BYU beat more than the odds Saturday night when it took down No. 6 Iowa State 79-69 in front of a frenzied crowd at the Marriott Center.
During the 10-point victory, in their finest hour of the season, the No. 23 Cougars (20-7, 8-6) also defeated despair and restored hope for a big finish to the regular season – and beyond.
Without Richie Saunders, who cheered from the bench after tearing his ACL on Feb. 14 against Colorado, and lacking a signature Big 12 win (0-6 vs. top 15 teams), BYU put together its best overall performance of the season.
“It just says a lot about the guys in the locker room,” said Cougars head coach Kevin Young, who in his first two seasons has defeated Iowa State teams that were ranked No. 6, No. 10 and No. 12.
“We have faced a lot of adversity, and honestly, no one has blinked. They have stayed together and they have kept working.”
BYU pulled off the upset by outscoring the Cyclones and their top five defense 40-22 in the paint, outrebounding Iowa State 39-28 and holding sharpshooter Milan Momcliovic to just five points.
AJ Dybantsa followed up his 35 points on Wednesday at Arizona with 29 points against Iowa State. The nation’s leading scorer also haunted the Cyclones with 10 rebounds and nine assists.
“We’ve been neck and neck with the top five teams, losing by single digits to UConn, Arizona, Houston, all these top five, top 10 teams, so we know we were right there and it was only a matter of time when we collectively brought it together and got a W,” Dybantsa said.
The long-awaited lift from someone other than Dybantsa and Rob Wright III also showed up in the form of 17 points from Kennard Davis Jr., a career high 13 points off the bench by Mihailo Boskovic and 10 rebounds by Khadim Mboup.
Even more impressive was the Cougars’ triumph came on a quiet night by Wright, who was held to six points despite playing all 40 minutes.
What does it all mean?
It means BYU can beat a top 10 team when its effort is maximized and production is better distributed. If Saturday was truly a breakthrough, the fact that it took 27 games to get here is a moot point. What matters is the Cougars are here and they have a better idea of where they can go.
“Definitely,” answered Dybantsa on whether Saturday was a signature win.
“What are (the Cyclones) ranked?” he asked.
“No. 6,” replied a reporter.
“Yeah, just beating a top six team, it’s definitely a statement win — obviously one of the better teams in our league. I think this can be a blueprint for us moving forward.”
The blueprint no longer includes Saunders on the floor, but that doesn’t mean the senior has lost his “Big Three” status on the bench.
“He’s been in all the meetings. He was instructing in the huddle, telling us to play hard and giving us motivation,” Dybantsa said.
Added Boskovic: “(Richie’s) the heart and soul of this team. Having him there to still lead, even though he’s not on the court, is big time for us. Having him here helped a lot.”
The Cougars will test their resurgence Tuesday night against UCF (9 p.m., ESPN2). Both teams are 8-6 in Big 12 play and tied for sixth place in the conference standings with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.