No. 23 BYU Earns Signature Win With Upset Over No. 6 Iowa State
Feb 21, 2026, 10:59 PM | Updated: Feb 23, 2026, 11:23 am
PROVO, UT - FEBRUARY 21: Killyan Toure #27 of the Iowa State Cyclones knocks the ball away from AJ Dybantsa #3 of the Brigham Young Cougars during the first half of their game at the Marriott Center on February 21, 2026 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball was searching for that signature victory this season.
On Saturday night, in the second game without star Richie Saunders, who was on the bench supporting his teammates at the Marriott Center, BYU earned that resume-boosting win.
No. 23 BYU defeated No. 6 Iowa State 79-69. It’s the first Quad 1A victory for BYU on its resume this season.
BYU improves to 2-6 this season against AP Top 25 opponents.
It’s the first win for BYU over an AP Top-10 team at home since the Cougars defeated No. 2 Gonzaga in 2020.
AJ Dybantsa finished with 29 points on 10-of-17 from the field.
Tamin Lipsey led the way for Iowa State with 19 points.
First Half
Under-16: BYU 9, Iowa State 9
BYU jumped out to a 7-2 lead with their first seven points coming from players not named AJ Dybantsa and Rob Wright III.
Then Iowa State put together a 7-0 run to take the lead before Dybantsa got on the board with a coast-to-coast slam dunk.
Under-12: BYU 15, Iowa State 12
BYU committed three turnovers, but Iowa State didn’t capitalize on those Cougar mistakes.
The Cyclones only scored two points off of those turnovers.
AJ Dybantsa had an impressive sidestep move on Iowa State’s Blake Buchanan for a finish.
Dybantsa was actively looking for his teammates with two assists in the opening minutes.
Under-8: Iowa State 25, BYU 24
BYU built a six-point lead after AJ Dybantsa found Kennard Davis open for three in the corner. But then Iowa State pulled back in front behind a five-point burst from Momcilovic, then another five points from Joshua Jefferson.
Under-4: BYU 30, Iowa State 25
BYU forced two turnovers on Iowa State that led to four points for the Cougars. One was a fastbreak setup for guard Rob Wright III, where he scored his first bucket with 5:23 remaining.
Then Dybantsa stripped the ball from Nate Heise’s hands, and it went off Heise’s leg. BYU then capitalized with a Mihailo Boskovic finish right at Joshua Jefferson.
Before the media timeout, BYU’s Kennard Davis and Iowa State’s Dominykas Pleta collided. Davis was being looked at by trainer Rob Ramos in the tunnel following the collision.
Halftime: BYU 39, Iowa State 30
BYU built up a 13-0 run that gave them a 12-point lead. The run ended after ISU’s Buchanan gathered an offensive rebound, then had a layup.
Iowa State closed the half with a three-pointer by Jamarion Batemon to give BYU a nine-point halftime lead.
It’s the biggest lead for BYU since they had a 15-point halftime lead against Arizona State on January 7.
AJ Dybantsa led all scorers with 14 points, but it was a balanced effort on the offensive end from BYU.
Mihailo Boskovic scored seven points, while Khadim Mboup added another three points.
Second Half
Under-16: BYU 47, Iowa State 38
BYU built up a 13-point lead after a pair of threes from AJ Dybantsa and Kennard Davis. Keba Keita was also doing an excellent job of sacrificing his body on the floor to extend possessions.
Iowa State kept hanging around after a turnover from Rob Wright, and then missed from the top of the arc.
Under-12: BYU 51, Iowa State 41
Keba Keita looks to have returned to the intensity BYU has grown accustomed to him before he suffered a hand injury.
Keita grabbed two offensive rebounds and sacrificed his body on the floor.
BYU continued to have a lot of success with AJ Dybantsa on Milan Momcilovic. Dybantsa picked him off, leading to a wide-open reverse slam dunk from the star freshman.
Under-8: BYU 55, Iowa State 51
Iowa State began to find its rhythm offensively with Nate Heise and Tamin Lipsey knocking down threes.
They got it down to four before BYU’s Mihailo Boskovic converted an and-one to put it back at seven.
Then Jamarion Batemon knocked down a three to cut it to four again.
Under-4: BYU 65, Iowa State 55
Khadim Mboup had a possession with excellent defense on Joshua Jefferson. The defensive stop led to BYU getting out on a fast break with AJ Dybantsa on the handle, finding a streaking Kennard Davis for a slam dunk.
Iowa State’s TJ Otzelberger called a timeout, and the big screen at the Marriott Center displayed a decibel meter to gauge the noise level during the timeout. It reached 109 decibels.
Final:
Iowa State didn’t go away easily. After trailing 13, they put together a 6-0 run, and looked for more after officials called a loose ball out of bounds off BYU.
Kevin Young challenged the ruling, and it was ruled that it was off Joshua Jefferson, not Rob Wright III.
BYU capitalized on that possession, finding Mihailo Boskovic in the corner for a three, his second of the game, putting BYU back up by double-figures.
Next up for BYU is a late-night matchup against UCF on Tuesday night at the Marriott Center. Tip-off for that game is set for 9 p.m. (MST) on ESPN2 and KSL NewsRadio.
BYU is asking fans to wear black as the team will be wearing black uniforms for a “blackout game.”
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 BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
