BYU will make its 33rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament when the sixth-seeded Cougars play Texas on Thursday, March 19, at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. The game is scheduled to begin at 4:25 p.m. Pacific Time and will be broadcast on TBS.
The matchup marks BYU’s third consecutive trip to the tournament, which is their longest streak since making six straight appearances from 2007 to 2012. The Cougars have a record of 17-35 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and are 5-4 as a six-seed. This year also highlights a strong showing for the Big 12 Conference, with eight teams selected for the tournament—a conference record that matches last year’s total.
This season, BYU has played ten games at neutral sites, including three NBA arenas: TD Garden in Boston, Madison Square Garden in New York City, and Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The team is undefeated at the Moda Center after defeating No. 12 Oregon there during the Phil Knight Invitational in November 2021.
Freshman AJ Dybantsa has scored 859 points over 34 games this season and is close to surpassing Devin Durrant for third place on BYU’s single-season scoring list. Dybantsa joins Jimmer Fredette and Durrant as one of only three players in program history to score more than 800 points in a season. Alongside Robert Wright III, who has started every game this year, they are just shy of becoming only the second duo in school history to combine for over 1,500 points in a single season.
Defensively, BYU ranks fourth in blocks per game within the Big 12 and stands at number forty-one nationally with an average of 4.4 blocks per contest. Senior Keba Keita leads this effort with fifty-five blocks so far this season.
As BYU prepares for its fourth straight appearance as a six-seed—having advanced twice before to the Sweet Sixteen—the team continues its strong performance on offensive rebounds and looks to extend its success against Texas.
