- BYU defeated West Virginia 68-48 in the Big 12 Tournament's second round.
- AJ Dybantsa scored 27 points while Kennard Davis Jr. added 20 for BYU.
- BYU limited West Virginia to 10 offensive rebounds and forced 21 turnovers.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — What a difference two weeks can make.
AJ Dybantsa continued his torrid scoring pace with 27 points, seven rebounds and three assists; and Kennard Davis Jr. added a season-high 20 points as BYU blew past West Virginia 68-48 Wednesday in the second round of the Big 12 men's basketball tournament at the T-Mobile Center.
Robert Wright III added 11 points and six assists for the Cougars (23-10), who pulled down 35 rebounds and limited the Mountaineers to 10 offensive boards the second meeting between the two teams in 11 days.
Honor Huff had 17 points to lead West Virginia (18-14), who handed BYU a road loss 79-71 on Feb. 28.
"I thought our guys came out with the 40-minute effort that had a will to win that was kind of unmatched," BYU coach Kevin Young said. "And I thought you saw it in a lot of different areas as far as the rebounding and how active our defense was. I thought our defense was tremendous tonight, arguably the best it's been all year."
Less than two weeks after West Virginia converted 18 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points in the Mountaineers' first win over BYU since 1947, the Cougars flipped the script. Starting on the glass, BYU limited the No. 7 seeds with identical 9-9 conference records to just five offensive boards in the first half (and 10 overall).
"Even against other teams, we've seen the analytics," said BYU reserve Dominique Diomande, who pulled down two boards. "When we win the rebounding battle in a game, we're 20-2. That was really a big thing tonight."
After a slow start, BYU took control with six turnovers in just over six minutes, and Diomande capped a 12-1 run with a transition dunk to take a 17-11 lead with 8:01 left in the half.
six points on two lobs and a windmill 😏
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) March 12, 2026
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/qAX0GPJEYP
Dybantsa had 17 points, four rebounds and two assists at the break for a BYU team that held West Virginia to just 8-of-22 shooting (36.4%) and 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
"I think he's the best player in college basketball," Young said of his projected NBA draft lottery pick. "And I think he proves it every single night. This guy brings it on both ends of the floor."
The Cougars' shots didn't always fall, such as when they went just 2-of-10 during a stretch midway through the second half to allow the Mountaineers to pull within 39-35 on a dunk by Lorient with 13:39 to go.
But BYU's supporting cast stepped in during those lulls, even in non-scoring ways. Keba Keita and Khadim Mboup combined for 14 rebounds. Diomande with three steals to help BYU cash in 21 turnovers for 15 points.
Oh, and the redshirt freshman from Paris by way of Washington who led all players (unofficially) in windmill dunks. Is that a thing? BYU has a lot of advanced analytics — and the Cougars use them frequently in practices at the Marriott Center Annex.
But Diomande, the 6-foot-7 wing whose 6 points in back-to-back games at the Big 12 Tournament are his most since he scored 9 in a 98-53 win over Holy Cross in the Nov. 8 home opener, probably leads the team in windmill dunks, right?
"Yeah, but I think maybe the country," he said with a laugh, before adding: "For sure."
He then gave credit to the pass from Dybantsa, and the rest of the playmakers on a BYU team with the talent of a 13-game win streak and the occasional frustration of a three-game skid before Saturday's senior-day win over then-No. 10 Texas Tech.
"He knows it. AJ, Rob, Mihailo; we've got a lot of great passers," Diomande said, "and they just have to try for me to go and catch it."
The Cougars also got offense when needed against the No. 58-rated team in the NET with the No. 18 adjusted defense in KenPom.
Beyond Dybantsa, who scored five of his points from the free-throw line, Davis scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half that included a 3-pointer as part of a 14-2 run that turned a 43-40 edge into a 57-42 advantage with 3:53 remaining.
It's the 11th double-figure scoring night of Davis' career, and the first time he's reached double digits in three consecutive games since he transferred from Southern Illinois before the season.
"Obviously, coach put me in a good spot," Davis said, attributing his offensive renewal to a defensive effort that included a pair of first-half steals. "My teammates trusting me, that's what I would say is it's led with defense."
The Cougars advance to the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals Thursday, where they'll face second-seeded Houston (5 p.m. MDT, ESPN2).
