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Villanova to open 2025-26 season with marquee game in Las Vegas

The Wildcats will face BYU and the top recruit in the 2025 class, AJ Dybansta, in Las Vegas to start the season.

BYU is 8-2 in Kevin Young's first season as coach.
BYU is 8-2 in Kevin Young's first season as coach.Read moreDenis Poroy / AP

Villanova will open the 2025-26 men’s basketball season with a marquee matchup in Las Vegas.

The Wildcats will face BYU at T-Mobile Arena, a source confirmed a report from College Sports Today. Villanova isn’t the main event, as BYU has the nation’s top 2025 recruit, AJ Dybantsa, a 6-foot-9 wing from Massachusetts who plays at Utah Prep.

Dybansta chose BYU over Alabama, Kansas, and North Carolina and is expected to earn one of the highest name, image, and likeness deals for a college basketball player in the nascent era of paying athletes. He is projected to the top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

» READ MORE: The next six games will define this Villanova basketball season, and probably Kyle Neptune’s future

The Wildcats, who are 8-4 this year and play Saturday at Creighton, will have plenty of new faces next November. Their rotation is comprised of five players who are in their final season of eligibility.

Villanova isn’t the only Big 5 school scheduled to play in Vegas next season. St. Joseph’s is slated to compete in the Players Era tournament, which awards $1 million in NIL money to each participating team.