Las Vegas provides quite the showcase for this matchup on opening night, pitting Kevin Willard’s debut at Villanova against AJ Dybantsa and BYU.
TV schedule: Monday, November 3, 9:30 pm ET. TNT/truTV
Arena: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
Things are largely different at Villanova thanks to the offseason hiring of Kevin Willard. An established coach with plenty of Big East experience, he’s arrived to turn things around for a Wildcats program that was pretty irrelevant the last few seasons. He gets no favors with a tough matchup in this coaching debut with Villanova and there’s a bit of insult to injury here as well.
Tyler Perkins is the most prominent returner and becomes a focal point in the backcourt, but Devin Askew will be out for quite some time with a leg injury. Now Askew was far from the only notable transfer, with this backcourt needing even more from Bryce Lindsay and Malachi Palmer. The injury status of a few other players like Zion Stanford is also up in the air, though the Wildcats could be leaning heavily on freshman Acaden Lewis.
You won’t find these Wildcats in the rankings or national discussion early on this season, expecting to play a secondary role to the stronger teams in the Big East. Villanova starts the season just 50th in KenPom with significant questions on this roster. However, Willard is hoping that this crop of talent can push the envelope and stand out in this league, especially young pieces like Lewis who can help build towards the future.
The future is now across the court, as BYU is hoping that this becomes a magical season in Provo. During his first season as head coach, Kevin Young led these Cougars to the Sweet Sixteen, but this team got even better in the offseason, highlighted by top-recruit AJ Dybantsa; and he’s far from the only name of note.
Dybantsa gains a lot of the attention for his potential, but let’s not underrate the return of Richie Saunders for his senior season. BYU’s leading scorer from last year will continue to be a major playmaker here. There’s also Rob Wright, the former Baylor point guard who becomes an important weapon for these Cougars. Keba Keita should become a force down low as well on this balanced starting lineup.
The AP poll has BYU sitting at #8 to open the season, though expectations for the Cougars have been very mixed in the preseason. KenPom has the Cougars way down at 18th while some have prognosticated that this could be a Final Four year for BYU. A lot depends not just on how Dybantsa fares in the college game, but how the lineup and rotations come together behind that Big 3 of Dybantsa, Saunders, and Wright leading the charge.
The advantage leans towards the Cougars in this Las Vegas tilt but let’s not just ignore the potential here. This is a major opportunity for this new-look Villanova squad to make some noise and prove that they belong this season. Someone like Duke Brennan or Perkins can really establish themselves, while it’s also a great chance for Lewis to showcase that Dybantsa isn’t the only hot freshman to watch on the court.
There’s a major talent advantage for BYU and we are leaning towards the Cougars to take care of business in a game that’s much closer to their home. The Wildcats are injured, traveling across the country, and still figuring out winning lineups. BYU has the pieces to have one of the most talented lineups in the country and we should see an early taste of what that talent can do on Monday night.