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BYU head coach Kevin Young reacts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Utah, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

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BYU guard Richie Saunders, left, and Arizona guard Jaden Bradley, right, go for the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Provo, Utah.

Rob Gray, AP Photo

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After Saturday’s 90-82 loss at Kansas, BYU head coach Kevin Young said, “If I see one more analytic about how we’re the best offensive second half team in the country, I’m going to throw up.”

Cougar fans are feeling a little nauseous as well.

BYU was a Top 10 team for most of the non-conference slate but has lost three of its past four games in the Big 12 to drop to 16th in the latest AP poll. So far — despite their second half surges — the Cougars have lost to No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 1 Arizona and No. 11 Kansas. All really good teams, to be sure, but still Quad 1 opportunities BYU needed to improve its NCAA Tournament resume.

Facts: BYU has been outscored in the second half just twice in 21 games this season.

In his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Young was candid about a couple of key factors in the first half-second half dilemma: The Cougars must improve defensively — especially in the first half of games — and must also deal with the fact that they are a big game for every Big 12 opponent.

“I think my real challenge with AJ (Dybantsa) is to get himself jump-started on the defensive end of the floor,” Young said. “Our intensity level raises in the second half and that’s something we’ve discussed, not just with AJ, but with the whole team, about having a level of intensity that’s a lot higher to start games.

“I think defensively there are some things we can do naturally with the coverages that we employ to make ourselves get a little bit more aggressive, and maybe that’s a way we can kind of jumps start the guys.”

In Big 12 play, BYU is 15th (out of 16 teams) in 3-point percentage defense (.380), 11th in points allowed per game (81.1) and ninth in field goal percentage defense (.461). Young admitted his team’s defensive performance lately “hasn’t been good enough” and spent the weekend re-watching every defensive possession in league play to identify solutions.

“I have a pretty good feel for things that we need to adjust,” Young said. “Every team that you coach is different and I think that’s the challenge, I think for all college coaches. With how much the rosters change, what worked last year may not work with this year’s team. I think we’re trying to simplify, taking a ‘less is more’ approach. We want to allow our guys to maybe make a little bit more plays tilting on aggression and less on scheme. I think that (scheme) has probably put our guys in mud a little bit.”

As for the “BYU is a big game” theory, here are some numbers to ponder: Average attendance at Kansas State, Utah, Texas Tech and Kansas increased by 2,687 fans per venue when the Cougars came to town. Of course, that number is skewed by the Utah game (average home attendance 9,433 but 15,558 vs. BYU), but you get the picture.

Young said he told the players after practice on Tuesday that every team is going to get up to play them, so buckle up. He referenced a quote from Kansas head coach Bill Self, who said the first half against BYU was the best half of basketball his team had played all season.

“That’s a compliment, you know?” Young said. “Guys get up for it. They get tired of seeing BYU on Big Monday or College GameDay, or AJ Dybantsa this, Richie Saunders that Rob Wright this, Keba Keita Defensive Player of the Year Watch. So they just get sick of it.

“There’s a human element to it. If you play a good game against BYU, that’s going to mean something. I think that speaks to where we’re trying to take this program. And there’s a sense of responsibility that comes with that.They have that game circled on their calendar. We’ve got to do more, but at the same time, every game is hard in our league. There are so many good players in our league and it feels like half the league is in the Top 10 almost every week. There are no nights off, so you’ve got no choice but to respond to it, or you’re going to get left in the dust.”

Scouting Report

Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz completely rebuilt his roster in his second season and it’s paying dividends. The Cowboys’ top six scorers are all recently from the transfer portal, including sixth-year guard Anthony Roy (Green Bay) who leads the team with 17.5 points per game and 44% from the 3-point line. Six-foot-10 Oregon State transfer Parsa Fallah (13.9 points per game) and LSU transfer guard Vyctorious Miller (13.1) are strong offensive threats and UMass transfer guard Jaylen Curry adds 10.5 points and 4.3 assists off the bench.

Oklahoma State (15-6 overall) won its first nine games of the season and is 3-5 in Big 12 play coming off an 81-69 victory at Utah, led by 26 points from Roy.

Both BYU and the Cowboys have struggled defensively in Big 12 play so Wednesday’s matchup in Stillwater is expected to be high scoring.

“They (Oklahoma State) are really fast,” Young said. “They get out in transition better than anybody in our league. They really make the game hard on you. They’re physical, they get into you and they’re denying some passes. They’re crawling into the ball. They have some high-level shot makers, some guys that can really score the basketball. So we have to do a good job just having our defense more intact than it has been.”

Men’s College Basketball

No. 16 BYU (17-4, 5-3 Big 12) at Oklahoma State (15-6, 3-5 Big 12)

Wednesday, 7 p.m. MT

Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla.

TV/Streaming: FS1

Radio: KSL 102.7/1160 AM, BYU Radio-Sirus XM 143

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: BYU leads the overall series with Oklahoma State 6-4 and has won the past two meetings. … The Cougars are 1-2 in Stillwater, including a 93-83 loss to the Cowboys in 2024. … BYU is No. 11 in Big 12 play in scoring defense (81.1) and Oklahoma State is 13th (82.4). … The Cougars last win in Stillwater came in 1971.