Chris Burgess says the hard part is over.
The BYU assistant coach spent the summer helping piece together the Cougars’ nonconference schedule, and now that the slate is out, he can step back and look at what the program built. It was a complicated job, one that demanded a mix of research, metrics, logistics and a clear sense of what BYU wanted from its first 14 games before Big 12 play begins.
Burgess laid out the process during a recent appearance on “BYU Sports Nation,” explaining that the staff leaned heavily on numbers while trying to shape the schedule.
“We look at the wins above the bubble (WAB), the NET and KenPom, and all these different things, so we tried to look at those metrics as best we could when we were looking at buy games and marquee games,” Burgess said.
“We tried to do the best we could to find some Quad 1, Quad 2 or wins above the bubble that were a certain number, and we’re doing the best we can to stay away from Quad 4s. We’d love to keep our buy games in the Quad 3 area.
“... It was important for us to be very, very intentional with how we looked at it. And then we’re trying to find teams too where our strengths are maybe their weaknesses, right?”
BYU’s 2026-27 nonconference schedule is not as travel-heavy as last season’s, but it still gives the Cougars plenty to work with. The opener comes Nov. 2 against Ohio State at the Delta Center, followed by home games against Omaha, Queens, Montana State and Northern Colorado.
Then comes the Maui Invitational from Nov. 23-25 in Maui, Hawaii, where BYU will face three games against Arizona, Clemson, Ole Miss, Providence, Washington, VCU or Colorado State.
The rest of the slate includes Dec. 5 against Northwestern at the Delta Center, Dec. 9 against Utah State, Dec. 12 against Cal State Fullerton, Dec. 15 against Weber State, Dec. 19 against San Diego State in Palm Springs, California, and Dec. 22 against La Salle.
That gives BYU two Big Ten opponents in Ohio State and Northwestern, a steady mid-major name in San Diego State, in-state games against Utah State and Weber State, and Queens, the reigning conference champion. Burgess also pointed to the Maui trip as a major piece of the schedule, since it guarantees three quality games against a strong field.
Last season, BYU put together what Burgess called its most ambitious nonconference schedule yet, with games in showcase events around the country and matchups against UConn, Villanova and Clemson. That gauntlet produced six Quad 1 games, and the Cougars won five of them. Burgess said that stretch “really saved us to get to a 6 seed (in the NCAA Tournament)” after BYU finished 9-9 in Big 12 play.
This year’s schedule was built with a different balance in mind. Burgess said the staff wanted a split between buy games and higher-level opponents, and the Maui Invitational helped make that possible.
“We wanted to go 50% buy games and 50% teams like Utah State, Northwestern, Ohio State. I know Maui was going to provide us three (quality games) right there, and then San Diego State,” Burgess said.
“We wanted to get more in-state (opponents), and so that was bringing Utah State back into the mix, and of course Weber State. Then the rivalry with San Diego State, that one really popped to us, because we felt like that’s a good old Mountain West foe, obviously they’re going to the new Pac-12, and they’re always really good, right?”
Scheduling has become trickier in the transfer era, when roster turnover can make teams harder to evaluate. Burgess said BYU tries to get around that by looking at how a program has played over a longer stretch.
In those cases, he said he asks: “What philosophically do they do from a five-year historical standpoint?”
Using that approach, 14 of BYU’s 18 confirmed or potential nonconference opponents have been to the NCAA Tournament since 2022, and 10 of them have done it more than once.
Burgess said the staff likes the finished product.
“We like our schedule, we think it’s going to be challenging, man. We think it’s a good schedule,” Burgess said.
He also noted that playing at the Delta Center remains a plus for the program.
“We love that we get to play some neutral sites here in the Delta (Center) because we think that’s a fun venue to play in, and teams want to come out here and play us, right? Because they’re going to get a quality opponent as well.”
For Kevin Young, the process has been one of the biggest adjustments in moving from the NBA to college basketball. Burgess said Young has relied on his staff to handle the details while he continues learning the ropes.
“All he really, really cares about is sitting down with him and giving him context,” Burgess said. “Not just coming in like, ‘Hey, we’re going to play a two-game series with San Diego State,’ he wants context behind why that game is important from a metric standpoint, from a WAB standpoint, from a KenPom standpoint. He loved the fact that there was a rivalry, right?
“He wants to know all this stuff. That’s the biggest thing for him, is he just wants to know the context about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”
Burgess added, “Until you do scheduling, you don’t quite understand how difficult and annoying it can be sometimes. (Young) knows I’m trying to do as best we can based on the team coming in and historically the team that we’re trying to bring in. And he’s always happy when we get some Delta (Center) games, he’s always happy about that.”
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