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Injured BYU senior Richie Saunders (15) talks to his teammates before the start of a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Texas Tech in the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
Courtesy BYU Photo
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BYU’s Rob Wright III (1) reacts during a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Texas Tech at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
Courtesy BYU Photo
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BYU fans storm the court after an 82-76 upset of No. 10 Texas Tech at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald
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BYU’s Rob Wright III (1) drives to the basket against Texas Tech’s Jaylen Petty in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald
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BYU’s Keba Keita reacts during a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Texas Tech at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
Courtesy BYU Photo
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BYU’s AJ Dybantsa rises up over a pair of Texas Tech defenders in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald
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BYU’s AJ Dybantsa drives to the basket against Texas Tech in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald
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BYU’s Rob Wright III (1) goes up for a shot against Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald
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BYU’s AJ Dybantsa goes up for a shot against Texas Tech in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald
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BYU’s Aleksej Kostic makes a move against Texas Tech in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald
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BYU’s senior Richie Saunders poses for photos with his parents, Rich and Lisa, and his wife Sierra (right) on Senior Night at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
Courtesy BYU Photo
Injured BYU senior Richie Saunders (15) talks to his teammates before the start of a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Texas Tech in the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
BYU’s Rob Wright III (1) reacts during a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Texas Tech at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
BYU fans storm the court after an 82-76 upset of No. 10 Texas Tech at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
BYU’s Rob Wright III (1) drives to the basket against Texas Tech’s Jaylen Petty in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
BYU’s Keba Keita reacts during a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Texas Tech at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
BYU’s AJ Dybantsa rises up over a pair of Texas Tech defenders in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
BYU’s AJ Dybantsa drives to the basket against Texas Tech in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
BYU’s Rob Wright III (1) goes up for a shot against Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
BYU’s AJ Dybantsa goes up for a shot against Texas Tech in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
BYU’s Aleksej Kostic makes a move against Texas Tech in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
BYU’s senior Richie Saunders poses for photos with his parents, Rich and Lisa, and his wife Sierra (right) on Senior Night at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
The first half of BYU’s Big 12 finale against Texas Tech played out like too many games fans have already seen this season: The Cougars falling behind by double-digits to a team making so many shots it’s shocking when the ball doesn’t go in.
The second half, though, was something else entirely.
BYU battled defensively, rebounded like mad and made big plays down the stretch to hold off the No. 10 Red Raiders 82-76 on Saturday in front of another sellout crowd at the Marriott Center on Senior Night.
The ROC (Roar of Cougars) student section stormed the court at the end, more out of relief than celebration after a desperately needed win.
“It was huge,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said. “I’m just proud of our guys because it has been an adversity filled season. Richie (Saunders) has said several times since I’ve been with him just how much adversity brings teams together and brings groups closer. We’ve faced a lot of it, so to be able to get on the other side of that, given where we’re currently coming off that road trip and that UCF fiasco, to have the grit and the fortitude to beat a really good team, I do think it can be something that we can bottle up and we head into the post-season.”
It was BYU’s first win against Texas Tech after four straight losses since joining the Big 12 in 2023 and second Top 10 win in the past two weeks (the other was against No. 6 Iowa State on Feb. 21).
The Cougars trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half, the Red Raiders going an insane 12 of 19 (63%) from the 3-point line. BYU caught Texas Tech in the second half and forged a nine-point lead, only to see the visitors tie things up at 75 with 1:46 to play. Kennard Davis Jr. — 0-for-5 from the 3-point line in the game’s first ten minutes but 4 of 5 from deep the rest of the way — got a favorable bounce on a wide-open three, the ball hitting the far side of the rim and dropping in for a 78-75 lead with 1:30 left.
Clinging to an 78-76 advantage, BYU got two pressure free throws from Robert Wright III with 20.4 seconds to play and survived a pair of Texas Tech misses on the other end. Khadim Mboup pulled down a big defensive rebound and Wright made two more from the line to finish things off.
“I think it was just giving maximum effort,” said Wright, who scored 23 of his game-high 27 points in the second half. “Coach been big on that this week in practice after those two losses on the road, so just making sure we were giving our all and not taking any plays off.”
AJ Dybantsa — despite making just 8 of 25 from the field — added 21 points and Davis finished with 16. Keba Keita scored nine points and pulled down 11 rebounds and Mboup added four points and six boards, but both players were far more valuable on the defensive end. The Cougars opted to switch everything after some early struggles, which often put Keita and Mboup on the perimeter against Texas Tech’s shot-making guards.
“It made all the difference in the world,” Young said. “(Christian) Anderson is one of the most skilled guards in all of college basketball. He’s a tough cover. So they were getting us a little too strung out on the pick and roll when we weren’t switching, so we basically had to go to it. Keba answered the call. And what Khadim did, the combination of those two guys with their size to be able to move their feet and contest, it changed the game.”
Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland agreed.
“Keita on the ball causes problems,” he said. “Early in the game they were getting stuck on the ball screen, couldn’t get over it, and late, they just said, ‘screw it, we’re switching it.’ I give BYU credit, because they shot it pretty poorly to start the game and couldn’t make a three, but it didn’t discourage the way they competed. I thought the second half and that stretch where we maybe missed some, we got a little discouraged, and that’s where BYU was better than we were tonight.”
Anderson and Donovan Atwell scored 23 points each for the Red Raiders (22-9 overall, 12-6 Big 12), who cooled off considerably in the second half from the 3-point line (4 of 16, 25%).
With the injured Saunders coaching up his teammates during every time out, BYU totaled 20 offensive rebounds that led to a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points while outscoring Texas Tech in the paint 48-14.
Six of the Red Raiders’ first seven field goals were 3-pointers, four of them from Anderson, as they jumped out to a 22-14 lead at the 10:32 mark. A triple from Atwell and a run out for Jaylen Petty pushed the Texas Tech advantage to 13, 31-18, with 7:40 to go in the first half.
BYU made five of its last six shots of the half but the Red Raiders converted their final five 3-pointers to hold on for a 46-38 lead at halftime.
Wright got going in the second half and scored 11 points in the first seven minutes. Eventually, BYU caught and passed Texas Tech on a score from Mboup inside followed by a 3-point play by Dybantsa, 58-57, with 11:21 to play.
The two teams went back and forth but BYU exploded on a 15-2 run spearheaded by eight points from Wright, the Cougars grabbing a 75-66 lead with 4:17 remaining. The Red Raiders scored nine straight to tie the game and set up the final two minutes, where the Cougars made all the right plays.
“It was just a determination, you know?” Young said. “We have guys that can get downhill and we’ve got guys who can offensive rebound so I thought we imposed our will on them.”
BYU honored seniors Saunders, Keta, Mihailo Boskovic and Jared McGregor before the game. Thousands of fans wore Saunders’ signature headbands and chanted his name when he was introduced.
BYU (21-10, 9-9) doesn’t have a lot of time to relish the victory. The Cougars are the No. 10 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and will play No. 15 seed Kansas State on Tuesday in Kansas City.
“These guys are young, they’ll be fine,” Young said. “Now me, on the other hand, I’m exhausted. I need to get home and get some sleep.”
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