BYU finally got its signature win.
Playing in front of another sellout crowd, the Cougars rebounded from Wednesday’s 75-68 loss on the road to No. 4 Arizona and got revenge in another Top 10 matchup as the Cougars rolled to a 79-69 victory over No. 6 Iowa State Saturday night inside the Marriott Center.
AJ Dybantsa — the projected No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft — had the game of his life and set the tone early. After blocking a shot attempt From Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic — arguably the best shooter in college basketball on the first play of the game — the freshman sensation then came down the court and threw an alley-oop to Keba Keita.
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Yes, it was that kind of night for BYU and Dybantsa.
The Cougars led from start to finish and kept their foot on the pedal and never let up.
For a team always starts slow and gets down big early, the fast start was something the Cougars needed against a talented Cyclone team that had just beaten No. 2 Houston earlier in the week.
Welcome to life in the Big 12.
Dybantsa led the way with a game-high 29 points and 10 rebounds, and just missed out on a triple-double as he was just one assist (9) short. The freshman joined some elite company as he’s one of just six players in program history with 20 or more 20-point games in a single season.
Kennard Davis and Mihailo Boskovi had their best games of the season as the duo combined for 30 points, nine rebounds and five 3-pointers. Freshman Khadim Mboup also had a game-high 10 rebounds, despite only playing 17 minutes.
It was BYU’s second win over a ranked opponent after taking down then-No. 23 Wisconsin in the fifth game of the season. The Cougars came into Saturday’s contest with just a 1-6 overall record against ranked opponents, and hadn’t beat a ranked Big 12 team all season until Saturday night.
Holy War: No. 9 BYU Beats Utah In A Thriller — Here’s The Reactions
The win was also BYU’s first AP Top-10 win at the Marriott Center since defeating No. 2 Gonzaga in 2020.
Tamin Lipsey led the Cyclones (23-4, 10-4) with 19 points. Jamarion Batemon added 14, and Joshua Jefferson had 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Iowa State was tabbed as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s reveal of the Top 16 teams in the bracket earlier Saturday. The Cyclones were the fifth Top 10 team on the day to suffer a loss.
Here’s all the reactions from BYU’s win over Iowa State on Saturday…
BYU finally gets a signature win at home! https://t.co/utm4NBzQke
— Justin Giles (@JustinGiles_) February 22, 2026
Saturday Night Provo W❕#Big12MBB | @BYUMBB pic.twitter.com/hLA7bPev9o
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) February 22, 2026
NO. 23 BYU KNOCKS OFF NO. 6 IOWA STATE 😯
Cougars snag a massive conference victory over the Cyclones 😤 pic.twitter.com/KrZhbiYpNQ
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 22, 2026
AJ Dybantsa last six games:
Minutes — 227
Points — 172
Assists — 26 https://t.co/LQwpNudMRR— RoyalCoug (@RoyalCoug) February 21, 2026
On Feb. 22, BYU lands its first win over a top-25 KenPom team (and its second win vs. a ranked opponent) with a morale-boosting 79-67 win over No. 6 Iowa State. Dybantsa was SPECIAL.
Cyclones opened the day as the last 1-seed; might that now be back in UConn's possession?
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) February 22, 2026
Ofc it sucks tremendously that Richie Saunders is done for the season.. but the one silver lining is the opportunity it's created for AJ Dybantsa to show how well he can elevate the guys around him, be a leader, and a winnerpic.twitter.com/efE1EKw79K
— Christian Odjakjian (@OdjHoops) February 22, 2026
In what world does BYU beat Iowa State by double digits without Richie Saunders… and Rob Wright only scoring 6 points. Insanity!
AJ put the team on his back. Would've easily finished with a triple double if the team didn't shoot 20% from 3. #BYUBASKETBALL #BYUHoops
— Justin Giles (@JustinGiles_) February 22, 2026
Rob Wright had 6 points
Our entire bench had 5 points
And BYU just beat #6 Iowa State
AJ Dybantsa is your #1 pick
— Sporty (@SportyMcSports) February 22, 2026
AJ Dybansta would have had a triple double tonight if a BYU player could have hit just one more of the 20+ open looks he gifted his teammates.
What a special player.
— Brigham's Burner (@FiredUpCoug) February 22, 2026
BYU shot just 28% from three and still won by 10 over a projected 1-seed.
BYU is still good y’all. If Bosko and Moo can hit more open threes BYU could be great. AJ is always gonna attract a crowd and will hit open guys at the arc.
— Geoff Johnston (@geoffjBYU) February 22, 2026
BYU freshman forward AJ Dybantsa tonight in win over Iowa State #NBADraft
— 29 PTS
— 10 REB
— 9 AST
— 2 TOV
— 1 STL
— 1 BLK
— 10/17 FG
— 2/4 3P
— 7/9 FT pic.twitter.com/PJOFRKVsjF— No Ceilings (@NoCeilingsNBA) February 22, 2026
AJ loves basketball.
He loves his team.
There is no quit in him.
#3 is #1.— Jonny Linehan (@jlinehan9) February 22, 2026
I’m not sure this was the reason it happened,
But in a week in which Darryn Peterson’s playing time has been under scrutiny, AJ Dybantsa casually playing 40 minutes was a STATEMENT
— The Real Calvy J (@CJRealHoops2) February 22, 2026
I think AJ Dybantsa solidified himself as the number 1 pick tonight! Epic performance!
— Kyle Collinsworth (@collinsworth55) February 22, 2026
That was, by far, the best game of the year for AJ Dybantsa to me. That's a great defense, and he just totally solved them throughout the game. Wildly impressive.
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) February 22, 2026
AJ Dybansta tonight: playing the entire damn game so far, making the right play/playing unselfish, hitting crazy shots, and hyping his teammates crazy.
— Nate Jones (@JonesOnTheNBA) February 22, 2026
Dybantsa is the ultimate energy giver
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) February 22, 2026
Dybantsa is a golden god
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) February 22, 2026
AJ Dybantsa was less than a God, but more than a man tonight in BYU's win over Iowa State.
29 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists.
First-Team All-American. https://t.co/MlbLSSTjl3
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 22, 2026
IT WAS ALL AJ ALL NIGHT‼️
BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa puts up 29 PTS and played all 40 minutes against No. 6 Iowa State 🤯 pic.twitter.com/8WXsl881wO
— ESPN (@espn) February 22, 2026
AJ Dybantsa's last 6 games
The potential No. 1 pick just went off against No. 6 Iowa State
29 PTS | 10 REB | 9 AST
35 PTS | 13-28 FG | 7 REB
20 PTS | 13 REB | 8 AST
36 PTS | 14-20 FG | 7 AST | 5 REB
28 PTS | 9-14 FG | 5 REB | 4 AST
36 PTS | 13-20 FG | 7 REB | 4 AST pic.twitter.com/9u7u9vVyVz— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) February 22, 2026
DUB CITY pic.twitter.com/m4zh7u8soQ
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) February 22, 2026
The best player in the country by a mile. The fact that it was ever a “debate” is ridiculous agenda pushing from ESPN.
He’s a generational talent. He plays every minute. AND he just shut down the best shooter in the Big12 on defense.
There is no debate at #1. It’s always been… pic.twitter.com/LuAoPv2GE4
— Cam (@cthuey1) February 22, 2026
The reports of BYU's demise were greatly exaggerated.
— Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) February 22, 2026
Holy War: No. 9 BYU Beats Utah In A Thriller — Here’s The Reactions
BYU's supporting cast stepped up.
Kennard Davis Jr.: 17 points
Mihailo Boskovic: 13 points (Career-High)
Keba Keita: 9 points (Perfect from the field)
Khadim Mboup: 10 rebounds— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) February 22, 2026
Khadim Mboup needs to play every minute of every game the rest of the way. Dude is a winner
— John S (@cosmosadderall) February 22, 2026
Can’t overstate how MASSIVE this victory was for BYU. First W vs a top 10 team since Gonzaga in the WCC days.
Best chemistry on both ends that we’ve seen this team play with all season. Could be a catalyst to propel BYU to the next level. 💪💙 https://t.co/ngPHjL0tnf
— Terrell Williams (@BYUGuy87) February 22, 2026
Imagine being a basketball team in the state of Utah and not winning a basketball game today.
— Some.BYU.Dude (@ByuSome) February 22, 2026
Season saving win.@BYUMBB pic.twitter.com/CRKNlR0ryF
— Hank Smith (@hankrsmith) February 22, 2026
The committee having Iowa State as the 4th one seed says a LOT about how massive that win on Monday night was in their H2H.
Big 12 truly insane.
— Ryan Hammer🔨 (@ryanhammer09) February 21, 2026
"That was the loudest I've ever heard it in here"
Kevin Young on the energy in the Marriott Center after their win over #6 Iowa State pic.twitter.com/O5LvMzWzSS
— BYUtv Sports Nation (@BYUSportsNation) February 22, 2026
Keba wearing a headband with #15 for Richie tonight :,) pic.twitter.com/267k63frqj
— The ROC (@byuROC) February 22, 2026
WHAT A DAY OF MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 👏
Five AP Top-10 teams lost, tying the most on a single day in the last four seasons 😮 pic.twitter.com/e3zEcBPyt3
— ESPN (@espn) February 22, 2026
Iowa State is 26-7 in its last 33 games.
Three of the seven losses are against BYU.
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) February 22, 2026
Someone get this guy season tickets. pic.twitter.com/FUSnkRawAf
— Jake Edmonds (@JakeKUTV) February 22, 2026
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