Elite non-conference opponents prove BYU basketball plays on the national stage

There has never been a better era of basketball at Brigham Young University.

Members of the Big 12 Conference, arguably the strongest basketball league in the nation, BYU squares off against elite talent on a week-to-week basis. Arizona. Baylor. Houston. Iowa State. Texas Tech. This bunch is stuffed with future NBA studs, exceptional histories, and an eye on a deep run in the season-capping NCAA Tournament.

But here's the craziest part: in back-to-back seasons, few have been more formidable than Kevin Young and the BYU Cougars.

Just last season, the Cougs sent Egor Demin to the NBA Draft, where he was selected eighth overall. Home-grown Richie Saunders has developed into one of the most valuable hoopers in the nation. The team took down Arizona, Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas, and Wisconsin and ran into the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament.

This season holds the potential to be even better because a proven coach and system now hold the pieces to exceed any pre-conceived levels of the game. Richie Saunders returns for his senior season. Five-star point guard Rob Wright made the trip from Waco. AJ Dybantsa, the number one recruit in all of the 2026 class and projected number one selection in the upcoming draft, chose BYU to spend his lone collegiate season. A bevy of additional four-star talents and supplementary skill sets embarrass the depth chart at Coach Young's disposal.

With all that ability comes an equal measure of expectations: this team is nothing short of Final Four caliber. The armory is stuffed full; the only thing standing between BYU hoops and victory on the court is execution where it matters most.

Fortunately, the team will be battle-tested long before they set foot into the Big 12 gauntlet of in-conference matchups.

UConn, Villanova, Wisconsin, Miami, and Clemson will all get a non-conference swing at this BYU squad before the calendar turns to 2026, and wilder still: the Cougars could sincerely run the table when it comes to these meetings, with the obvious caveat of squaring off against an always formidable Danny Hurley-led UConn program.

Recent scheduling news adds fuel to BYU's flame, as ESPN's Big Monday showcases the Cougars knocking heads with Arizona, a likely top-25 matchup.

And the news doesn't slow down there, as an standing invitation to the Maui Invitational Tournament in the following year indicates a vote of confidence from the uncorporial forces of college basketball. BYU basketball isn't just good right now. They aren't a short fuse set to combust at the season's end. No, this is a team designed to last. Built to succeed long term. Thanks to Kevin Young's philosophy, Provo, Utah now houses one of the best basketball facilities in the nation, and the staff in place to develop young men from promising collegiate athletes to full-fledged professionals.

BYU basketball is in its golden era. May it last a lifetime.

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