LUBBOCK, Texas — BYU’s basketball team viewed Saturday night’s Big 12 showdown with No. 15 Texas Tech as an opportunity to grow and learn and, possibly, get a statement road win over the seasoned Red Raiders.
Well, at least the No. 11 Cougars succeeded on one front.
Texas Tech delivered a clinic on both ends of the floor in the game’s final nine minutes after falling behind by nine points and rolled to an 84-71 victory to snap BYU’s 13-game winning streak and 12-game conference regular-season winning streak.
“It is hard to have this, but if it is now (as opposed to) two months from now, this is how we learn,” said BYU senior Richie Saunders.
Indeed, the Red Raiders (14-4, 4-1) schooled the Cougars down the stretch, magnificently rising up after Saunders’ 3-pointer with 9:26 remaining gave BYU a 61-52 lead, quieted the boisterous crowd of 15,098, and completed a 16-2 run for the visitors.
The next nine minutes — after a well-placed Texas Tech timeout — were simply a nightmare for the Cougars (16-2, 4-1), who had won six-straight Big 12 road games and at one point Saturday had a 92.5% win probability.
The entire second half was forgettable for BYU’s best player, as potential top NBA draft pick AJ Dybantsa turned in his worst performance of the season.
Dybantsa had a solid first half with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting but simply could not get it going after the break. He finished with a career-low 13 points on 6-of-17 shooting, and was 0 for 3 from the 3-point line. He also had three turnovers.
Dybantsa went to the free-throw line just once, to complete a 3-point play early in the contest. A big part of Dybantsa’s game is getting to the free-throw line, but on Saturday night it just wasn’t happening for the 6-foot-9 freshman from Brockton, Massachusetts.
“They did a good job not fouling him in a physical game,” BYU coach Kevin Young said, diplomatically. “Some of those probably could have gone either way, but you have to give them credit for not fouling.”
Dybantsa’s previous season-low was 16 points in a 72-62 win over Miami. His streak of 10 consecutive 20-point games was also snapped.
As for giving up the nine-point lead, Young said it was a matter of Texas Tech making six straight shots — one was a banked-in 3-pointer by reigning Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin — and the Cougars foundering offensively after Saunders’ third 3-pointer.
“They got going,” Young said. “It is an electric offensive team in their building. They caught some rhythm. We opened it up and they responded in a major way, so we got to go back and really examine the film to see exactly what happened.”
A big part of what happened was Texas Tech’s two best players (Toppin and Christian Anderson) outplayed BYU’s two best players (Saunders and Dybantsa).
Toppin poured in 27 points to go with 12 rebounds, and Anderson added 22 points despite cooling off a bit in the middle of the game after a sizzling start.
LeJuan Watts, a 13-point scorer, added 20 points and eight rebounds for the home side.
Both teams made 27 field goals. The difference was Texas Tech made 11 3-pointers on 29 attempts, while the Cougars were 5 of 22 from beyond the arc. BYU made one of its first 12 3-point attempts (Mihailo Boskovic).
“We were scoring the ball really well, and then we got cold,” Young said, “so I have to do a better job of putting our guys in position to get quality shots in the midst of runs like that.”
A key turning point came when Watts hit a 3-pointer after two consecutive offensive rebounds with 8:30 remaining to cut BYU’s lead to 61-55.
After Dybantsa drove and missed a short jumper while being bumped, with no call, Jaylen Petty scored five straight points for the Red Raiders, including three free throws, after Kennard Davis fouled him on a 3-pointer some 25 feet away from the basket.
“You have to give them credit,” Young said. “Let me be very clear. They outplayed us. They outcoached us. We were 5 of 22 from 3.
“I thought we had a lot of wide-open looks that just didn’t go down. That’s basketball, and we have to be better in terms of being able to spread the floor for guys like AJ and Rob to do their thing.”
Actually, Wright was able to do his thing, until the last seven minutes. The Baylor transfer was the catalyst in a 16-2 Cougars run that gave BYU the nine-point lead.
Before Saunders’ 3, Wright made a 3-point play, hit a 3-pointer and then made a driving layup with around 10 minutes remaining.
Young said he took Wright out of the game after the point guard made two free throws to give BYU a 63-57 lead because he had to get his pinkie finger taped up.
Wright finished with a career-high 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and 9-of-9 shooting from the free-throw line. Tech outscored BYU 19-12 from the free-throw line.
After Wright’s free throws gave the Cougars a six-point lead with 7:11 remaining, the next seven fouls were called on the Cougars.
“Rob was unbelievable tonight,” Young said.
Texas Tech finished the game on a 30-6 run.
“They are one of the best offensive teams in the country because of how much shooting they have, along with those two dynamic players (Toppin and Anderson),” Young said.
The Cougars weathered an early storm after falling behind 8-2 out of the gates, as Anderson scored eight of Tech’s first 10 points.
BYU’s best shooters — Wright, Saunders, Dybantsa and Davis — were a combined 0 for 7 from beyond the arc in the first half.
Dybantsa got cooking early and the Cougars moved out to a 29-25 lead with 3:15 remaining in the half on Boskovic’s 3.
Khadim Mboup also gave the Cougars a lift off the bench, with five first-half rebounds and a bucket. The 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman was also instrumental in BYU’s second-half run, but he suffered an undisclosed injury after making a steal with around five minutes remaining, and did not return.
Young did not have any information on the injury immediately after the game.
So now the Cougars have to sit on their worst loss since last year’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 113-88 setback to Alabama for a week, as they will host rival Utah next Saturday at the Marriott Center.
The good news is that they will get another shot at the Red Raiders — in the regular-season finale March 7 in Provo.
In the meantime, as Saunders noted, there is still a lot of growing to do.
