PORTLAND, Ore. — BYU’s road to the NCAA Tournament has been anything but smooth.
The Cougars have dealt with an abundance of adversity. There have been injuries, inconsistency and other instances of drama. At one point, BYU lost nine of 13 games, dropping out of the national rankings after opening the season ranked at No. 8.
But for the Cougars, their past hardships have become something of a blessing ahead of the Big Dance, where they’ll face 11-seeded Texas Thursday evening at the Moda Center in Portland.
“I think we just persevered,” BYU star AJ Dybantsa told reporters Wednesday in Portland. “A lot of teams deal with injuries, a lot of teams deal with a lot of things. We had about four season-ending injuries. We still persevered and showed we’re resilient, we still made it this far.”
If there was a poll for the country’s most battle-tested teams, BYU would certainly be ranked there. The unexpected, extreme refiner’s fire has strengthened the Cougars, who are clicking together better than ever before this year after upsetting No. 10 Texas Tech in the regular season finale and picking up a pair of victories in the Big 12 tournament.
“We just didn’t give up on each other, we stayed together,” point guard Rob Wright III said. “I think it brought us a lot closer. We’re just rolling at the right time.”
BYU entered last week’s Big 12 tournament as the league’s 10 seed, which resulted in playing right away and not receiving a bye. This proved quite beneficial for the Cougars, who played three highly-encouraging contests to regenerate momentum and confidence for the current tournament run.
Against Kansas State, BYU scored a Big 12 tournament-record 105 points. The next day against West Virginia, the Cougars held the Mountaineers to a mere 48 points. Then against Houston, BYU went toe to toe with a true Final Four contender before stumbling late, having been gassed by playing three games in three days.
“It just gave us some extra motivation playing those extra two (Big 12 tournament) games,” Dybantsa said. “It kind of gave us, it’s not a live practice, but I guess some live bodies, (to improve) what we can do on the offensive side, which was putting up the most points by any team in the Big 12 tournament.
“It showed that we can hang with bigger teams like Houston, even though we didn’t come up with the win, but we were neck-and-neck with them.”
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BYU forward AJ Dybantsa recalls his favorite bible verse after being posed the question by Cy Pittman, 8, right, and Hank Pittman, 6, both of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, after a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU guard Richie Saunders holds a ball as he watches his teammates warm up during a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) reacts after a teammate hit a deep shot during a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU head coach Kevin Young talks with his players as they and coaches huddle during a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU head coach Kevin Young talks with his players as they and coaches huddle during a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, right, calls out to guard Robert Wright III as he takes a shot during a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU assistant coach John Linehan reacts after hitting a deep shot during a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU players warm up during a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, right, reacts beside guard Jared McGregor (51) during a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU head coach Kevin Young watches his players warm up during a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU coaches prepare to start practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU players, coaches and staff pose for a group photo after a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU guard Robert Wright III signs basketballs for Cy Pittman, 8, right, and Hank Pittman, 6, both of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, after a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News 
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BYU players, coaches and staff pose for a group photo after a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Dybantsa is no stranger to Portland, having previously played twice in ‘Rip City’ for the Nike Hoop Summit.
The top NBA Draft prospect will make plenty of future visits to the Moda Center during his professional career, but his current focus remains ensuring he and his teammates play more than one game on the Trail Blazers’ home hardwood this week.
“I’m one and one here,” Dybantsa said, referring to a win and loss from the Nike Summit. “I’ll try to be 3-1 here by the weekend.”
As for Thursday’s battle, BYU holds a clear rest advantage over the Longhorns, who arrived in Portland at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday after defeating NC State at the buzzer Tuesday night in the First Four round all the way out in Dayton, Ohio.
The Cougars watched the dramatic Texas win at their team dinner, coming away impressed by the Longhorns’ offensive attack.
“They’re a really fast-paced team,” Wright said of Texas. “They have that big guy (7-foot center Matas Vokietaitis), he’s really dominant down low. They get guys involved.”
Added Dybantsa, “I was impressed. They play super fast. It’s an SEC team, their pace of the game might be a little faster tomorrow. But super impressed with the individual performances by their guys.”
While Texas has a quick turnaround and BYU hasn’t played in a week, Wright, who played two tournament games a year ago with Baylor, doesn’t believe either situation will factor into Thursday’s action, saying the will to win matters above everything else.
“I think in March every team is hungry and wants to win,” Wright said. “It ultimately comes down to who wants it more in these type of tournaments.”
BYU head coach Kevin Young talks with his players as they and coaches huddle during a practice the day before a first-round college basketball game against Texas in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News