No. 23 BYU welcomes No. 6 Iowa State to Marriott Center on Saturday evening

PROVO, Utah — It's another Top 25 matchup for No. 23 BYU on Saturday, Feb. 21, when the Cougars welcome No. 6 Iowa State to the Marriott Center for the third time. Tip is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. MT. 

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

WINTER WEATHER ALERT
Saturday will be the 11th all-time meeting between the two programs as BYU is 3-7 against Iowa State dating back to their first-ever meeting on Dec. 15, 1931. The Cougars have won three of their four meetings against the Cyclones since joining the Big 12.

BYU is 2-0 against Iowa State under second-year head coach Kevin Young with both of the wins coming during the Cougars' nine-game win streak. After surviving a 88-85 double overtime thriller against the Cyclones at Hilton Coliseum on March 4, 2025, BYU picked up a 96-92 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship where Richie Saunders scored a team-high 23 points including a 3-pointer in the final minute to put the Cougars up four and secure the victory.

In its two wins over the Cyclones last season, Keba Keita averaged 8.0 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 58.3 percent from the field. In the Cougars' double overtime victory, Keita finished with 15 rebounds including tying a program record for offensive boards with nine. Mihailo Boskovic also played well against Iowa State in Kansas City as the senior finished with 10 points and five rebounds while knocking down three 3-pointers.

NO REST FOR THE WEARY
Since joining the Big 12, BYU is 6-11 against ranked opponents in league play, including a 3-4 record at home and 3-7 away from the Marriott Center. The Cylcones have been ranked in the AP Poll in each one of their meetings as Saturday will be no different with them sitting sixth in the latest rankings. 

Second-year head coach Kevin Young is 6-11 against ranked opponents since making the move from the NBA to college hoops. Only one of those ranked wins came inside the friendly confines of the Marriott Center, a 34-point victory over No. 23 Kansas last February. 

According to Opta StatsPass, BYU is 2-16 at home against Top 10 opponents with their last win coming on Feb 22, 20220 against No. 2 Gonzaga. The Cougars are also 2-8 all-time against No. 6 in the AP Poll including a winless 0-4 at home. They are 25-91 all-time against Top 10 opponents with eight of those wins coming in Provo.

PROTECTING THE PAINT
The Cougars enter Saturday's Top 25 showdown ranked 26th in the nation in blocks per game, at 4.8. If the season ended today, it would mark the second time since 2001-02 that BYU has ranked in the Top 50 nationally in blocks (2016-17). Their 125 blocks through 26 games are the ninth-most in a single season in program history. 

The Cougars are averaging 5.0 blocks per game in league play which ranks them 18th according to CBB Analytics. Abdullah Ahmed and Keba Keita have played a huge role in that number as they each have 23 blocks, which is one away from moving into the Top 10 in blocks in conference play in a single season. 

MAN DOESN'T NEED A ROLEX, HE IS ON ALL THE WATCH LISTS
AJ Dybantsa was added to another Watch List on Thursday morning as the five-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week was one of 30 players named to the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Late-Season Team. He also been named to the Big 12 Starting Five nine times. 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR LATE-SEASON TEAM pic.twitter.com/I3qotmeQZj

— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) February 19, 2026

Entering the final few weeks of the regular season, the 6-foot-9 forward has already been named to watch list for the following awards: Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20, Wayman Tisdale Award, Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Midseason Top 10 and Oscar Robertson Trophy.

LIVING UP TO THE HYPE
AJ Dybantsa broke the freshman scoring record on Wednesday, having scored 644 points in 26 games, besting the 632 points that Danny Ainge scored during his freshman campaign in 1977-78. 

Dybantsa's 644 points with five regular season games remaining are the 14th most in single season in program history. His six 30-point games are tied for the seventh-most in a single season in program history. 

Rank	Player, Year	Games Played	Points
10	Michael Smith, 1987-88	32	679
	Yoeli Childs, 2018-19	32	679
12	Chase Fischer, 2015-16	37	673
13	Devin Durrant, 1982-83	29	662
14	AJ Dybantsa, 2025-26	26	644

DYBANTSA DOES IT ALL
With his fifth 35-point performance of the season, AJ Dybantsa has tied Kansas State's Michael Beasley (2007-08) and Oklahoma's Trae Young (2017-18) for the most 35-point performances by a freshman according to StatHead. 

Dybantsa's six 30-point performances are tied for the sixth-most by a freshman. He also owns the most 30-point performances by a freshman in program history.