March 11, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; BYU Cougars forward Dominique Diomande (24) reacts after the first half of the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Image AJ Dybantsa continued his impressive play early in the Big 12 Tournament in BYU’s 68-48 win over West Virginia on Wednesday night in Kansas City, Missouri.
BYU (23-10), the tournament’s No. 10 seed, advanced to the quarterfinals and will face No. 2 seed Houston (No. 5 in the nation) Thursday night.
Dybantsa, one of the top NBA draft prospects who set a freshman tournament record with 40 points in the Cougars’ opening win over Kansas State on Tuesday, went 11-of-24 from the field with seven rebounds and three assists.
Kennard Davis Jr. had a strong second half for the second straight night, scoring 17 of his 20 points in the second half, and Robert Wright III added 11 points and six assists for the Cougars.
The Mountaineers (18-14) were led by Honor Huff’s 17 points. Brenen Lorient added 11 points and seven rebounds, Jasper Floyd added nine points and Chance Moore added seven points and seven rebounds.
BYU went on a 12-1 run midway through the first half to take a 17-11 lead into the 8-and-under TV timeout. The stretch ended with two dunks from Dominique Diomande, who finished with six points and two rebounds. The Cougars went on to take a 31-23 lead into the locker room with Dybantsa scoring the final points of the half on a three-point play.
West Virginia narrowed the gap to three points after taking a 43-40 lead on Floyd’s jumper with 9 minutes and 36 seconds left in the second half, but BYU responded with a 14-2 run. The Cougars extended the lead to 57-42 on Davis’ layup with 4:15 to play, sparking the final 20-point victory margin.
As a team, West Virginia turned it over a season-high 22 times and its 48 points matched its season-low in a 77-48 loss to Houston on Jan. 13.
–Field level media
