The No. 8 BYU men’s basketball team will make its home debut for the 2025-26 season Saturday night at the Marriott Center against the Holy Cross Crusaders.
The Cougars played Villanova in Las Vegas on Monday, with AJ Dybantsa and Keba Keita leading the team to a 71-66 victory. Following that win, BYU has shifted its focus to Holy Cross for the first meeting between the two programs.
Holy Cross began its season on the road with an 89-79 loss to the Providence Friars. Despite trailing by 20 during the second half, the Crusaders made a late push, cutting the score to within six points with just under a minute left before Providence secured the win.
Holy Cross’ standout in the matchup against Providence was guard Tyler Boston, who scored a career-high 25 points and dished to his teammates for a total of six assists. The sophomore also shot 10-for-11 from the stripe.
The Crusaders finished 13-19 last season, their best record since winning 16 games in the 2018-19 season. Holy Cross led the Patriot League in 3-point percentage, shooting just under 39% from beyond the arc. The Crusaders also ranked third in the Patriot League in field-goal percentage at 45.6%.
The team was plagued with injuries last season and won just five conference games as a result. They entered their conference tournament as a No. 10 seed and fell in the first round to Lafayette, losing by just one point.
Holy Cross returns nine players while welcoming seven newcomers for the 2025-26 season.
The Crusaders are led by coach Dave Paulsen, who is in his third season with the program. He currently sits with a record of 23-43 during his tenure with Holy Cross. Paulsen, who holds a 514-347 overall record as a head coach, is a three-time Patriot League Coach of the Year as well as a two-time Division III National Coach of the Year. He has nearly 30 years of head coaching experience and has coached several players who saw time in the NBA.
The expected starters for Saturday’s matchup are Boston, Aiden Disu, Gabe Warren, Aidan Richard and Joe Nugent. Alongside Boston, Disu, Warren and Nugent all put up 10 or more points in their contest against Providence. Guard DeAndre Williams also joined them, scoring 11 against the Friars. Additionally, Richard grabbed 10 of the Crusaders’ 37 boards on Monday.
Williams, a junior, played a significant role for the Crusaders last season, averaging 8.4 points a game and 3.6 assists. His most impactful game last season was against Navy, where he put up 20 points, secured four rebounds and finished with four assists. Williams has also garnered 45 steals during his time at Holy Cross.
Saturday’s game tips off at the Marriott Center at 7 p.m. MST, with streaming available on ESPN+.