The BYU basketball team just keeps winning.
The 23rd ranked Cougars went on the road and took down No. 10 Iowa State in a thrilling 88-85 double overtime victory Tuesday night.
With the win, BYU moved into fourth place in the Big 12 standings, while Iowa State dropped to fifth. Now that the Cougars have the tiebreaker over the Cyclones, BYU will get a double bye in the Big 12 basketball tournament.
In addition, the win not only improved BYU’s seeding for the NCAA Tournament, but it was historic as well as the Cougars picked up their first-ever basketball win in Ames, Iowa. The win also extended the Cougars Big 12 winning streak to seven games.
Equally impressive is that not only did BYU win, but the Cougars gave the Cyclones just their second loss at home over the past two seasons. Coming into Tuesday night’s game, Iowa State was 33-1.
BYU’s Richie Saunders led the way with a game-high 23 points, despite being double teamed every time he touched the ball. The junior was a perfect 13-of-13 from the foul line, including important free throws down the stretch with the game on the line.
Dallin Hall chipped in with 22 points off the bench which was just the second time in his career that the junior point guard has scored 20+ points as a Cougar. Egor Demin added 12 points and Mawot Mag scored 10.
While he didn’t reach double digits in points, Keba Keita made his presence known throughout the game as the junior forward had a game and season-high 15 rebounds. Impressively, nine of those came on the offensive glass, tying a program record for most offensive rebounds in a single game.
In addition to his seven points and three blocks, Keita made the play of the game in the first overtime. After a turnover on an inbound pass, Keita rushed down the court and blocked a layup to keep the Cougar lead.
Iowa State had five players score in double figures. Joshua Jefferson had 19 points, Milan Momcilovic added 18, Curtis Jones scored 16 off the bench, Tamin Lipsey added 15 and Keshon Gilbert had 13.
The Cougars return to the Marriott Center for their final game of the regular season against Utah on Saturday at 8 p.m. MST. Iowa State will close the regular season out with a road game at Kansas State.
Here’s all the reactions from the game:
No team has beaten a ranked opponent with 29 TO's in the last 20 years….let alone on the road
BYU wins at #10 Iowa State 88-85 with 29 TO's
*credit to Saige Smith, ESPN elite researcher
— Sean Farnham (@SeanFarnham) March 5, 2025
BYU is the first team to have 29+ turnovers against an AP Top 25 opponent and still win the game since Iowa had 31 in a win at No. 10 Kansas on December 8, 1998.
Teams had gone a combined 0-117 against ranked opponents when having 29+ turnovers since that Iowa victory. pic.twitter.com/cwn32gtZLF
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) March 5, 2025
No. 23 BYU beats No. 10 Iowa State in 2OT!
Cougars first-ever win at Iowa State.
Cougars also move into 4th place in the Big 12. Huge implications for the conference tournament. #BYUBasketball #GoCougs #Big12MBB #CBB
— Justin Giles (@JustinGiles_) March 5, 2025
Not sure people understand that BYU is legit Final Four good. The knock on this program used to be it couldn't win on the road, but Cougs have done that repeatedly including two of the toughest gyms in the country, Arizona and Iowa St. Take note, Bracket Filler Outers!
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 5, 2025
BYU-Iowa State is legitimately unhinged. What a game.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) March 5, 2025
BYU has now won road games at both Arizona and Iowa State in the past few weeks.
Cougars will be a trendy deep pick on Selection Sunday.
I’ll say it again: This program was denied the chance to make a deep NCAA Tournament run in 2020.
It could make up for it in 2025.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 5, 2025
FINAL: No. 23 BYU 88, No. 10 Iowa State 85. In double overtime. In Ames.
BYU led by as many as 21 in the second half, Iowa State came back to tie it late – but Dallin Hall & Egor Demin consistently came up big in overtime. BYU continues to play as well as anyone in the country.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 5, 2025
Iowa state stinks!
— Kyle Van Noy (@KVN_03) March 5, 2025
Regardless of how this games ends BYU is playing big time basketball right now. They look legit defensively and pushing in transition at a high level
— Kyle Collinsworth (@collinsworth55) March 5, 2025
What a game in Ames!
— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) March 5, 2025
Caught a little heat when I said @BYUMBB Richie Saunders was first team All @Big12Conference. Pretty easy decision for me.
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) March 5, 2025
BYU just upset no. 10 iowa state in double overtime ON. THE. ROAD.
was this the game of the year in the big 12? pic.twitter.com/yrkXXaxaPj
— locked on big 12, america’s conference. (@LOBig12) March 5, 2025
Yeah, I love this BYU team. Gonna be a realllllll problem in the NCAA Tournament. One of the hottest teams in the country, playing with much faster pace than it was early this year. Superb ball-movement, shooters everywhere and a better defense than it gets credit for.
— Sean Paul (@SeanPaulCBB) March 5, 2025
29 turnovers on the road against a top 10 team and you win?! It was glorious at times and flat out ugly at times but I'll take that W https://t.co/HWZwe3taKy
— Kung Fu Kevy (@DJ_Kevy_Kev) March 5, 2025
What a GRITTY @BYUMBB win at Iowa St. means:
– BYU clinches double-bye in @Big12Conference Tourney (4 seed in K.C. at worst).
– Cougs push program best Big 12 win streak to 7 games.
– BYU has jumped to the 7-seed line (maybe 6!) in Bracketology.
– Cougs deserve a Top 15 ranking.— Spencer Linton (@Spencer_Linton) March 5, 2025
THE GREATEST SEVEN GAME STRETCH IN BYU BASKETBALL HISTORY!!!!
5-0 against Quad 1 teams
3-0 against ranked teams
Beat #19 Arizona in Tucson.
Beat #10 Iowa St. in Ames.
The third biggest beat down of #22 Kansas in 125 years.— CougarStats (@CougarStats) March 5, 2025
it's a known fact cougars like to play with their prey before they finish them off
— jayhawk lasso (@jaylassoku) March 5, 2025
byu is gonna win the natty and there's nothing you can do about it pic.twitter.com/gWwbzC8L7B
— jayhawk lasso (@jaylassoku) March 2, 2025
This was one of the most unexpected finishes I can remember—and an all-time call from @gregwrubell makes it even better. Wow! pic.twitter.com/BV2e6rvjw9
— Nate Slack (@nateslack5) March 5, 2025
Dallin Hall’s mission prepared him for this moment pic.twitter.com/hduBIhNkNC
— ⛳️ (@urclassless) March 5, 2025
I’m laying awake still trying to figure out how Dallin Hqll dunked that ball. Not as the scribes, but as one that had authority.
— Bill Wright (@bilywonka) March 5, 2025
BYU ministering to Iowa State tonight.
We showed up at your house.
We brought turnovers.
We left a message.
You prayed at the end. pic.twitter.com/hblGGyyRRK
— Sporty (@SportyMcSports) March 5, 2025
I mean… 👀… HOW?
Time to try and name better defensive plays in @BYUMBB history.
— Spencer Linton (@Spencer_Linton) March 5, 2025
Imagine being this wide open and not scoring. pic.twitter.com/T69HbzovxI
— 🍍Andy Splatz🍍 (@AndySplatz) March 5, 2025
Imagine being down 21, coming back, and then losing.
Usually that’s a BYU move.
— 🍍Andy Splatz🍍 (@AndySplatz) March 5, 2025
Resilience wins battles! These guys just keep finding ways. What an incredible college basketball atmosphere! #GoCougs 🤙🏼🤙🏼🔵⚪️ https://t.co/ThdDLIP7d3
— Chris Burgess (@chrisburgess34) March 5, 2025
Wow! Unbelievably great game. Toughness and grit by both teams. @BYUMBB @IowaStateMBB @BYUfootball
— Jay Hill (@CoachJayHill) March 5, 2025
Love to see it!!! 🤙🏾’s ⬆️ 🌪️’s⬇️ nice work @BYUMBB #GoCougs
— Harvey Unga (@unga45) March 5, 2025
Unfortunately my body doesn’t know the difference between getting chased by a bear and watching a BYU basketball game#BYUHoops #GoCougs #BYU
— Ally Braithwaite (@allyb_7) March 5, 2025
Is DOGE busy? I need them to audit these refs!
— School of ROC (@jamerzD1) March 5, 2025
I turned the game on with BYU up 21. Now BYU and Iowa State are headed to OT.
Only reason Cyclones are in it is because of the refs. Here’s a prime example. Horrendous officiating. Home cooking at its finest. #BYUBasketball #IowaStateBasketball #Big12MBB #CBB pic.twitter.com/mSAszrwkTd
— Justin Giles (@JustinGiles_) March 5, 2025
If that’s a foul on Mag let’s just stop playing basketball
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) March 5, 2025
That wasn’t anywhere even remotely close to a foul. That’s really shitty officiating
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) March 5, 2025
This was called a kickball. pic.twitter.com/UbNNhzVUNJ
— Church Ball: A BYU Hoops Pod (@churchballpod) March 5, 2025
BYU just survived a historically bad whistle in Ames! Hell of a win.
— Tim LaComb (@tlacomb) March 5, 2025
It is wild how different the officiating styles can be across leagues!
The Big 12 definitely has a reputation for letting things get physical—defenders can really get away with using their hands and bodying up more than you’d see in the NBA or EuroLeague. Big 12 feels like a…
— Travis Hansen (@travishansen24) March 5, 2025
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To get that job done on the road vs a Top 10 team after being up double digits, going into DOUBLE OT, dealing with bad whistles, and still staying poised enough to make big play after big play says A LOT about the team! Playing like this at the right time of year!🙌🏽 @BYUMBB
— Lamont Morgan Jr🏁 (@2LMOrgan) March 5, 2025
…we sure BYU isn’t the best team in the Big 12 right now?
— John Kurtz (@jlkurtz) March 5, 2025
It was the 10 minute mark of the first half when BYU was down 5-14 that I just knew we'd go up 21 then win in double overtime 😉 pic.twitter.com/nVDbG5rIsu
— Jeremiah Hale (@jeremiah__hale) March 5, 2025
Saw something neat tonight. Fans gave ISU and BYU a standing O as teams went to locker room. Ton of BYU fans (national program). Both teams left it all out there. Hated to see ISU lose but that was a highly-entertaining March contest.
— Chris Williams (@ChrisMWilliams) March 5, 2025
Really can’t do anything but tip the cap to BYU after that one, Clones fought hard and did some awesome things down the stretch. It’s incredibly tough to win in that building especially when the Clones have momentum like that and BYU fought through all of it. Respect.
— Cyclone Dave (@CycloneDave69) March 5, 2025
BYU is really really legit
— Cyclone Larry (@CycloneLarry69) March 5, 2025
*29 turnovers
— Cyclone Hoops Report (@hoopsreport_ia) March 5, 2025
Let’s go Cougs! #BYU pic.twitter.com/ywre80J5vt
— Aaron M. Kinser ⚖️ (@AaronK_MN) March 5, 2025
That BYU basketball win is one of the best ones I’ve ever seen.
To give up a 21 point lead in the second half on the road, but not quit, this team actually might have what it takes to win some games in the tournament— Jimmy Rex (@JimmyRex) March 5, 2025
This last year has been the most fun I’ve had watching BYU. The only bittersweet feeling is my Dad is on a mission and unable to experience it with us.
I shared this sentiment with him. He replied: “If I knew it would go this well for the Cougs, I would’ve served earlier!”
— zblox (@zblox) March 5, 2025
— no context byu (@ContextFreeBYU) March 5, 2025
I have officially seen it all.
BYU turns it over 29 times and still beats Iowa State in double OT. IN HILTON COLISEUM.
We sleep in freakin’ May. Welcome to March!
— 🏀 801 Bracketology 🏀 (@801bracketology) March 5, 2025
ESPN highlight of the game pic.twitter.com/8xMTmMsr5M
— Jake Lee (@JakeLeei) March 5, 2025
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BYU Defeats No. 19 Arizona In A Thriller — Here’s All The Reactions
