Monday night in Las Vegas was the opening scene to the most anticipated season in BYU men's basketball history.

BYU Men’s Basketball team made a definitive statement in their season-opening victory over the storied Villanova Wildcats & Jake Hatch recaps the victory for BYU.

BYU missed 15 total layups — though a few of them were caused by questionable contact that didn’t yield a whistle — but the Cougars also lost the rebound battle by a 49-43 margin, allowed Villanova to score a whopping 31 second chance points and disappeared for sizable stretches offensively, only dishing out a single assist in the second half.

The Cougars open against Villanova in Las Vegas on Monday night. Why did BYU head coach Kevin Young build a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule? Look at last year, he says.

After getting an appetizer in BYU’s two exhibitions versus Nebraska and North Carolina, we’ll get our first chance to see Kevin Young’s new squad in action when BYU opens the season Monday night in Las Vegas versus Villanova.

AJ Dybantsa takes center stage Monday in Las Vegas as No. 8 BYU meets Big East's Villanova in a college basketball opener