BYU Basketball Collapses vs UCF
BYU men's basketball collapsed against UCF, losing 97-84 despite trailing by as many as 36 points before a late rally. The team allowed UCF to shoot 58% from three while AJ Dybantsa scored 29 points with 0 assists in an isolation-heavy offense, raising questions about their March Madness prospects with three regular season games remaining.
- This was UCF's first-ever victory over BYU and their first ranked road win in the Big 12. The Knights never trailed during the game and led by as many as 36 points in the second half. - The 97 points allowed by BYU were the most they had given up since a 99-92 loss to Oklahoma State on February 4th and the sixth time in nine games they have allowed more than 85 points. - Head coach Kevin Young publicly criticized his team's effort, stating, "We were sleep-walking out there," and that UCF "punked us." - The loss was a significant blow to BYU's NCAA Tournament seeding projections. Before the game, ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected the Cougars as a No. 6 seed, but a Quad 2 home loss of this magnitude could drop them to the eight-seed range. - The defeat came just days after one of BYU's biggest wins of the season, a 79-69 victory over No. 6 Iowa State that had boosted the team's AP ranking from No. 23 to No. 19. - Team ball movement has been a critical factor in the Cougars' outcomes. In their eight Big 12 wins, BYU averaged nearly 16 assists, a number that drops to below 11 in their conference losses. - UCF's hot shooting was an anomaly compared to their season averages. They entered the game hitting just over 37% from three-point range for the season but shot 58% from deep against the Cougars. - The team is still adjusting to the absence of guard Richie Saunders, who was lost for the season with a torn ACL, putting a greater offensive load on freshman AJ Dybantsa.
