AJ Dybantsa dominates on both ends of the floor, No. 23 BYU upsets No. 6 Iowa State 79–69

No. 23 BYU beat No. 6 Iowa State 79–69 on Saturday night in Provo, cooling off a Cyclone team that arrived riding a top-five win days earlier against No. 2 Houston.

Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State’s leading scorer, came in as one of the best three-point shooters in the country, averaging 18 points per game and hitting over 51% from beyond the arc on seven attempts per game for the season.

AJ Dybantsa took on a large share of the defensive responsibility on Momcilovic, and to put it simply, he dominated the matchup all night long.

Momcilovic was limited to just five points on three shots in the first half.

BYU’s overall defensive struggles had been well known. Through 13 conference games, the Cougars had allowed 82.5 points per game, near the bottom of the Big 12. But the defense showed up in the opening half.

The Cougars held Iowa State to 39% shooting and just 30 points before halftime. No Cyclone reached double figures until the 10-minute mark of the second half.

Offensively, BYU got a much-needed lift from Mihailo Boskovic, who made his second straight start with Richie Saunders out for the season. Boskovic scored seven points in the first half and added three rebounds.

Khadim Mboup again provided his usual spark off the bench. He only scored three points in the opening 20 minutes, but pulled down nine rebounds and was involved in nearly every loose-ball situation.

Along with his defensive work, Dybantsa was efficient on the offensive end, scoring 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting in the first half and serving as the Cougars’ offensive engine.

BYU also went to work on the offensive glass. Coming in, the Cougars were averaging roughly 10 offensive rebounds per game.

They had nine in the first half alone.

Plain and simple, BYU outworked Iowa State in the first half and led 39–30 at the break.

The Cougars carried that same edge into the second half, holding Iowa State to 3-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Cyclones entered the game shooting better than 39% from three, top-five in the country, but were held to just 8-of-24.

Dybantsa turned in arguably his most complete performance of the season. He continued his defensive intensity in the second half, holding Momcilovic to 1-of-5 overall and scoreless after halftime, while Dybantsa continued to drive BYU’s offense.

Coach Young commented postgame on Dybantsa’s intensity on both ends of the floor. He said, “It was unbelievable. AJ can do whatever he wants to do on a basketball court. Whatever he puts his mind to, he can do.”

Speaking specifically about the job he did on the Cyclones’ leading scorer, he said, “The guy’s an absolute stud, and I think he’s showing people night in and night out how reliable he is.”

Dybantsa also spoke about his mindset coming in and the challenge that Momcilovic provided.

He said, “I just decided to take the challenge and tried to eliminate his three-point attempts, not just makes.”

Dybantsa finished with 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting, added 10 rebounds and nine assists, one shy of a triple-double.

With the performance, Dybantsa became the sixth player in BYU program history to record at least 20 games of 20 or more points in a single season.

The win snapped BYU’s five-game losing streak against AP-Top 25 opponents. The Cougars’ last win against a ranked team came in November against then No. 23 Wisconsin.

Coach Young spoke postgame about how big this win was for his team.

He said, “It’s an emotional game. I try to stay even keel the best I can, but I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a long couple of weeks.”

He added, “I’m trying to keep the boys in the boat and keep everybody focused on the task at hand.”

BYU (20-7, 8-6) now looks forward to UCF (19-7, 8-6) on Tuesday night in Provo.