No. 8 BYU basketball opens the regular season Monday night in the Hall of Fame Series against the Villanova Wildcats.
The matchup at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will be the fourth meeting between BYU and Villanova, with the Cougars trailing 1-2 in the series.
BYU’s single win against the Wildcats came in 1970 at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. The two programs last met in 1984, when the Wildcats won 91-64.
Villanova enters the 2025-26 season off a 1-1 record in exhibition matches, beating VCU and falling to Virginia. The Wildcats finished their 2024-25 season with a College Basketball Crown semifinal loss against the Big 12’s UCF Knights.
This year’s season opener also marks the second consecutive season that the Wildcats have played in the Hall of Fame Series.
Villanova ranks seventh in this year’s Big East preseason poll in coach Kevin Willard’s debut season with the Wildcats. Willard begins his tenure with Villanova with a 335-249 overall record as a head coach. He spent the previous three seasons with Maryland, with his most successful season coming last year, when he led the Terrapins to the Sweet 16.
The Villanova Wildcats, a perennial college basketball powerhouse that has produced NBA stars the likes of Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and Kyle Lowry, have hit a skid since the retirement of Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright.
Wright, who spent 21 seasons with Villanova, led the Wildcats to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances and two national championship wins in 2016 and 2018.
Following Wright’s departure, Villanova moved to Kyle Neptune, who went 54-47 in his three seasons with the Wildcats.
"My goal this year is to win at a very high level but also to make sure that we get back to being what this program is known for," Willard said at the Big East Media days. "My goal is to get back to that identity and put my twist on it."
Of the 14-man roster, only three players return for Villanova from last season. Of those three, only one — Tyler Perkins — saw game time.
Perkins, a 6-foot-4 guard, emerged as the Wildcats’ sixth man last season, when he averaged just under 26 minutes a game. The Lorton, Virginia, native averaged 6.3 points a game accompanied by 4.3 rebounds.
Last year’s team went 9-1 when Perkins scored 10 or more points in a game, including a win over the No. 9 ranked St. John's, in which Perkins hit a game winning 3-pointer.
Perkins averaged nine points a game in the College Basketball Crown, with an 18-point performance in Villanova’s loss to UCF. He also collected 25 boards over the three games the team played in that tournament.
TYLER PERKINS wins it for @NovaMBB ‼️
— Villanova Athletics (@NovaAthletics) February 13, 2025
Final: Villanova 73 - No. 9 St. John’s 71
pic.twitter.com/m8nQhLmnhH
Alongside Perkins, freshman Acaden Lewis has established himself in preseason play as one of Villanova’s star players. The former Kentucky commit finished their matchup against VCU with 15 points and is likely to play a meaningful role for the Wildcats this season.
Lewis mentioned at Big East media days that he was highly recruited by Maryland, where Willard and Villanova assistant coach David Cox resided when Lewis was in high school. Following their move to Villanova, Lewis signed with the Wildcats.
Injuries have affected the Wildcats this offseason and have played a significant part in their preseason. Guard Devin Askew has been out since September with a right knee sprain. Additionally, guards Malcom Flagg and Zion Stanford missed both exhibition games, with their status for Monday’s contest unclear. Flagg has been dealing with a right Achilles strain and Stanford a left ankle sprain.
Forward Tafara Gapare missed the Wildcats’ first exhibition game against VCU with a right foot injury but returned for their second game against the Virginia Cavaliers.
Despite the banged-up Villanova backcourt, the Wildcats have performed well in the interior. The team put up 36 points in the paint in each exhibition game and outscored its opponents 72-50 from inside.
Due to the high volume of injuries and the nature of exhibition play, Willard has not yet announced a starting lineup for Monday’s opener.
The Cougars and Wildcats are set for tipoff at 7:30 p.m. MST on Monday, with the action available on TNT, truTV and HBO Max.