BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) takes a photo with teammates after their win over Dayton in an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Kissimmee, Fla. | Phelan M. EbenhackJackson PayneMon, December 1, 2025 at 3:25 AM UTC·6 min readBYU’s pair of contests in the ESPN Events Invitational this past week each followed a similar narrative.
Against both Miami and Dayton, the Cougars’ tournament championship-winning path involved struggling in the first 20 minutes of play, going into halftime frustratingly behind before firing on all cylinders in the second half.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut this theme isn’t unique to BYU’s Florida trip. It’s been a near-constant throughout the first month of the season.
The 6-1, No. 9-ranked Cougars have trailed at halftime in four of their seven games thus far on the year, while winning the second half in all but one outing (Nov. 3’s season-opener against Villanova in Las Vegas).
BYU holds a +86 point differential in seven second halves in 2025, compared to a +31 mark in all first half action — and that number would be -2 if not for a rout of KenPom’s No. 336 team in Holy Cross.
It should be noted that BYU did put together a full 40 minutes against Holy Cross and Wisconsin, but every other game this year has been a tale of two halves:
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAgainst Villanova, the Cougars’ 10-point halftime advantage disappeared late, needing to overcome late drama in order to secure the narrow victory.
At home against Delaware, BYU trailed by three at intermission before a 51-point second half flipped the script.
In their lone setback of the year against UConn, the Cougars dug out of a 11-point halftime hole to take the Huskies down to the wire in what became an 86-84 heartbreaker.
BYU needed second half-opening runs of 30-12 and 26-4 against Miami and Dayton to orchestrate comeback wins.
As a whole, the Cougars are scoring an average of 7.3 more points after halftime (45.9) than before (38.6), while shooting 52.4% in the second half and 45% in the earlier frame.
Sometimes BYU’s late surges are due to schematic adjustments. On other occasions, it’s more of a mental response or just the sheer will to win coming alive, as was the case in the ESPN tournament.
The strong second half trends are impressive and encouraging, but the Cougars have to figure out how avoid these slow starts in Big 12 play.
Much has been said about BYU’s ‘Big 3,’ but the Cougars are really more of a ‘Fab 5′
Everyone knows AJ Dybantsa, Richie Saunders and Rob Wright III have all been outstanding for BYU. The trio have scored 66.8% of the Cougars’ points this season and accounted for 76% of the team’s assists.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut don’t discount what BYU’s two other primary starters — swingman Kennard Davis Jr. and center Keba Keita — have brought to the table as well, as each proved especially valuable in Florida.
The Cougars wouldn’t have defeated Miami without the services of Davis, who led all scorers with 18 points and hit four 3-pointers in his return from suspension.
Additionally, Keita swatted seven Hurricane shots, the most blocks in a single game for a BYU player since Shawn Bradley in 1991.
Against Dayton, the unsung duo combined for 13 points, 10 rebounds and six steals.
While Dybanta, Saunders and Wright will headline seemingly every box score, so much of what BYU does is dependent on Davis and Keita. The Cougars need Davis’ shotmaking — especially from 3-point range — and Keita’s rolling to the rim in order to operate at their most efficient and capable.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn the other end of the floor, Davis is BYU’s best defender, with Keita an elite rim protector locking down the middle of BYU’s zone. The Cougars are on a whole different level when both are at their best. Don’t let their contributions go unappreciated.
BYU guard Kennard Davis Jr., left, steals the ball from Shelton Henderson (7) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, in Kissimmee, Fla. | Phelan M. EbenhackBYU needs more from its bench, especially after Dawson Baker’s injury
The Cougars are leaving the Sunshine State more shorthanded than they arrived.
In the final minutes against Miami, sixth man Dawson Baker tumbled hard trying to cut under the basket and landed awkwardly, suffering an apparent lower body injury and being helped off the court into the locker room.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNot only was Baker sidelined the next day against Dayton, but he took in the action from a wheelchair.
If Baker misses extended time — let alone the rest of the season — BYU would be without its most experienced rotation piece, another ball-handling option and a 47.4% 3-point shooter who has scored 31.1% of the team’s bench points.
In short: it’s a major loss for the Cougars.
The Baker-less BYU bench didn’t score a single point against Dayton. Of the Cougars’ 83 points against the Flyers, all of them came from their starting five, and 70 came from Dybantsa, Saunders and Wright.
BYU’s lack of bench scoring production was already somewhat concerning even before Baker’s injury, with another 3-and-D weapon in Nate Pickens out for the season as well. The Cougar reserves have averaged 14.1 points per game on the year, only surpassing 10 points in three of seven contests.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTyler Mrus, a 38% 3-point shooter at Idaho a year ago, has yet to find his stroke since arriving in Provo, and Mihailo Boskovic is shooting 27.8% from the field.
High-ceiling newcomers Dominique Diomande and Khadim Mboup have flashed defensively and on the glass, but their respective offensive contributions and consistency are still a work in progress for now.
Aleksej Kostic is shooting 37.5% from long distance in limited action, having scored five points in five minutes against Holy Cross and hitting two triples in three minutes against Wisconsin. Perhaps he’ll get more run going forward in Baker’s previous bench shot-maker role.
“Hopefully it’s a one-off thing, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about it,” head coach Young said after the scoreless bench effort against Dayton.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I mean, Dawson’s been great for us, but guys will step up. On the perimeter, I have a lot of confidence in Tyler (Mrus), Dom (Diomande) and even (Aleksej Kostic). You know, we threw (Kostic) out there, and these guys will tell you, he doesn’t miss a shot in practice. So I have a lot of confidence in him.”
In Young’s first campaign with the program, the Cougars had 10 players who scored more than 100 points, with eight of them crossing the 200-point mark as well.
This year’s depth may not be on that level, at least offensively, but BYU still needs to find some sort of boost there moving forward. The starting five shouldn’t have to shoulder so great a load every night, especially if this team hopes to play into next April.
Luckily for the Cougars, they still have five weeks to sort out their bench before the start of Big 12 play.
BYU players and staff react during the trophy presentation after their win over Dayton in an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Kissimmee, Fla. | Phelan M. EbenhackAdvertisementAdvertisement
