2025-26 Season In Review

BYU went 23-12 in 2025-26 including a trip to the NCAA Tournament for a 33rd time in program history.

Author Tyson Jex
2025-26 Season In Review2025-26 Season In Review
Nate Edwards

2025-26 BYU Men's Basketball Season

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The Cougars played on linear television in 28 of its 35 games in 2025-26 with 17 of those coming on the ESPN Family of Networks. Their 20.62 million viewers during the 2025-26 season were the second-most of any school in the West.

They were also a part of two of the Top 5 most watched games in league play (at Kansas, 2,104,991 viewers; Arizona, 1,780,035 viewers). 

The 2025-26 season also gave national media a chance to make a trip to Provo and 'Come and See'. Among those national pundits to make the trip to the Marriott Center were CBS Sports Matt Norlander, CBS Sports Jon Rothstein, The Athletic's CJ Moore, ESPN's Myron Medcalf and Ryan Hammer. They also hosted their first national radio broadcast on Jan. 26 against No. 1 Arizona. 

The coverage wasn't just limited to local, regional and national media as Canal+ Africa and BASKET USA also covered the Cougars this season. 

BYU also credentialed 170 NBA personnel from 27 different NBA teams to the Marriott Center this season including a season-high 32 for BYU's game against No. 1 Arizona on Jan. 26. 

The Cougars finished in the Top 5 in attendance for the first time since 1994-95 as they came in fifth with 18,073 fans per game marking the second straight season they have finished in the Top 10 in consecutive years for the first time this century. 

School Conference Games Total Attendance Average Attendance Capactiy
Kentucky SEC 18 355,165 19,731 20,500
North Carolina ACC 18 350,988 19,499 21,750
Tennessee SEC 17 327,265 19,251 21,678
Arkansas SEC 18 338,334 18,796 19,200
BYU Big 12 15 271,098 18,073 18,003

In fact, BYU is one of seven schools in NCAA Division I men's basketball to average over 18,000 fans in a season since 2008-09 having done it twice (2025-26, 2010-11). 

The Cougars went 15-3 inside the friendly confines of the Marriott Center including Top 10 wins over Iowa State and Texas Tech giving head coach Kevin Young a 84.4 win percentage through his first two seasons in Provo. 

AJ Dybantsa became the third consensus First Team All-American in program history after leading the nation in scoring at 25.5 points per game. 

The native of Brockton, Mass. was also named the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year marking the first time a BYU player has won a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Men's Starting Five Award. He was also named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and earned First Team All-Big 12 accolades. 

Dybantsa appeared in all 35 games for the Cougars averaging 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 51.0 percent from the field, 33.1 percent from three and 77.4 percent from the charity stripe.

His 894 points are the third-most by a freshman in NCAA Division I men's basketball history and second-most by a Cougar in program history. He scored in double figures in every game he played including 28 20-point performances, eight 30-point performances and a pair of 40-point performances. 

He broke 19 BYU freshman season and single game records highlighted by his 43-point performance in a win over Utah at the Marriott Center. He is one of three players in program history with multiple 40-point games after breaking Kevin Durrant's freshman scoring record at the Big 12 Tournament with 40 points in a win over Kansas State.

The 6-foot-9 small forward also became the second player in Big 12 history with a 30/10/10 triple-double against Eastern Washington with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He nearly had another triple-double in BYU's win over No. 6 Iowa State on Feb. 21 as he finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists against the fifth-highest rated defense according to KenPom. 

The duo of Dybantsa and Wright III combined to score 1,526 points in 2025-26, the second-most in program history and 10th most in NCAA Division I men's basketball since the beginning of the 2006-07 season. 

Most Points Scored by Duo in a Single Season in BYU History
Season Players Points
2010-11 Jimmer Fredette (1,068), Jackson Emery (462) 1,530
2025-26 AJ Dybantsa (894), Robert Wright III (632) 1,526
2012-13 Tyler Haws (780), Brandon Davies (637) 1,417
1980-81 Danny Ainge (782), Fred Roberts (603) 1,385
2025-26 AJ Dybantsa (894), Richie Saunders (451) 1,345

They also combined to score the fourth-most points in a game by two players in BYU's win over Baylor with Dybansta scoring 36 while Wright III set a then career-high with 30 points in his return to Waco. They also combined to 64 points in a win over Utah where Dybantsa broke the freshman single-game scoring record with 43 points. 

After Saunders went down with his season-ending injury, the duo took it to another level averaging a combined 46.2 points over the final 11 games of the season. 

The trio of AJ Dybantsa, Robert Wright III and Richie Saunders combine to score a Big 12 1,977 points this season even with Saunders missing the final 10 games of the season due to an ACL tear in the opening minute in an overtime victory over Colorado. 

Most Points by Teammate Trios in Big 12 History
Season School Points Players
2025-26 BYU 1,977 Dybantsa (894), Wright III (632), Saunders (451)
2006-07 Texas 1,949 Durant (903), Abrams (543), Augustin (503)
2002-03 Kansas 1,946 Collison (702), Hinrich (641), Langford (603)
2015-16 Oklahoma  1,874 Hield (925), Woodard (481), Cousins (468)
1997-98 Kansas 1,859 Pierce (777), LaFrentz (593), Thomas (489)

They also became the 12th trio in program history to each score at least 400 points in a single season and first since 2019-20. 

The Cougars also became the 25th trio since 1996-97 since to score at least 1,900 points and first since 2018-19 when Duke's RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish combined for 2,091 points and South Dakota State's Mike Daum, David Jenkins Jr. and Skyler Flatten scored 1,974 points.

They are also the fourth trio since 1996-97 to average 18.0 points per game in nearly 20 seasons and firs since VMI and Delaware did it in 2013-14.

Most Players with 18.0+ Points Per Game Since 1996-97
Season School # Players
2025-26 BYU 3 Dybantsa (25.5), Wright III (18.1), Saunders (18.0)
2013-14 VMI 3 Covington (20.1), Peterson (19.0), Glasgow (18.9)
2013-14 Delaware 3 Saddler (19.7), Usher (19.4), Threatt (18.0)
1997-98 TCU 3 Nailon (24.9), Jones (21.3), Johnson (18.7)

In wins over Arizona State and Utah, they became the 12th trio since 2006-07 to each score at least 20 points in consecutive games. 

After falling to No. 3 UConn by four points at TD Garden in Boston, BYU reeled off 13 straight wins with seven of those victories coming away from the friendly confines of the Marriott. That is the tied for the fourth-longest streak in a single season in program history. 

BYU averaged 88.5 points per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the field, 36.9 percent from 3-point range and 74.2 percent from the free throw line during the win streak that included a 28-point victory over No. 23 Wisconsin at the Delta Center. 

The Cougars won a Multi Team Event (MTE) for a second time in the past three seasons after defeating Dayton in the final of the Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando, Fla. After defeating Miami 72-62 on Thanksgiving afternoon, BYU overcame a double-digit deficit to defeat the Flyers in the final led by 29 points from Richie Saunders as he was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. 

Following a 91-60 win over Cal Baptist at Delta Center, BYU headed to The Big Apple for the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. In The World's Most Famous Arena, BYU fell behind 21 at halftime before outscoring the Tigers 45-21 over the final 20 minutes sealing the victory with buzzer beater from Robert Wright III. 

In the comeback, Dybantsa scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half going 7-of-11 from the field, 0-of-1 from three and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He also had seven rebounds and five assists. 

The Cougars won their final four games of the non-conference play highlighted by Dybantsa's 33-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in a 109-81 victory over Eastern Washington on Dec. 22. 

Richie Saunders continued to haunt Arizona State as the senior had 31 points going 10-of-13 from the field, 6-of-8 from behind the arc and 5-of-5 from the free throw line as BYU eclipsed the century mark in a Big 12 game for a first time. The senior finished his career averaging 24.0 points per game, shooting 60.3 percent from the field, 54.5 percent from three and 72.7 percent from the free throw line against the Sun Devils in league play. 

BYU picked up its first win over Utah at the Huntsman Center since 2021 with a 89-84 victory on Jan. 10. In their first of two wins over the Utes, Saunders, Wright III and Dybantsa combined to score 67 points with Keba Keita chipping in 11 points and seven rebounds. 

Saunders finished his career with 1,544 points during his four-year career at BYU, good enough for the 17th most in program history. The Riverton native shot 50.2 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from 3-point range and 81.7 percent from the free throw line in his 128 games as a Cougar. 

In 2025-26, Saunders earned Second Team All-Big honors after averaging 18.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from behind the arc and 81.7 percent from the charity stripe. 

He scored in double figures 21 times including 11 20-point performances highlighted by a career-high 33-point, 10-rebound double-double at Kansas on Jan. 31. He tied a career-high with six 3-pointers as the Cougars nearly overcame a 21-point second half deficit at Allen Fieldhouse. 

During his junior campaign, Saunders was named the Big 12's Most Improved Player after averaging 16.5 points per game, nearly seven more than he as a sophomore in BYU's first season in the league. He became the fifth player in program history to shoot 80/40/50 in a season going 202-of-390 from the field, 79-of-183 from here and 96-of-115 from the free throw line. 

The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 22.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in BYU's first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2011. He followed up his 25-point performance in a win over Wisconsin in the Round of 32 with 25 points against Alabama in the Sweet 16 going 10-of-14 from field, 1-of-2 from three and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. He finished his career a perfect 13-of-13 from the charity strip in NCAA Tournament games. 

The Cougars went 3-7 against ranked opponents in 2025-26 including a pair of Top 10 wins after Saunders went down with his season-ending injury.

Their 28-point victory over No. 23 Wisconsin on Nov. 21, 2025 at Delta Center is the third-largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent in program history. It was also the 12th time in program history that the Cougars defeated a ranked team by 20 or more points.

Dybantsa was an assist away from his second career triple-double in BYU’s 79-69 victory over Iowa State on Feb. 21 at the Marriott Center. Kennard Davis Jr. (17) and Mihailo Boskovic (13) both reached double figures in the Cougars third straight win over the Cyclones.

Wright III scored a game-high 27 points in a 82-76 victory over No. Texas Tech on Senior Day as the sophomore went 9-of-17 from the field, and 9-of-9 from the free throw line. Davis Jr. went 4-of-10 from 3-point range as BYU picked up its first win over the Red Raiders since they joined the Big 12.

Through two seasons, Young is 8-12 all-time against ranked opponents which are tied for the third-most ranked wins by a head coach in program history.

GameNotes
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