UNLV to Host BYU in Exhibition on Oct. 24, Part of Cougars’ Nearly Finished Non-Conference Plan

BYU’s men’s basketball non-conference calendar is nearing completion after UNLV confirmed the site and date of a preseason exhibition matchup. UNLV head coach Josh Pastner said on Las Vegas radio that UNLV will host BYU for an exhibition game on Saturday, October 24 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

The exhibition is the second planned preseason matchup for BYU, following a separate exhibition already scheduled for Friday, October 16 in Provo against Nebraska. Together, those games shape the early rhythm for BYU as the program moves from offseason work into the first on-court looks that do not affect official win totals.

Exhibitions are preseason games and, as described in the reporting, they do not count toward a team’s official record. That matters for how teams manage minutes and lineup experimentation, since coaches can focus on rotations, conditioning and the mechanics of a regular-season style of play without the pressure of an opening-night loss or the record impact that comes with it.

The news also comes as NCAA rules this season allow three exhibition games, an increase from two last year, according to the same report. That extra allowance can be especially valuable for programs trying to integrate newcomers, install systems early, and create meaningful competition before the first games that count against the standings.

In the broader context of BYU’s schedule-building, the UNLV exhibition adds a neutral-site element with a major Division I opponent and a venue built for big-game atmospheres. The Thomas and Mack Center is a prominent arena in Las Vegas, and hosting a BYU team gives the Rebels an early measuring stick while providing BYU a road-style environment before Big-Season play begins.

The report further indicates that BYU may consider whether to use its third permitted exhibition as a closed-door scrimmage, rather than another public game. If that plan holds, BYU would be able to preserve one additional competitive practice for internal evaluation, while keeping the limited preseason public footprint already established with Nebraska and UNLV.

What to watch next is whether BYU’s remaining non-conference details, including the nature of its third exhibition option, are finalized through official releases. With the exhibition dates now set, the next practical questions for fans are how each exhibition is used in terms of lineup work and whether BYU’s final early-slate composition includes other significant opponents beyond the preseason matchups announced.