Analysis: No. 25 BYU makes early claim to be an elite offensive unit in opening win over Ohio State

At one point this offseason, Kevin Young claimed his new-look Cougars would be the “most prolific shooting team” he’d had thus far at BYU.

Early on in Monday’s season opener against Ohio State, however, Young’s squad looked like anything but.

The first 10 minutes of the regular season saw BYU miss 10 of 13 field goal attempts, with seven misses coming from behind the arc.

But when the shots started falling for the Cougars, they seemingly never stopped.

Following the initial slump, No. 25-ranked BYU shot 64% from the field and 63% from 3-point range — averaging 1.4 points per possession in all — to bury the visiting Ohio State Buckeyes 94-83 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

Ohio State hadn’t dropped a regular season opener since 2003, but surrendering 60 second half points to Young’s Cougars now puts the Buckeyes in unfamiliar territory: an 0-1 record.

“I think we just played to our identity,” Young told reporters postgame. “I thought in the first half they put us in mud a little bit, particularly the first five or six minutes. But the message for our guys coming into the game was just don’t make stuff up. This can be a very dynamic offensive team, so to hang 60 points in a half on somebody of that caliber is impressive.”

All five BYU starters scored in double figures, a feat the Cougars hadn’t achieved since their last Delta Center appearance against Cal Baptist in December of 2025.

And considering those BYU players were all competing in their first regular season contest together on Monday, scoring 94 total points against a veteran-heavy, reigning NCAA tournament team from the Big Ten should feel all the more encouraging — especially when 83 of those points were scored in the game’s final 30 minutes.

“It’s funny that we scored that many (points) because it kind of felt like (the offense) was stuck in the first half,” said BYU guard Collin Chandler, who made his Cougars debut Monday just 20 minutes south of his hometown of Farmington.

“We felt like we couldn’t get anything to flow. It’s a really good sign for us that we can turn around like that by just talking about it and wearing teams down. I feel like that’s what happened tonight.”

Rob Wright III, BYU’s lone returning starter, led the offensive charge with 33 points, five assists and just one turnover, marking one of his best outings as a Cougar and validating his preseason buzz as an All-America and Big 12 Player of the Year candidate.

ROBERT WRIGHT III – GAME HIGHLIGHTS

33 PTS | 5 AST pic.twitter.com/JepbBpbfUu

— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 3, 2026

When BYU trailed by 11 points midway through the first half, Wright responded by scoring 10 points in the ensuing eight minutes to cut the Cougars’ deficit to three points at halftime.

In the second half, Wright scored another 19 points, going a perfect 4 of 4 from deep.

What impressed Young most about Wright?

“Everything, especially his poise,” Young said of his star point guard. “… He controlled the game.”

Added teammate Tyler Betsey: “(Wright) is definitely the best player I’ve played with in college so far.”

Betsey had himself an excellent BYU debut as well, posting 15 points with seven rebounds and four made triples.

TYLER BETSEY – GAME HIGHLIGHTS

15 PTS | 7 REB pic.twitter.com/io4IKdy5L2

— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 3, 2026

Chandler scored 15 points, and freshman Bruce Branch III added 12 points — 10 coming after halftime — with three boards and three assists.

Fifth-year big man Jaxon Kohler, another new face, finished with 11 points and six rebounds, giving BYU a combined low block and outside presence that it’s rarely enjoyed at the center position.

“I think (Kohler’s skillset) is the key to the whole (offense),” Young said. “Being able to step away from the basket, make shots and drive off of a closeout is something where we haven’t had a lot of players that can make that play.”

JAXON KOHLER – GAME HIGHLIGHTS

11 PTS | 6 REB pic.twitter.com/pROGqiWoLN

— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 3, 2026

The Cougars shot 11 of 24 (46%) from 3-point range, but without Wright and Betsey, that number lowered to 21%. Kohler and Bruce were each held three-less, Jake Wahlin never once pulled the trigger and Chandler made just 2 of 9 deep attempts.

Just wait for when those other players start making their triples consistently.

“I think we are just barely scratching the surface,” Young said of BYU’s perimeter attack.

It was a dogfight deep into the second half, as Ohio State knotted the score at 59 points apiece with just over 10 minutes remaining. BYU responded with a 14-2 run to escape the Buckeyes for good, thanks to buckets from Betsey, Kohler, Brooks Bahr and Wright, along with free throws from Branch.

“I think we wore them down first defensively,” Chandler said. “We put the pressure from full court, and that’s tiring for a team. Once they were a bit tired, we could get our guys in rotation, and that’s what you saw there in the second half. We were getting our guys in the second layer of the defense there late, and that made our lives a lot easier.”

Defensively, the Cougars remain a work in progress. While BYU did force 12 turnovers, its lack of rim protection allowed the Buckeyes into the paint too frequently. A handful of other defensive breakdowns on the night gifted Ohio State easy points, with the Midwestern visitors ultimately shooting 49% from the field.

But the Cougars did improve defensively as the game progressed. As noted by CougarStats on X, Ohio State opened by making 22 of 36 (61%) field goals. BYU then held the Buckeyes to a 6 of 21 (29%) finish from the field, including a stretch of nearly six minutes without a made shot.

Additionally, BYU’s overall defense effort, hustle and scrappiness — headlined by Bahr off the bench — was a welcome sight, and they should all yield greater eventual defensive success if maintained.

The prime focus of nonconference play for the Cougars should be discovering their defensive identity, and Monday gave them a solid starting point to do so, even if the results weren’t always outstanding.

“There was more good than bad (defensively),” Young said. “… There is definitely stuff that we want to improve on, which is why we want to play this game in the first place.”

BYU now heads back to the Marriott Center for Friday’s matchup with Summit League opponent Omaha — and the Cougars will do so with a boost in confidence after defeating a fellow Power conference foe, which has already vaulted them up 10 spots to No. 23 in the KenPom rankings.

“I think that it’s a great foundation where we get to break down some film (of us) against a team that is a great team,” Chandler said. “It’s also good to set the tone for the season, that’s what we did tonight and we’re going to keep that momentum going.”

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