No. 23 BYU faces No. 4 Arizona in Tucson on Wednesday night

PROVO, Utah - No. 23 BYU makes its only trip of the season to The Grand Canyon State this week when the Cougars take on No. 4 Arizona on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at the McKale Center at ALKEME Arena. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.

WHERE TO WATCH
Wednesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN with Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Kris Budden on the call. 

READY FOR THE REMATCH
Wednesday will be the 43rd all-time meeting between the two programs as the Cougars are 20-22 all-time against the Wildcats including a 5-15 record in Tucson. The visiting team has won four straight in the series including the Cougars only two wins at McKale Center.

Arizona picked up a 86-83 win over BYU earlier this season at the Marriott Center where the Cougars cut an 18-point second half deficit to a one possession game with under 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Robert Wright III saw his potential game-winning shot block by the Wildcats Brayden Burries, who finished with a game-high 29 points as the freshman went 7-of-13 from the field, 2-of-3 from three and 13-of-14 from the free throw line. AJ Dybantsa was one of three Cougars to score in double figures as the freshman had 24 points, 11 of those coming from the free throw line.

In their last visit to the McKale Center on Feb. 22, 2025, Richie Saunders knocked down a pair of free throws in the final seconds to lift BYU to a 96-95 victory during their nine-game win streak. Saunders finished with 23 points going 8-of-10 from teh field, 3-of-4 from behind the arc and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Egor Demin had 13 points and eight assists while Keba Keita chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.

IT'S FUN ALWAYS BEING (W)RIGHT
With Richie Saunders suffering a season-ending ACL injury in the opening minute of BYU's 90-86 overtime victory Colorado on Saturday, Robert Wright III scored a career-high for a second straight game as the sophomore finished with 39 points.The sophomoreís performance is tied for the ninth-most points in a conference game in program history. 

The Cougars improved to 42-1 under second-year head coach Kevin Young when outshooting their opponents as they finished 29-of-62 from the field, 11-of-22 from three and 21-of-27 from the charity stripe.

Saturday's win also marked the third straight overtime victory for the Cougars, their longest win streak in extra time since winning five straight from 2004-06. The second unit stepped up with Saunders out as they scored 18 points, the most they have scored in a Big 12 game this season.

THNKS FR THE MMRS
Richie Saunders career came to end on Sunday as the senior announced on social media that tore his ACL against Colorado. During his four-year career as a Cougar, Saunders appeared in 128 games scoring 1,544 points which are the 17th most in program history. He was named the Big 12's Most Improved Player in 2025 and led BYU to its first Sweet 16 since 2011. 

Our true blue guy. Praying for a speedy recovery 💙 pic.twitter.com/Q1Vbdwh45H

— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) February 16, 2026

The Riverton native also ranks fifth in five 3-pointer games (10), eighth in 3-point field goals made (205), eighth in 3-point field goal attempts (530), ninth in three 3-pointer games (30),12th in steals (133), 17th in 30-point games (3), 17th in 3-point field goal percentage (.387), 19th in game played (128), 20th free throw percentage (.789) and 20th steals per game (1.039).

With Saunders out, BYU will use its sixth different starting lineup of the season when they take the court on Wednesday evening.

THE BIG MAN ON CAMPUS
Abdullah Ahmed had five blocks on Saturday against Colorado marking the second time this season the sophomore has had five blocks, tied for the fourth-most five-block games in a season in program history with Alan Taylor (1979-80), Trent Plaisted (2007-08), Yoeli Childs (2017-18) and Matt Haarms (2020-21). 

Through 11 Big 12 games, Ahmed has 23 blocks which leaves him one shy of moving into a tie for the 10th most in a conference season in program history. His 2.1 blocks per game in league play are tied for the most in program history (min. 10 games played). 

BATTLE ON THE BOARDS
Wednesday's game will be a battle on the boards as Arizona and BYU rank first and second in the Big 12 in rebounds per game. The  Cougars rank 16th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (13.7) since conference play began. 

A DIFFERENT STORY
AJ Dybantsa is averaging 12.8 points per game in the second half this season, shooting 57.2 percent from the field, 44.7 percent from three and 73.6 percent from the free throw line. The 6-foot-9 forward has scored 20 or more points after halftime four times this season highlighted by a 24-point outburst against Utah where he finished with a freshman scoring record 43 points. 

Robert Wright III scored 23 of his career-high 39 points in the second half on Saturday marking the second time this season with 20 points after halftime. He has played the full 20 minutes of the second half four times this season including in the wins over Baylor and Colorado last week. 

As a team, BYU owns the highest offensive rating (136.3) of any team in NCAA Division I men's basketball this season. The Cougars effective field goal percentage of 60.8 is the fifth-highest while also ranking in the Top 10 nationally in Net Rating (26.4)

ANOTHER DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Saturday will be the Cougars' third game this season against a Top 5 opponent and first on the road. The Cougars are 2-7 in road games against Top 5 opponents since 1980 with the last win coming over No. 1 Gonzaga on Feb. 25, 2017. 

Wednesday will be the second time BYU has faced off against a Wildcat team ranked fourth in the country with the only other meeting resulting in a 86-62 setback for the Cougars back on Dec. 1, 1999. 

The Cougars are 6-10 against ranked opponents under second-year head coach Kevin Young with their last win coming against No. 23 Wisconsin on Nov. 21, 2025 at the Delta Center.