Analysis: The most-anticipated season in BYU history ends in discouraging fashion for cold-shooting Cougars

BYU guard Robert Wright III (1) looks to the scoreboard as he huddles with his teammates between the action against Texas during a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore. , on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News PORTLAND, Ore.

— The most-anticipated season in BYU basketball history came to a crushing halt Thursday night at Moda Center, as No. 11 seed Texas used its superior size and shot-making ability to send the No. 6 seed Cougars out of the NCAA Tournament and into an offseason of wondering what might have been.

With supposedly better-rested BYU leading for only 22 seconds, Texas dominated the glass and doubled BYU’s 3-point production to win the first-round game 79-71 and advance to its third game this week after having downed North Carolina State 68-66 less than 48 hours ago. “It just sucks. It hurts,” BYU freshman star AJ Dybantsa said after scoring a game-high 35 points on 11 of 25 shooting in what quite likely was the last game of his single-season college career.

Texas forward Dailyn Swain (3) controls the ball while guarded by BYU guard Kennard Davis Jr. (30) during a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore. , on Thursday, March 19, 2026.