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BYU's AJ Dybantsa (3) reacts with teammates Dominique Diomande (24) and Aleksej Kostić (6) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against West Virginia in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo.

Charlie Riedel, AP Photo

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BYU forward Dominique Diomande (24) gets past West Virginia guard Jasper Floyd (1) to dunk the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo.

Charlie Riedel, AP Photo

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BYU's Kennard Davis Jr. (right) takes a jump shot against West Virginia in the Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) puts up a shot over West Virginia guard Chance Moore (13) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo.

Charlie Riedel, AP Photo

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BYU's Dominique Diomande (24) celebrates with teammate AJ Dybantsa (3) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against West Virginia in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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BYU head coach Kevin Young is seen on the sidelines during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against West Virginia in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo.

Charlie Riedel, AP Photo

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After scoring a Big 12 Tournament record 105 points in the first round on Tuesday, it appears the BYU men’s basketball team also brought its defense to Kansas City.

The No. 10 seed Cougars held No. 7 seed West Virginia to one field goal in the final eight minutes of their second round matchup at T-Mobile Center, pulling away with a 25-8 run for a 68-48 victory on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals against No. 2 seed Houston.

“We just played them ten days ago,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said. “We felt like we left a lot to be desired in that game. I thought our guys came out with a 40-minute effort and they had a will to win that was kind of unmatched. I saw it in a lot of different areas as far as rebounding and how active our defense was.”

Defense has been a real problem for BYU this season but was a strength in the second round, forcing a season-best 22 turnovers and holding the Mountaineers to 38% (16 of 42) from the field. The 48 points is a season low allowed by the Cougars.

“I thought our defense was tremendous tonight, arguably the best its been all year,” Young said. “So it was definitely something we can look at moving forward as a benchmark for how good our defense can be.”

Freshman AJ Dybantsa followed up his 40-point performance on Tuesday with 27 against West Virginia.

“I was just staying aggressive,” Dybantsa said. “Last time up at West Virginia I felt like I was a kind of passive and so tonight I was just trying to keep them on their toes.”

Kennard “Moo” Davis Jr. scored a season-high 20 on 5 of 6 from the 3-point line. In the past three games, Davis is averaging 17 points per game, more than twice his season average (8.2).

“I let my defense turn into offense,” Davis said. “Obviously, Coach put me in a great spot and my teammates trust me, so I’d say it’s leading with my defense.”

Robert Wright III added 11 points and six assists and Dominique Diomande was great off the bench for the second straight game, energizing the Cougars with his defense and scoring six points that included three highlight-reel dunks.

“The toughness we’ve found over last ten days has really been the difference,” Young said.

BYU led for more than 32 minutes on Wednesday but had a hard time pulling away from the physical Mountaineers, who controlled the pace and had the game officiated just the way they like it (everything goes).

Diamonde keyed a 10-2 run in the first half, taking an alley-oop pass from Dybantsa for a dunk followed by a steal and runout for another slam, and the Cougars turned a 10-5 deficit into a 17-12 lead at the 7:51 mark. West Virginia hung around and trailed 28-23 late, but Dybantsa stole the ball, sprinted down the floor and threw down a ferocious two-handed dunk, converting a 3-point play for a 31-23 halftime lead.

BYU led by nine, 39-30, after a Davis triple but West Virginia managed to trim the deficit to three, 43-40, at the 9:33 mark. Davis — who scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half — had six points in a 10-0 Cougar run that pushed the lead to 15, 57-42, with 4:16 play.

The Cougars have picked a good time to win three games in a row for the first time since early January. With two wins in the Big 12 Tournament, it appears BYU is zeroing in on a No. 6 seed in the NCAA’s next week, regardless of what happens Thursday or beyond.

“I had a moment where I personally had to look myself in the mirror after that East Coast trip,” Young said. “it was the trifecta. It was the UCF game and the East Coast trip to Cincy and West Virginia. That was a dark moment for our season. We have too much talent even without Richie, lets just figure this out. We took it back to the basics and we just dumbed it down with our defense, got a lot less coachy and kept it real simple. The guys have really taken to that.”

BYU (23-10) will face Houston (26-5) in the quarterfinals at 5 p.m. MT on Thursday. The Red Cougars won in Provo 77-66 on Feb. 7.) in the quarterfinals at 5 p.m. MT on Thursday. The Red Cougars won in Provo 77-66 on Feb. 7.