Cougars face Kansas State in opening round of Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament

PROVO, Utah - BYU opens the 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, March 10, when the Cougars face the Wildcats of Kansas State. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.

WHERE TO WATCH
Tuesday's opening round game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Jon ëBoogí Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla and Angel Gray on the call.

READY FOR A CAT FIGHT
Tuesday will be the 12th all-time meeting between BYU and Kansas State as the Cougars lead the all-time series 6-5, including a 1-2 record at neutral sites. Tuesday's showdown will be their first-ever meeting in the Big 12 Tournament. 

Second-year head coach Kevin Young is 2-0 all-time against the Wildcats, including an 83-73 victory for the Cougars in their Big 12 opener on Jan. 3 in Manhattan, Kan. The Cougars led for 34 of 40 minutes in their first-ever win at Bramlage Coliseum, where AJ Dybantsa scored a game-high 24 points going 8-of-15 from the field, 1-of-2 from three and 7-of-10 from the free throw line. Robert Wright III (18) and Richie Saunders (13) also scored in double figures, while Keba Keita recorded his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 16 rebounds. 

Speaking of Keita, the senior from Bamako, Mali, is averaging 10.0 points, 13.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in BYU's two wins over K-State since he transferred to BYU. His eight offensive rebounds in their earlier meeting this season are tied for the second-most in a game in program history. 

WRECKED 'EM
BYU put an end to its three-game losing streak on Saturday evening with a 82-76 victory over No. 10 Texas Tech in front of 18,104 fans at the Marriott Center on Senior Day. The win over the Red Raiders gave the Cougars two Top 10 wins in the same season since 2010-11 when they defeated San Diego State en route to a Sweet 16 appearance. 

In a game where Tech knocked down 16 3-pointers, BYU outrebounded the Red Raiders 41-34 including 20 offensive rebounds which resulted in 20 second chance points. The Cougars also had a season-low three turnovers and scored 48 of their 76 points in the paint. 

Robert Wright III scored 23 of his game-high 27 points in the second half as the Cougars outscored the Red Raiders 44-30 over the final 20 minutes to secure their first win over Tech since they joined the Big 12. AJ Dybantsa scored 20 or more points for the 10 consecutive game as the freshman finished with 21 points going 8-of-25 from the field, 1-of-6 from three and 4-of-6 from the free throw line.

Kennard Davis Jr. scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half as the junior knocked down four 3-pointers including a triple with less than two minutes remaining to put he Cougars back on top. 

NOTHING NEUTRAL ABOUT IT
Entering Tuesday's game against Kansas State, BYU is 6-1 in neutral site games this season including five straight wins. The Cougars six neutral site victories are the most in the country during the regular season.

In its seven neutral site games, BYU has outscored its opponents by more than 11 points per game (80.9-69.6) including a 28-point victory over No. 23 Wisconsin at the Delta Center. They are shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 36.0 percent from three and 75.5 percent from the free throw line. 

Individually AJ Dybansta is averaging 21.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 52.0 percent from the field, 43.8 percent from three and 76.5 percent from the free throw line. Robert Wright III is averaging 15.9 points with Keba Keita contributing 8.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game

THE ENERGIZER BUNNY
In 26 minutes against No. 10 Texas Tech, Khadim Mboup had four points going 2-of-2 from the field with six rebounds two of those coming on the offensive glass. The Cougars are 14-2 this season when the redshirt freshman has five or more rebounds including a 4-0 record when he has double digit boards. 

DOUBLE TROUBLE
AJ Dybantsa and Robert Wright III combined for 48 points in Saturday's win over No. 10 Texas Tech, bringing their season total to 1,344 points, which is the fourth-most by a duo in a single season in program history. 

Season	Players	Points
2010-11	Jimmer Fredette (1,068), Jackson Emery (462)	1,530
2012-13	Tyler Haws (780), Brandon Davies (637)	1,417
1980-81	Danny Ainge (782), Fred Roberts (603)	1,385
2025-26	AJ Dybantsa (702), Robert Wright III (507)	1,344

With 22 points from Wright III on Tuesday, they would become the sixth different duo to score 600 points a piece in the same season and first since Elijah Bryant and Yoeli Childs did it in 2017-18.

With Dybantsta's 21 points against Tech, he and Richie Saunders moved up to 10th on the duo scoring list.  

OL' RELIABLE
Robert Wright III went 9-of-9 from the free throw line in Saturdayís win over Texas Tech as the sophomore has now made 18 straight free throws, tied for the longest streak by a Cougar this season.

MARCH MADNESS IS FINALLY HERE
BYU is 42-38 in conference tournament games since the 1983-84 season, including a 2-2 record since joining the Big 12.

The Cougars have won at least one game in five consecutive seasons, including winning back-to-back games in their final season in the West Coast Conference before falling to Saint Mary's in the semifinal.