Oklahoma State picked up a desperately needed marquee victory by upsetting No. 16 BYU 99-92 on Wednesday night, despite 36 points from Cougars star freshman AJ Dybantsa. The win is the first Quad 1 victory for the Cowboys (16-6, 4-5 Big 12), who travel to face No. 1 Arizona on Saturday.
The outcome prompted a court-storming at Gallagher-Iba Arena as the Cowboys closed out a win that could prove monumental come Selection Sunday.
Oklahoma State led by as much as 15 in the first half before Dybantsa keyed a furious rally to send the teams into halftime tied at 41. BYU kept the surge going in the second half, building a five-point lead in the opening minutes before the Cowboys finally regained their footing.
Anthony Roy led the charge for Oklahoma State with 30 points, as the senior guard built on a 26-point performance from Saturday’s win at Utah with another big showing. The Green Bay transfer keyed a 10-3 run late in the second half as Oklahoma State kept the Cougars at arm’s length down the stretch.
Dybantsa finished 13 of 20 from the floor for BYU (17-5, 5-4), but his fourth 30+ point game of the season couldn’t save the Cougars from their fourth loss in five games. BYU committed 16 turnovers, which marked its highest tally since Jan. 7. Oklahoma State capitalized with an 21-8 edge in points off turnovers.
Implications for Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State entered the day among the “First Four Out” in the CBS Sports Bracketology model. Initial projections suggest the Cowboys will move to a No. 11 seed in the next updated bracket after securing their best win to date. While it’s technically the Cowboys’ first Quad 1 win, it’s not their first over a projected NCAA Tournament team. Oklahoma State also owns victories against Texas A&M and UCF, both of whom are on track for at-large bids to the Big Dance. There is a strong likelihood that Oklahoma State will rise into the top 40 nationally in the important Wins Above Bubble (WAB) metric as a result of its victory over BYU.
Fallout for BYU
BYU, projected to remain a No. 4 seed in CBS Sports Bracketology, is grinding through a difficult portion of schedule after a soft opening to its Big 12 slate and has now dropped four of its past five games. While BYU is 4-5 in Quad 1 and has no losses outside of Quad 1, it doesn’t yet have a true marquee victory. Beating No. 8 Houston on Saturday would change that, but BYU will have to snap out of its recent funk to pull that off, particularly on defense. BYU’s past three opponents have each shot better than 50% from the floor.
