BYU lets halftime lead slip, falls to No. 5 Houston in Big 12 Quarterfinal
Mar 12, 2026, 7:26 PM | Updated: Mar 13, 2026, 11:47 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A win over Houston was there for the taking for BYU basketball, but once again, they came out on the losing end.
BYU fell to No. 5 Houston 73-66 in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Big 12 Tournament.
Final score: Houston 73, BYU 66
The Cougars in blue led Houston 41-37 at halftime. However, in the second half, BYU scored only 25 points in a sloppy game, with both teams combining for 34 turnovers. BYU committed 18 of those turnovers, triple the amount they gave away to Houston in the previous matchup in Provo.
BYU now falls to 0-5 against Houston since joining the Big 12 in 2023.
Big 12 freshman of the year AJ Dybantsa led the way with 26 points. Dybantsa was held to 10 points in the second half.
Houston had a balanced attack, as usual, with four players in double-figures, led by freshman star Kingston Flemings, scoring 17.
BYU falls to 23-11 this season and will now wait to find out where they will play in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday.
First Half
Under-16: Houston 8, BYU 4
BYU opened the game shooting 1-of-7 from the field. Houston was looking to set a physical tone early with double teams on AJ Dybantsa, but BYU was matching that physicality.
Under-12: Houston 13, BYU 12
Keba Keita was making sure to match the intensity of Houston with a hard battle for a rebound against Jojo Tugler. Setting the tone that BYU won’t be pushed around.
Under-8: Houston 23, BYU 17
AJ Dybantsa had one of the best dunks you’ll see. He mowed through Emmanuel Sharp, then rose up on Jojo Tugler.
Houston star guard Kingston Flemings was called for his second foul at the 9:41 mark of the first half.
Under-4: Houston 29, BYU 28
BYU put together a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to one at 25-24, then First Team All-Big 12 guard Emmanuel Sharp got to the line to end the run with two free throws.
Houston has been assignment-sound on the scout in taking away BYU’s alley-oop attempts.
Loud chants of “B-Y-U, B-Y-U” were taking place in the T-Mobile Center before the media timeout.
Halftime: BYU 41, Houston 37
BYU’s supporting cast of Kennard Davis Jr., Aleksej Kostic, and Dominique Diomande scored the final 11 points of the first half for the Cougars in blue.
Davis Jr. earned an and-one, then Kostic buried two 3-pointers, and Diomande put together a second consecutive night of a steal with a windmill dunk.
It’s the first time in the Big 12 era that BYU has a halftime lead against Houston. Last year in the Big 12 Tournament Semifinals against Houston, BYU trailed by 19 points.
Second Half
Under-16: Houston 47, BYU 46
BYU opened the second half with five turnovers. In the entire game against Houston in Provo, BYU only had six turnovers. Aleksej Kostic had two turnovers where he didn’t know where the sideline was and stepped out of bounds.
Under-12: Houston 53, BYU 51
Back-and-forth they go in what feels like a Sweet 16 game. Kevin Young challenged an out-of-bounds call that was ruled off by BYU. The call was overturned, and BYU maintained possession.
Under-8: BYU 59, Houston 55
BYU hit an offensive lull with no field goals for 3:20 of game action. The Cougars in blue were one of eight from the field.
Under-4: Houston 61, BYU 58
Defensive slugfest as BYU held Houston to a three-minute scoring drought. But BYU wasn’t able to capitalize as they were on a drought of their own.
A key moment came after an AJ Dybantsa miss: Keba Keita grabbed the offensive rebound, found Kennard Davis for an open three, and he missed it.
Final: Houston 73, BYU 66
Coming out of the under-four timeout, Kennard Davis Jr. had a three that went in-and-out. Then on the opposite end, Houston’s McCarty buried a three, only the fourth of the night for the Coogs.
Aleksej Kostic entered the game at the 2:10 mark after Kevin Young called a timeout. He immediately knocked down a three-pointer to get BYU within three points. Then Kingston Flemings countered with a three of his own.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYUathletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
