Despite BYU’s early NCAA exit, high expectations are still better than none at all
There were still highlights and lessons learned from a Cougars season impacted greatly by injuries.
BYU guard Robert Wright III (1) talks with his teammates as they huddle 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 Disappointed — sure.
Discouraged — yes. Disillusioned — a little. Disenfranchised — not at all.
The roller-coaster ride of these 2025-26 Cougars had a seat for everybody, whether it was in the sold-out Marriott Center, a hostile road venue, or on the couch at home watching on television. From the greatly anticipated start to the abrupt and premature end, it was quite a ride. Beating Villanova as a top-10 team on opening night in Las Vegas on TNT; dropping a two-point shootout to No.
2 UConn in Boston on Fox; taking down Miami on Thanksgiving on ESPN; stunning Clemson at the buzzer at Madison Square Garden on ESPN; fighting for footing in the elite Big 12 on CBS, Fox, ESPN, NBC and other outlets before fighting to the end against Texas in the NCAA Tournament on TBS — win or lose, these Cougars took Cougar Nation to places it has never been before. The wild ride started with the signing and arrival of the planet’s top recruit , AJ Dybantsa. The moment he announced on ESPN that he was choosing BYU over Kansas, North Carolina and Alabama launched the Cougars into an unprecedented atmosphere of national intrigue.
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