No. 6 seed BYU is set to take on No. 11 seed Texas in the NCAA Tournament after the Longhorns earned a tight play-in win against North Carolina State on Tuesday night at the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.
With the victory, Texas (19-14) advanced into the round of 64. The 23-11 Cougars will meet the Longhorns in Portland, Oregon, for the seventh time in series history between the two schools.
The last time BYU and Texas met was in Provo on Jan. 27, 2024, when the Cougars sent the Longhorns back to Austin with an 84-72 loss. Noah Waterman and Jaxson Robinson both scored 17 to propel the Cougars forward towards that win. Texas’ Chendall Weaver is the only Longhorn that visited the court in Provo in 2024 that is still on the Longhorns’ roster this season. The Cougars currently lead the series 4-2.
BYU is a No. 6 seed for the fourth consecutive NCAA tournament. In 2025, the Cougars defeated No. 11 seed VCU in the first round and went on to beat 3 seed Wisconsin and then lost to Alabama in the Sweet 16. In 2024, the Cougars were upset by No. 11 seed Duquesne and they lost to No. 11 seed UCLA in 2021.
BYU’s AJ Dybantsa is the country’s leading scorer at 25.3 points per game and plays an average of 34.6 minutes. He recorded his season-high against Utah at home with 43 points. Dybantsa and Robert Wright III combine for an average of 43.5 points per game, which is almost 52% of BYU’s marks on the board. The Cougars finished seventh in the Big 12 regular season rankings.
Dybantsa topped Texas Longhorn Kevin Durant’s record of points scored in the Big 12 tournament by scoring 93 to beat Durant’s 92 from back in 2007. Both Dybantsa and Durant were able to reach that mark within three games, with Durant’s run ending with 37 in a loss to No. 1 seed Kansas in the conference championship and Dybantsa’s run ending with 26 in the recent loss to Houston in the quarterfinals.
Texas’ Dailyn Swain averages 17.8 points per game for the Longhorns and leads the team in rebounds at 7.6 per game. This season, the Longhorns have collected solid wins against teams like Alabama, Vanderbilt and Georgia but ended the season by losing five of their last six games, including the 10-point loss to Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament.
BYU’s Kennard “Moo” Davis Jr. has stepped up to fill Richie Saunders’ shoes after Saunders suffered an injury in the first minute of the Colorado game back in mid-February. In the Cougars’ last three wins, Davis has poured on 51 total points while reaching 20 against West Virginia in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament. He has shot 39.1% from the field and 32.1% from three.
Texas shoots 48.6% from the field and 35.3% from beyond the arch as BYU shoots 47.7% from the field while shooting 34.9% from three-point range.
BYU hasn’t lived up to the hype of being ranked No. 8 in the preseason polls but continued with yet another 20-win season with notable wins over Texas Tech, Iowa State, Clemson and Miami. The Cougars ended their season winning three of their last seven, including wins against Kansas State and West Virginia in the Big 12 tournament and a loss to Houston in the quarterfinals to put their conference championship hopes to bed.
Thursday's game between BYU and Texas will be broadcast on TBS at 5:25 p.m. MDT.