6-seed BYU upset by 11-seed Texas in first round of NCAA Tournament

PORTLAND, Ore. – BYU basketball is one and done in the NCAA Tournament.

The six-seed Cougars lost to the 11-seed Texas Longhorns, 79-71.

First Half

Under-16: Texas 15, BYU 12

Both offenses were red-hot out of the gates. The difference was that Texas was 3-for-5 from three-point range, while BYU was 0-for-1.

Under-12: Texas 23, BYU 21 

BYU had the pace going up and down, and they were feasting in the paint.

The Cougars captured their first lead at 21-20, forcing Sean Miller into a timeout.

Then, out of the timeout, Jordan Pope knocked down a corner three, getting the Longhorns back in front without allowing BYU to have a possession with the lead.

Under-8: Texas 30, BYU 25

Texas put together an 8-0 run to create a little bit of cushion against BYU. Matas Vokietatis was being a force around the basket.

Texas star Dailyn Swain had a great pump fake move on the baseline, showcasing his playmaking ability.

Under-4: Texas 37, BYU 32

When BYU center Abdullah Ahmed checked into the game, Texas immediately went at him on three consecutive possessions, leading to five points.

Halftime: Texas 46, BYU 37

With eight seconds remaining in the first half, Kennard Davis Jr. knocked down BYU’s first made 3-pointer of the half.

Then Texas standout Tramon Mark quickly countered with a buzzer-beater three to close the half.

Texas center Matas Vokietaitis had a double-double in the first half with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

AJ Dybantsa was sensation with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, but there wasn’t much else to help him.

Second Half

Under-16: Texas 55, BYU 47

After a Vokietaitis slam dunk, Texas was up by 11 and looked ready to pull away.

That was until Keba Keita on the offensive end got away with a shove on Vokietaitis, giving him a runway for a putback slam dunk that resulted in an and-one.

BYU trimmed the deficit to four, forcing Sean Miller into a timeout.

Then the Longhorns responded with a Weaver drive to the hoop and a three-pointer by Mark.

Under-12: Texas 63, BYU 51

The Longhorns built up a lead of 12 points forcing Kevin Young into a timeout.

AJ Dybantsa scored his first bucket of the second half on a reverse slam dunk that added a little flair for the Moda Center crowd.

But then Dailyn Swain had a beautiful reverse layup a few possessions later.

At one point, Texas was up by a game-high 17 points.

Under-8: Texas 70, BYU 59

Texas went on a run, getting their lead up to 15 points.

Under-4: Texas 70, BYU 64

BYU held Texas to a 3:50 scoring drought, but they had a stretch of their own where they didn’t hit a field goal for 2:41 of game action.

AJ Dybantsa is doing everything in his power to carry BYU. He had an excellent box out on Vokietaitis that led to him getting downhill and attacking the basket. He drew a foul on that play and stood on the baseline taking a breather.

Dybantsa hit his first 12 free throw attempts.

Final: Texas 79, BYU 71

AJ Dybantsa had an opportunity for a three with 2:16 to go to bring BYU within one possession. He missed it and Keba Keita fouled out in the process trying to battle for the rebound.

On the other end, Matas Vokietiatis missed a front end, which led to Rob Wright III hitting a layup on BYU’s other end.

Jordan Pope then buried a corner three for Texas to put them up seven.

BYU called a timeout with 1:21 to go and out of the timeout, Aleksej Kostic buried a fadeaway three-pointer.

With 49.8 seconds remaining, AJ Dybantsa got hit in the face with an elbow by Swain. Dybantsa hit the floor, officials reviewed for a potential flagrant and said there was no flagrant.

BYU incorporated a hack-a-Matas strategy that kept them hanging around.

AJ Dybantsa had a late turnover where he looked to pass it off.

Texas added two more free throws and that was the ball game.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSL 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.

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