How can rejuvenated No. 19 BYU avoid a post-upset letdown against UCF?
· Yahoo Sports
Kevin Young called BYU’s upset win over Iowa State this past Saturday “the most important thing that’s happened this season.”
But now comes a task just as crucial: figuring out how to parlay that one victory into even more.
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The Cougars, equipped with a new boost in belief after toppling the Cyclones, will host UCF Tuesday night for the chance to gain further momentum as they head into the regular season’s final stretch.
“The bottom line is we executed for 40 minutes (against Iowa State), and we played extremely hard,” Young told reporters Monday during his weekly press briefing.
“I think our guys understand how important that win was, and I think that smart group of guys, they understand just how important it is (during this) time of year, you know, to turn things up. You’ve got a UCF team coming in that’s tied with us in the standings. I think everybody understands there’s no time to wait around to build on what we did.”
The late 9 p.m. MST tip against the Knights will be BYU’s final Quad 2 matchup of the regular season, with three Quad 1 contests coming next before Big 12 tournament play.
But UCF is far from a pushover, actually ranking higher in NET (No. 46) than both West Virginia (No. 63) and Cincinnati (No. 51), the Cougars’ next two opponents.
As Young previously mentioned, BYU is currently tied with the Knights at 8-6 in the conference standings, with Johnny Dawkins’ squad holding wins over No. 14 Kansas and No. 16 Texas Tech.
UCF has four players averaging double figures in scoring, with Themus Fulks — one of the nation’s most underrated point guards — posting 14.0 points and 6.7 assists per night while shooting 43% from 3-point range.
“What I see on tape is a lot of really good one-on-one basketball players. I think they’re big and strong. They do a good job of going at matchups that they like, and they get down to their spots, whether that’s midrange or to the basket,” Young said of UCF. “We’ll have to do a good job with our one-on-one defense and be prideful in that, but also be able to make sure we have good help and guard the ball with five guys.
“But again, this is a great opportunity for them to build up their résumé. I’m sure it’s gonna be a very intense basketball game, and our guys are ready for that challenge.”
UCF is coming off of a narrow 73-71 victory at Utah this past weekend, having already won at Colorado earlier this year, making them 2-0 in the mountain time zone.
But Young doesn’t view the Knights’ recent win as a reason to take them any more seriously, instead placing his focus on how inspired and upset-hungry they’re likely to be on Tuesday.
“You definitely respect their ability to go on the road and get a win, especially across the country like that. But, I mean, I say this with all due respect to UCF, I don’t need to see anything for any team to grab my attention. Our league is a bear, everybody understands it. Any team can beat anybody on a given night,” Young said.
“They’ve proven they can beat any team in our league. They’re well coached. They have guys who are really talented. Like I just said, but more than anything, you just look at the standings and where they’re at, you know, and what they’re saying in their locker room. This is a huge game for them as it is for us. It’s a massive game for both teams. Our guys will be ready to go for those reasons.”
For BYU, 44 combined points against Iowa State from everyone other than AJ Dybantsa and Rob Wright III is a major reason for optimism moving forward, as the Cougars continue to reinvent themselves following Richie Saunders’ torn ACL.
Additionally, in recent outings BYU hasn’t fallen into its past consistent trap of starting slow, opening both at Arizona and against the Cyclones with a more noticeable and effective urgency.
“I think the guys understand exactly what the plan is on offense, exactly what the plan is on defense. I think that’s allowed the guys to come out and play a little bit harder and freer to start games, and continue it throughout the game,” Young said. “I think that’s been a big difference between what we’ve done the last few games and what we were doing earlier on in the year.”
Another key ingredient to BYU’s upset of Iowa State was rebounding, where the Cougars grabbed 39 boards — 12 coming on the offensive end — to the Cyclones’ 28.
Conversely, UCF has lost the rebound battle in each of its past five games, making BYU’s performance on the glass Tuesday all the more critical.
“(Rebounding) was and continues to be one of my major concerns without Richie, as he was one of our best rebounders on both ends of the floor,” Young said. “So (I’m) challenging guys like Mihailo (Boskovic) to be more consistent on the glass, challenging AJ ... Obviously Khadim (Mboup) is a rebounding machine, he’s been able to fill that gap for us a little bit. Guys have to continue to do more. You know, Keba (Keita)’s come back to life, it’s the Keba that we all know and love that we’ve seen in the last couple games.
“I think we’re getting contributions from different guys on the glass, and our guys understand that when (rebounding) is a strength of ours, we’re a very, very hard team to beat because on the defensive end, it really, really allows us to get out in transition, where I think we’re very good.”
As mentioned earlier, BYU has the opportunity to pass UCF in the conference standings with a win on Tuesday.
But even more valuable is the chance to keep building positive momentum for the Cougars to ride through the rest of the regular season and beyond — it’s the beauty of “stacking days,” as Young loves to say.
“Bottom line, regardless of where you are, clearly you want to be in the best situation you can be in terms of seeding for the Big 12 or NCAA (tournaments),” Young said. “But I think the most important thing is just playing at a high level this time of year and being able to just execute for 40 minutes.”
BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) slaps hands with guard Robert Wright III (1) between plays against Iowa State during an NCAA basketball game held at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News