But the upset bid fizzled: BYU falls 75-68 to No. 4 Arizona.
Jackson has covered sports for the Deseret News since 2023.
TUCSON, Ariz. — BYU’s hopeful upset didn’t materialize.
The Cougars couldn’t topple the higher-ranked Wildcats, who rode a late surge to a 75-68 win Wednesday night at McKale Center.
BYU stands at 19-7 on the season and 7-6 in Big 12 play.
Three key takeaways
Momentum waned at a critical moment. For the first 19 minutes, BYU hung with Arizona and even led for nearly five minutes. The turning point came in the final minute of the half: AJ Dybantsa sank two free throws to bring BYU within one at 1:10, but Arizona guard Anthony Dell’Orso answered with a 3-pointer. A turnover by Keba Keita on the ensuing possession gave Arizona a fastbreak layup, and Dell’Orso capped the burst with a deep bucket at the halftime horn, pushing Arizona’s lead to seven. BYU could have closed the half with momentum, but instead found themselves trailing by more than two possessions.
The second-half surge didn’t translate into a sustained rally. BYU did trim Arizona’s 16-point lead to five over a four-minute stretch after intermission, yet they couldn’t sustain the run to flip the game, ultimately dropping by seven.
Outside shooting was a story of the night. BYU’s 3-point attack stalled, going 5 of 19 (26%), with all five makes coming from starters and the bench attempting only two 3s. Arizona heated up from deep, drilling nine triples on 43% shooting. They started 1 of 8 from long range but finished strong by converting 8 of their final 13 attempts.
Additional notes
BYU missed having Richie Saunders available. Dybantsa and Rob Wright III combined for 48 points, while the remaining eight BYU players who logged minutes totaled 20.
The bench was quiet, contributing just six points across 55 minutes. Mihailo Boskovic, starting in Saunders’ place, went 0-for-3 and posted a minus-6 in 11 minutes. Aleksej Kostic went 1-for-3 with two turnovers, and Tyler Mrus missed his lone attempt. Kennard Davis Jr. scored 10 points with two rebounds and two steals, but all of those came in the second half.
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