February 7, 2026; Provo, Utah, USA; BYU Cougars forward AJ Dibancha (3) shoots the ball against Houston Cougars forward Khalifa Sacco (14) and guard Kingston Flemings (4) during the first half at the Marriott Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Baker-Imagn Images No. 5 Houston quickly made an impact in the Big 12 last season, winning the conference tournament in its second year in the league.
Now the second seed begins a repeat against 10th-seeded BYU in a battle with the Cougars in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri.
The winner will face the winner of the quarterfinals between third-seeded Kansas and sixth-seeded TCU in the second semifinal Friday night.
Houston (26-5) appears to have regained some vitality as it advances to the postseason. Houston, which had lost three straight against top-15 opponents, closed out the regular season by winning its final three games.
That included a closer-than-expected 82-75 win at Oklahoma State on Saturday. Houston, ranked 14th in the Big 12, led the Cowboys, who were up 8-2 with 1:50 left, 74-73.
BYU (23-10) lost four of five games before upsetting No. 10 Texas Tech 82-76 in Saturday’s regular-season finale, falling out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time this season in early March and missing out on a stretch of the regular season.
That seemed to carry over into this week, when BYU, after an opening loss to Kansas State, easily won its first two tournament games, defeating seventh-seeded West Virginia 68-48 on Wednesday night.
Chase McCarty had a breakthrough performance in Houston’s win over Oklahoma State, delivering three daggers in a row and scoring a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-9 shooting from long range.
McCarty had not scored more than 10 points in a previous Big 12 game and had a combined 21 points in his previous five games. He is averaging 3.9 points per game.
“Like most freshmen, he started out OK. He didn’t find his niche or his role,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “But the typical thing about our kids is that they hang in there. If they continue to show up every day with the right attitude and put in the right effort, they usually get better. Chase is probably the most improved player on either side.”
McCarty’s emergence is crucial for the Cougars to advance to the postseason. They rely on Kingston Flemings (16.5 points per game), Emanuel Sharp (15.8), and Milos Uzan (11.5) for 56.3% of their 77.6 points per game.
BYU lost Richie Saunders (18.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.7 steals per game) to a right ACL tear on Feb. 14. But after losing four of its first five games following the injury, BYU has won its last three.
Big 12 Freshman of the Year AJ Dybantsa played a big role in this. The projected top-three pick in the upcoming NBA draft will average 33.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals through two games in the Big 12 Tournament. He leads the nation in scoring with 25.2 points per game.
However, the team’s defense also stepped up against West Virginia. After Kansas State shot 50.8% from the floor and made 13 of 23 3-pointers (56.5%), BYU held the Mountaineers to 48 points (the fewest points an opponent has scored all season) on 38.1% shooting with 22 turnovers.
“We challenged our guys to be stronger, longer, harder, faster and do more,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “That’s true. That’s exactly what we saw tonight.”
Houston won the regular season matchup between the two teams with a 77-66 road win on February 7.
–Field level media
