BYU is back in the win column.
The Cougars bounced back from last weekend’s letdown at Texas Tech with a convincing 91-78 victory over rival Utah Saturday at the Marriott Center.
BYU is now 17-2 on the season and 5-1 in Big 12 play.
3 takeaways
AJ Dybantsa picked a great time to post his best performance. Dybantsa had his first true dud as a Cougar last week at Texas Tech, scoring a season-low 13 points on 6 of 17 shooting.
But you can’t keep a talent like Dybantsa down for long.
The freshman phenom went scorched earth against the Runnin’ Utes, dropping a career-high 43 points — shooting 15 of 24 from the field — with six rebounds, three assists and a block.
Dybantsa scored 19 points in the first half and 23 in the second to break BYU’s freshman single game scoring record previously held by Danny Ainge and become the first Cougar with a 40-piece since 2015.
Most impressively, Dybantsa hit four 3-pointers for the first time in his career, with three triples coming in the second half.
All of the greatest BYU athletes have enjoyed memorable outings against Utah, and Dybantsa just violently added himself to such a group.
In a season of so many unforgettable performances already for the young superstar, Saturday should go down as the most iconic for Cougar fans.
Utah was automatic from 3-point range. For as electric as Dybantsa was on Saturday, the Runnin’ Utes put on quite a shooting show of their own.
Utah shot 61.9% (13 of 21) from long distance, helping prevent BYU from running away with a blowout win.
For comparison, the Runnin’ Utes shot just 36.8% on 2-pointers.
Terrence Brown and Keanu Dawes combined to go 8 for 9 from 3-point range, with Don McHenry, Kendyl Sanders and Seydou Traore combining to add another five makes.
The Cougars can’t let bottom-half Big 12 teams such as Utah go so nuclear from behind the arc. BYU’s perimeter defense should be closely monitored going forward — especially with No. 1 Arizona coming to town on Monday.
BYU’s offense was elite. With Dybantsa leading the charge, the Cougars did a ton of offensive damage against Utah, crossing the 90-point threshold for the eighth time this season.
Kevin Young’s crew shot 53.3% from the field, 42.1% from 3-point range and made 19 of 23 free throws. The Cougars dished out 17 assists against eight turnovers and averaged 1.42 points per possession.
Aside from Dybantsa’s 43 points, Rob Wright III scored 21, Richie Saunders added 12 and Keba Keita, Abdullah Ahmed and Mihailo Boskovic combined for another 15.
