Life goes on for Texas Tech and BYU after both preseason top-10 teams recently lost standout players to season-ending injuries.
On Feb. 14, Richie Saunders suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during the opening minute of BYU’s win over Colorado. The senior guard, last season’s Big 12 Most Improved Player and a first-team all-league selection, was averaging career highs in scoring (18 points per game) on 37.6-percent shooting from three-point range, rebounds (5.8 per game), assists (2.1 per game) and steals (1.7 per game).
With Saunders out, BYU (20-7, 8-6 Big 12) got even more out of star freshman AJ Dybantsa, who averaged 32 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists last week after playing all but 45 seconds in a pair of games against ranked opponents.
The Massachusetts native scored 35 points in last Wednesday’s loss at then-No. 4 Arizona before a 29-point, 10-rebound, 9-assist performance in Saturday’s win over then-No. 6 Iowa State.
BYU got 17 points from junior guard Kennard Davis Jr. and a career-high 13 points out of senior big man Mihailo Boskovic against Iowa State to help offset the absence of Saunders, who scored more than 1,500 career points and will finish in the top 20 in program history in several categories. For the Cougars, it was their second win over an AP top-25 team this season and first since beating then-No. 23 Wisconsin on Nov. 21.
Dybantsa’s defense also caught the attention of BYU coach Kevin Young as he held Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic to just five points on 1-for-5 shooting, including a 1-of-4 effort from three-point range, in 25 minutes. Momcilovic, the nation’s most accurate three-point shooter this season, entered the contest averaging 18 points per game and shooting 51 percent beyond the arc.
“That was unbelievable,” Young said after what he called the most complete game of Dybantsa’s college career. “AJ can do whatever he wants on the basketball court. Whatever he puts his mind to, he can do. AJ played 40 minutes, didn’t come out, had 29 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 turnovers against the team that turns over everybody, more than anyone in the country, and held their best player for 1-of-5 (shooting).
“The guy is an absolute stud, and I think he’s showing people night in and night out how reliable he is.”
It was the fifth straight 20-point game for Dybantsa. The potential No. 1 overall selection in next June’s NBA Draft has also averaged 40.5 minutes over the last four games.
“I work out a lot and try to stay in shape,” Dybantsa said. “If I need to play 40 minutes to win, I’ll play 40 minutes to win.”
Texas Tech (20-7, 10-4) experienced a brutal blow on Feb. 17 after reigning Big 12 Player of the Year and consensus second team All-American JT Toppin tore the ACL in his right knee during a loss at Arizona State. The junior forward was averaging 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks this season. He’s the only player nationally averaging more than 20 points and a double-double and is listed on the Wooden Award and Naismith National Player of the Year Late-Season Watch Lists.
Starting in place of Toppin, VCU transfer Luke Bamgboye added 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Red Raiders in their win Saturday over Kansas State in what was his first start since Dec. 7 and fifth overall this season. Senior guard Donovan Atwell scored a season-high 26 points with six three-pointers, and sophomore guard Christian Anderson had 21 points and 9 assists against the Wildcats. Junior forward LeJuan Watts added 19 points and 6 rebounds after scoring in single digits in his previous four games.
A knee injury sidelined Bamgboye for nine games earlier this season, and he also missed time with a lower body injury and a concussion. Last season, the 6-foot-11, 220-pound sophomore from London earned Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team and All-Rookie Team honors at VCU after averaging 3.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 35 games for a 28-win squad that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. He’s averaging 4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 14 games this season for Grant McCasland’s squad in Lubbock.
“Our team came together and played for each other,” McCasland said. “It really says a lot about this group and how much they love each other and how competitive we were through a tough game and situation.”
Around the Rim
● With injuries and illness hitting the team hard during a recent two-game slide, Arizona (25-2, 12-2) needed someone to fill the scoring gap.
The Wildcats found that player in 6-foot-6 guard Anthony Dell’Orso. The senior from Australia scored a season-high 22 points in last Wednesday’s win over BYU and matched that total in Saturday’s victory at Houston to give them sole possession of first place in the league standings.
Dell’Orso is averaging 21 minutes and nine points on 31.7 percent shooting from deep in 27 games as a reserve this season. A season ago, he started 27 of 38 games and averaged 7.2 points while hitting 41.3 percent of his three-point tries for a Sweet 16-bound squad. The Aussie played his first two collegiate seasons at Campbell, where he scored more than 1,000 points.
In the win at Houston, Dell’Orso played 34 minutes. It was his first 30-minute effort since he played 35 minutes in Campbell’s CAA tournament loss to Monmouth on March 9, 2024.
“Delly, he’s a spitfire,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said of Dell’Orso after the Houston game. “I don’t know how many of you guys know Aussies, but they’ve got some you-know-what to them. He has a little bit of that.
“It wasn’t going his way for a good stretch there, and he hung with it and our guys hung with him and our staff hung with him and I just told Delly, Just hang in there, it’s coming. If there’s little adjustments we have to make, we’ll see if we can figure them out, but we trust you and we believe in you and I don’t see any scenario where you don’t get opportunities.’”
● Seeking its first NCAA Tournament appearance under fifth-year head coach Wes Miller, Cincinnati (15-12, 7-7) owns the longest active winning streak in the Big 12 with four straight wins after stunning then-No. 8 Kansas last Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse. Moustapha Thiam, a 7-foot-2 sophomore transfer from UCF, had a career-high 28 points in the win on his 20th birthday.
The Bearcats started 0-3 in league play before winning two straight, including a Jan. 17 win over then-No. 2 Iowa State, then dropped four of their next five before this recent hot streak. Cincinnati has averaged 86.5 points in its past four games after reaching the 80-point mark only four times prior to that this season.
“This is a great moment for our program, and I feel an incredible amount of joy for our players,” said Miller, who played for former Kansas coach Roy Williams at North Carolina. “I couldn’t be prouder of our team, and I would have said that regardless of the result tonight.”
● Kansas (21-7, 11-4) rebounded from the Cincinnati loss by beating Houston (23-5, 11-4) on Monday in Allen Fieldhouse. It was the 41st straight Big Monday win at home under coach Bill Self.
The Jayhawks, now tied for second in the league standings with Houston, already beat Texas Tech and Arizona this season on Big Monday in Lawrence.
● Two-time defending Big 12 champion Houston has lost three straight games for the first time since January 2017. After making 12 threes in the loss at Iowa State, the Cougars have made a combined 13 shots behind the arc on 50 tries and shot only 33.6 percent from the floor in losses to Arizona and Kansas.
Houston had a combined 34-4 league record in its first two seasons as a Big 12 member.
Games to Watch
UCF (19-7, 8-6) at BYU (20-7, 8-6), Tuesday (ESPN2)
These two projected NCAA Tournament teams have been up and down in recent weeks, so a win would be a boost with two weeks left in the regular season.
Kansas (21-7, 11-4) at Arizona (25-2, 12-2), Saturday (ESPN)
Coming off a big win at Houston, Big 12 leader Arizona seeks revenge against the Jayhawks, who already handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season.
Texas Tech (20-7, 10-4) at Iowa State (23-4, 10-4), Saturday (CBS)
Still adjusting to life without JT Toppin, the Red Raiders look for another ranked win against a Cyclone team that is unbeaten this season at home and eager to rebound from a loss at BYU.
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