With BYU’s 68-48 win over West Virginia, it earned a rematch with the Houston Cougars.
The last time these two teams faced off, Houston pulled ahead late and left the Marriott Center with a 77-66 win.
Houston was led by Kingston Flemings, who had 19 points. AJ Dybantsa had 28 points for BYU. With 9:54 remaining, the game was tied at 54, but over the final nine minutes BYU struggled to keep Houston off the offensive glass. The Cougars also left 12 points on the free-throw line, shooting 16-of-28 from the stripe.
Since that game, Houston has gone 5-3, including a three-game losing streak during a brutal stretch at Iowa State, against Arizona and at Kansas. The Cougars are now 26-5 on the season and 14-4 in Big 12 play, good for the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. Joe Lunardi also projects them as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
In the recently released 2026 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Awards, Houston had guards Kingston Flemings and Emmanuel Sharp named to the All-Big 12 first team, while guard Milos Uzan and forward Joseph “JoJo” Tugler earned honorable mention honors.
Flemings was named to the All-Freshman Team, and both Sharp and Tugler were named to the All-Defensive Team.
Having two players on the All-Big 12 Defensive Team is a testament to Houston’s defensive identity. The Cougars are long, athletic and very connected defensively.
They rank third in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 62.7 points per game. In the first meeting, Houston held everyone not named AJ Dybantsa or Rob Wright III to 6-of-30 shooting from the field.
For BYU to win, it will need to maintain the defensive intensity it showed against West Virginia and Texas Tech in its final home game of the regular season. Houston will always bring its defensive identity.
One of the big storylines in this game will be rest vs. rust. BYU will be playing its third game in three days, and fatigue may be a factor — especially for players like Dybantsa and Wright, who are playing nearly 40 minutes per game. Houston, on the other hand, will be playing its first game since Saturday and has not yet played on the new LED court.
If BYU were to come away with a win, it would advance to the semifinals against either Kansas or TCU. A rematch with Kansas would give Dybantsa an opportunity for redemption against fellow potential No. 1 draft pick Darryn Peterson.
The only problem is BYU is still winless against Houston since joining the Big 12. The Cougars are the only conference opponent BYU has not defeated.
Will BYU finally get the monkey off its back and potentially move up a seed line with a win against Houston? Or will its hopes be crushed once again by Kelvin Sampson’s elite defense?
Tune in to ESPN2 on Thursday at 5 p.m. MDT to find out.