BYU keeps focus on court, takes on slumping Fresno State

Though BYU signing No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa is the buzz around campus, this season’s iteration of the Cougars will return to action against Fresno State on Wednesday night in Provo, Utah.

The matchup against the Bulldogs (3-6) will be the first game for BYU (6-2) since an 83-64 loss against host Providence last Tuesday in the Big 12-Big East Battle.

“Disappointed, obviously, with the outcome,” Cougars coach Kevin Young told BYU Radio. “The stats were some things I’ve never really seen before — just a really inefficient night for us on the offensive end. And then we couldn’t guard a lot of guys.”

The Cougars, who have two highly rated freshmen in Egor Demin (13.3 points per game, 5.8 assists per game) and Kanon Catchings (10.5 ppg), shot only 33 percent from the field. Demin and Catchings combined for just nine points on 1-for-18 shooting. Reserve Dawson Baker scored 16 points, but it wasn’t enough to prevent BYU’s second loss in six days.

BYU’s starting five combined to go 9-for-41 from the field. Meanwhile, the Friars shot 59.5 percent overall, including 12-of-22 from 3-point range.

“We’ll definitely watch film as a staff and we’ll watch it individually with the guys,” Young said. “We’ve got to get the guys in and help them learn from this, but I’ve got a staff that can work really hard at that. We’ve got plenty of stuff to get better at.”

That BYU coaching staff is one of the primary reasons why Dybantsa — who is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft — committed to the Cougars. He made his selection live Tuesday morning on ESPN, passing on finalists Kansas, North Carolina and Alabama.

Fresno State has dropped four consecutive games, including an 81-66 loss at Santa Clara last Saturday. Zaon Collins led four players in double figures with 17 points and added six assists and four steals, but the Bulldogs couldn’t overcome an 11-point halftime deficit.

“We have just been hit (by) so many little and big injuries back and forth,” Bulldogs coach Vance Walberg said recently. “It’s going to take time to be able to get onto that practice floor and hope we get a full eight. I don’t think one time we’ve had our top 10. We need to just get them healthy to give a little bit more depth, that would be great.”

Collins leads the Bulldogs in scoring (14.6), assists (3.4) and steals (2.4) per game.

–Field Level Media