layup during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 26 of 30BYU Collin Chandler (5) gives his teammate the nod for an assist during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 27 of 30 BYU students raise three fingers as BYU’s Tyler Betsey (9) shoots a 3-pointer during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 28 of 30BYU Robert Wright III (1) shoots a layup during a game against Nebraska at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 29 of 30Nebraska’s Cale Jacobsen (31) passes the ball to teammate Boden Kapke (33) during a game against BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News Photo Gallery: 30 of 30Nebraska’s Cale Jacobsen (31) drives to the hoop during a game against BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Lukas Katilius, Deseret News The starting five carried most of the scoring load for the Cougars, providing 63 of the 71 total points and 15 of 18 assists. Collin Chandler led all scorers with 19 points, while Rob Wright III added 17 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Jaxon Kohler posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds (including a pair of three-pointers), while Bruce Branch III recorded an impressive collegiate debut of 15 points (including three three-pointers), six rebounds and five assists. BYU dominated in the hustle stats. How do you overcome a 41% shooting night? Be as opportunistic as possible. You can tell a lot about a team by its production in second-chance points, points off turnovers and offensive rebounds, and in that regard, the Cougars made a big statement on Friday. BYU grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, scored 15 second-chance points and turned 18 Nebraska turnovers into 21 points. By contrast, the Cornhuskers posted totals of just nine, 11 and seven in each respective category. There’s a lot to like about BYU’s defensive effort. Poor defense played a big role in dooming the Cougars a year ago, and this current group seems motivated to prevent that from happening again. BYU forced 18 turnovers and held the Huskers to less than a point per possession, with Chandler, Brooks Bahr and Tyler Betsey each having multiple steals. But the vision test stands out the most on Friday. It didn’t take long to see that the Cougars’ hustle, energy, and overall “desire” on defense are light years away from what they showed last season, and if that trend continues into the regular season, BYU should be able to make some noise in the Big 12 and beyond.
