No. 8 BYU Basketball Set To Host No. 25 North Carolina At Delta Center

SALT LAKE CITY – BYU basketball is set to face college basketball blueblood North Carolina in its second and final exhibition game.

The Cougars are coming off a narrow one-point loss to Nebraska last Saturday in their first exhibition, while the Tar Heels prepare to take the court for the first time this season.

UNSELFISH. pic.twitter.com/7ThIzRCADO

— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) October 22, 2025

BYU Basketball looks to respond to the Nebraska loss

BYU basketball dropped its opener on Saturday in Lincoln. At Big 12 Basketball Media Day earlier this week, head coach Kevin Young noted that the team was “banged up” against Nebraska and didn’t get to learn as much as they had hoped heading into the matchup.

Young added that Wright III was on a minutes restriction, while Dawson Baker, Nate Pickens, and Brody Kozlowski were each sidelined due to injury.

AJ Dybantsa led the Cougars with 30 points, going 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. Richie Saunders (11 points), Aleksej Kostic (11), and Khadim Mboup (12) also finished in double figures.

BYU rallied from a nine-point deficit with 5:09 to play, but last-second shots from Kostic and Jared McGregor came up short as the Cougars fell by one.

Scouting the Tar Heels

North Carolina has yet to play an exhibition and will make its first appearance of the year against the Cougars. The Tar Heels just snuck into the Preseason AP Top 25 and were picked to finish third in the preseason ACC poll, behind Duke and Louisville.

Headed west for preseason hoops 🛫 pic.twitter.com/zDF43n6a73

— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) October 23, 2025

Caleb Wilson is a player to watch for North Carolina. Like Dybantsa, Wilson was a top-10 prospect coming out of high school last year. He enters the season as a preseason Second Team All-ACC selection and even received a vote for ACC Preseason Player of the Year.

Last season, North Carolina fielded its worst offensive rebounding team and second-worst two-point defensive unit since 2003. The Tar Heels were selected as the final at-large team in the NCAA Tournament — a decision that drew some controversy — but managed to defeat San Diego State in the First Four play-in game in Dayton before falling to sixth-seeded Ole Miss in the First Round.

Third-Ever Matchup Between BYU and North Carolina

Although it’s only an exhibition, any matchup with a blueblood like North Carolina is noteworthy.

The two programs have met twice before — first in the 2004 Maui Invitational, when the 11th-ranked Tar Heels rolled to a 36-point win, and again in the 2007 Las Vegas Invitational.

In that game, eventual national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough scored 21 points, while Trent Plaisted led BYU basketball with 24 in a 10-point loss.

No. 8 BYU vs No. 25 North Carolina

Exhibition

Date: Friday, October 24, 2025

Venue: Delta Center (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Tip-off: 7 p.m. MT

Stream: ESPN+

Nate Slack is an Executive Producer for Cougar Sports Saturday (Noon–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.