Did No. 13 Cougars find their identity in gut-busting loss to No. 1 Arizona?

Freshman superstar AJ Dybantsa had the worst shooting night of his college career, maybe his entire basketball-playing career, in No. 13 BYU’s 86-83 loss to No. 1 Arizona on Monday night in front of more than 18,000 fans at the Marriott Center.

After going a frosty 6 of 24 from the field and 1 of 8 from 3-point range, however, the teenager said the silver lining in the gut-busting loss was that the Cougars learned a lot about themselves, and what it will take moving forward to beat the best teams in the country.

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“We found our identity, that we’re going to fight to the end,” said Dybantsa, who still finished with a team-high 24 points. “We’re not gonna just fold when we’re down a certain amount of points. And that just proves that we can play with anybody in the (country). … It just shows what the possibilities (are) and what we can do in the future.”

When Motiejus Krivas punched home a dunk with 10:53 remaining, Arizona (21-0, 8-0) had a seemingly insurmountable 19-point lead, 64-45. The Cougars (17-3, 5-1) looked lifeless and beaten, despite having a huge crowd behind them trying to will them to shoot better, defend better, and cut down on the untimely mistakes that had led to at least a half-dozen easy Arizona baskets.

“They were up big, but we (showed) we can fight back and come back and then make it a one-possession game,” Dybantsa said.

Coming off his finest game as a collegian, a career-high 43 points in BYU’s 91-78 win over rival Utah in which he was 15 of 24 from the field, Dybantsa also mildly struggled at the free-throw line (11 of 16) and committed three turnovers.

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What did Arizona, one of the best defensive teams in the country, do to hold down the possible No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft?

“Nothing,” Dybantsa said. “I missed shots. I missed shots I normally make. My middies (mid-range shots) weren’t falling. Wide open 3s on the sideline (didn’t go in). I just missed shots.”

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Publish date : 2026-01-27 20:33:00

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