KANSAS CITY, Mo. — BYU shot its way through the first test of the postseason Tuesday night.
AJ Dybantsa set a Big 12 Tournament record for most points by a freshman with 40 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the 10th-seeded Cougars pulled past Kansas State 105-91 in the opening round of the Big 12 men's basketball tournament at the T-Mobile Center.
Robert Wright III added 14 points and six assists for BYU (22-10), which shot better than 50% from the field in either half and outrebounded the Wildcats 40-29 including 27-12 in the second half.
Kennard Davis Jr. added 15 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Khadim Mboup pulled down 14 rebounds to go with 8 points for the Cougars. BYU's Aleksej Kostic scored 11 points on 3-of-7 3-point shooting.
PJ Haggerty totaled 27 points and five rebounds to lead Kansas State (12-10), and Nate Johnson scored 19 for the Wildcats.
A STEAL AND A SLAM TO END THE HALF
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) March 10, 2026
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Dybantsa capped a 15-3 run with back-to-back buckets to help BYU overcome a slow start to take a 25-18 advantage with 11:17 left in the half.
Wright stretched the lead to double digits, 36-26, with the Cougars' fourth triple of the game three minutes later before the Wildcats came back to led by as much as six.
Dybantsa had 21 points at the half, including a transition dunk from Wright at the buzzer to lift the Cougars to a 50-49 halftime lead.
Wright added 14 points and three assists at the half for BYU, which shot 62.1% from the field before the break — and allowed the Wildcats to go off for 56.8% including 7-of-10 from 3-point range.
That included 18 points and two assists from Haggerty, the former Memphis star who earned All-Big 12 honorable mention honors
But Dybantsa didn't stop after halftime, and Kennard Davis Jr. scored 15 points including a 3-pointer during a 16-2 run that stretched the Cougars' lead to 92-73 with 5:32 remaining to pull away for good.
This story will be updated.
