TUCSON, Ariz. - BYU's clashes with Arizona this season have been nothing short of dramatic. Both games saw the Cougars trailing significantly in the second half, only to mount thrilling comebacks that fell just short of a historic upset against one of the nation’s top teams.
Wednesday night at McKale Center was no exception. The No. 4-ranked Wildcats held on for a 75-68 victory, completing a season sweep of the Cougars. Despite a spirited effort, BYU now stands at 19-7 overall and 7-6 in Big 12 play, having dropped six of their last nine games.
“We’re going through it,” BYU head coach Kevin Young remarked postgame. “That’s life, you get adversity.
I’m proud of our guys for their effort tonight and their effort in practice the last couple days. We’re trying to reinvent ourselves kind of on the fly.
I think there’s a lot of good things that happened tonight.”
BYU managed to cut a 16-point deficit to just five with a little over a minute left, echoing their previous near-comeback against Arizona in Provo. Yet, once again, the victory slipped away.
In their first encounter, Rob Wright III had his game-winning shot blocked. In the rematch, a late turnover in the lane extinguished BYU's rally hopes.
The real story unfolded beyond the arc, where a Saunders-less BYU struggled while Arizona thrived. The Cougars hit just 5 of 19 from deep, while Arizona drained 8 of their last 13 triples, finishing with a 43% success rate.
Remarkably, Arizona scored more from 3-pointers (27) than inside the paint (26) for the first time all season. This shift was crucial, especially without their star inside presence, Koa Peat. Anthony Dell’Orso stepped up, knocking down four 3-pointers and racking up a career-high 22 points, a surprising feat for the typically sub-30% shooter.
“We said that they were gonna have to make threes to beat us, and they did,” Young acknowledged. “You have to give Dell’Orso credit. Statistically, he shot the heck out of the ball tonight.”
In Saunders' absence, AJ Dybantsa rose to the occasion, delivering his sixth 30-point game of the year with 35 points on 13 of 28 shooting, surpassing Danny Ainge’s BYU freshman scoring record.
“I’m just trying to be aggressive early,” Dybantsa stated. “Richie’s out, he brings a lot of scoring, a lot of aggressiveness, so I just tried to mimic what he gave us.”
Outside of Dybantsa and Wright, who added 13 points, BYU's supporting cast struggled, contributing just 20 points collectively, with no bench player hitting a 3-pointer.
Mihailo Boskovic, stepping in for Saunders, missed all three of his shots, finishing with a minus six in 11 minutes. Aleksej Kostic and Tyler Mrus also found it tough, combining for minimal impact off the bench.
“Tyler and Alex need to come in and knock shots down, Mihailo’s got to knock shots down,” Young said. “AJ and Rob have been our catalysts all year, and we’ll continue to look for contributions from others.”
Keba Keita showed signs of breaking out of a slump, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking four shots. However, Arizona still dominated the boards, securing 12 offensive rebounds and winning the overall battle 39-32.
Kennard Davis Jr. found his rhythm late, scoring 10 second-half points, and Young is optimistic about unlocking more of his potential.
“I give him a lot of credit,” Young said of Davis. “We were trying to use him as a 3-and-D guy, but he’s got more to offer. We’re gonna need every bit of it.”
As BYU gears up to face No. 6 Iowa State this weekend, the question remains whether Wednesday’s fight can ignite future success. For now, it’s another tough loss and a missed chance for a marquee victory.
“(I’m) super disappointed we weren’t able to get the win, but we got a locker room that’s not gonna go away,” Young emphasized. “We’re gonna keep pounding that rock until it breaks, and it will break for us eventually.”