No. 11 BYU, No. 15 Texas Tech set for Top 15 Showdown on Saturday

The Cougars are 3-4 all-time against the Red Raiders.

Author Tyson Jex
No. 11 BYU, No. 15 Texas Tech set for Top 15 Showdown on SaturdayNo. 11 BYU, No. 15 Texas Tech set for Top 15 Showdown on Saturday

PROVO, UTAH - No. 11 BYU makes its first of two trips to the Lone Star State this season when the Cougars face No. 15 Texas Tech in a Top 15 matchup on Saturday, Jan. 17, at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT. 

WHERE TO WATCH
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN with Dave Flemming and Fran Fraschilla on the call.

HOWDY PARTNER
Saturday will be the eighth all-time meeting between the two schools and the second trip to the United Supermarkets Arena for the Cougars. After winning the first three games of the series, BYU has dropped four straight as Texas Tech leads the all-time series 4-3. 

In their lone meeting last season, BYU suffered its first home loss of the Kevin Young era as Elijah Hawkins scored a game-high 22 points in a 72-67 win for the Red Raiders. Reigning Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin was held to five points, his second-lowest point total during his time at Tech. Fousseyni Traore scored a team-high 14 points in 24 minutes for the Cougars, while Keba Keita had 10 rebounds.

The Cougars' last victory over the Red Raiders came on Dec. 17, 1993, in Provo behind 26 points from Randy Reid. He went 8-of-13 from the field, 2-of-3 from three and 8-of-12 from the free throw line in a 10-point victory for BYU, 84-74. BYU radio analyst Mark Durrant had five points, three rebounds and a pair of assists in 21 minutes of action. 

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I CAN GET 70 MILES TO THE GALLON ON THIS HOG
BYU extended its overall and Big 12 road win streak to six games with its 89-84 win over rival Utah last Saturday at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. It is the longest such streak since they won six straight away from the Marriott Center on Jan. 5, 2012, to Feb. 18, 2012. A win over the Red Raiders would give them their first seven-game conference road win streak since 2010-11.

The Cougars are outscoring opponents by 5.7 points during their current streak, shooting 49.2 percent from the field, 38.3 percent from three and 68.9 percent from the free throw line. They are averaging 39.3 rebounds, 17.0 assists, 9.0 steals and 2.8 blocks per game. They have scored 80 or more points in five of the six wins, including putting up 96 at No. 19 Arizona and 91 at Arizona State. 

THERE IS NOTHING, NADA.. ZIP!
AJ Dybantsa needed only 17 games to move into ninth on the freshman scoring list as the 6-foot-9 forward scored 25 points on Wednesday to bring his season total to 392. He enters Saturday's game eight points shy of becoming the sixth freshman in program history to score 400 points in a season. 

The native of Brockton, Mass. has scored in double figures in all 17 games of his collegiate career, the fourth-longest streak to begin a career in Big 12 history. 

Dybantsa has also scored 20 points in 10 straight games, making him one of six players in program history to have a streak of 10 or more, joining Jimmer Fredette, Danny Ainge, Michael Smith (2x), Devin Durrant and Tyler Haws (2x). 

IT'S OK, I'M A LIMO DRIVER
Richie Saunders may not have had his typical shooting night in the win over TCU as the senior went 4-of-12 from the field, 1-of-6 from three and 9-of-11 from the free throw line en route to 18 points, marking the 16th straight game at the Marriott Center he has scored in double figures. 

With his performance against the Horned Frogs, Saunders moved up to 20th on the all-time scoring list, passing Jay Cheesman and Roland Minson. 907 of his career 1,421 points have come since Kevin Young was hired as the head coach in the spring of 2024.

WANNA HEAR THE MOST ANNOYING SOUND IN THE WORLD?
14 of BYU's season-high 21 offensive rebounds came in the second half on Wednesday, tied for the fourth-most in a second half in program history and sixth-most in any half in program history.

Keba Keita, Robert Wright III, Richie Saunders and Khadim Mboup all had multiple offensive rebounds to aid the Cougars comeback. 

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SAMSONITE! I WAS WAY OFF!
Since suffering its only loss of the season on Nov. 15 at the hands of No. 3 UConn at TD Garden in Boston, BYU has won 13 straight games, which is tied for the fourth-longest streak in program history. 

The Cougars are outscoring opponents by nearly 20 points per game, 88.5-68.9, during the 13-game win streak, where they are shooting 49.4 percent from the field, 36.9 percent from three and 74.2 percent from the free throw line. They have also outrebounded opponents 41.3-33.9 during that span, including holding a 166-156 advantage on the offensive glass. 

The Big 3 of Robert Wright III, Richie Saunders and AJ Dybantsa are averaging 60.2 points per game, with Dybantsa leading the way with 23.9 points per game on 55.7/30.0/77.9 shooting. Keba Keita is averaging 8.3 points and 9.2 rebounds while shooting 71.2 percent from the field. 

SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE IS A CHANCE
BYU has won three straight games when shooting 25.0 percent or worse from 3-point range (min. 20 3FGA) after going 5-of-24 from behind the arc in Wednesday's win over TCU. Prior to overcoming a 22-point second-half deficit to Clemson at Madison Square Garden in December, the Cougars had lost eight straight dating back to Feb. 2023. 

Wednesday also marked BYU's fourth consecutive win when making five or fewer 3-pointers.