How No. 1 Arizona Basketball Kept Its Unbeaten Season Alive

PROVO, Utah — As guard Jaden Bradley stepped to the line to put No. 1 Arizona up 11 points with just under 90 seconds left, more than a handful of the normally boisterous and swaying BYU fans used the momentary break in action on the court to slink away to the Marriott Center exits.

Like lemmings up the stairs, they marched upward and outward into the chilly Utah night believing the only thing left to decide was the final margin of one of the biggest games the school had hosted in several years. The Wildcats led by 19 midway through the second half and looked quite content to mosey their way toward adding one more notch to their perfect record.

The thing about college basketball though, is you never can assume things. There is no such thing as a routine ending and especially not when a pair of top 13 teams get together with tired legs at altitude and have a whistle-happy officiating crew content to earn every bit of their paychecks.

So a double-digit lead became seven with under a minute to go after Cougars guard Robert Wright III hit a three to send the remaining of the 18,239 fans back to their feet with a glimmer of hope. Then big man Keba Keita snagged a rebound at the rim for a second-chance basket to cut into things further.

Nestled just below snow-capped mountains, the team from the desert suddenly felt the thin air turn heavy.

“Fortunantely we made one more play than them,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “For stretches, we made a lot more plays than them, but they were able to close the gap.”

No. 13 BYU did indeed close it, coming within a single bucket down the stretch thanks to three Arizona turnovers in the final 40 seconds and a few heavily reviewed officiating calls that made the final 86–83 margin in the Wildcats’ victory as deceiving as it was thrilling to witness.

“It says a lot about our team, the fight,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “I mean we were down 10 [in the final minute].”

The Cougars had a shot at the win, too, with Wright spinning in the final seconds before hesitating, creating an opening right at the rim that seemed like the finishing touch on another miraculous comeback that would have capped off one of the team’s biggest home games since moving to the Big 12.

But, again, you can never assume things in college basketball.

Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries certainly didn’t on the play, capping off a career-high 29-point effort by coming out of nowhere from the weak side to block Wright’s shot from behind and cement the result after it took nearly a dozen minutes to play the final one on the clock.

BRAYDEN BURRIES BLOCKS THE POTENTIAL BYU GAME-WINNER 😳

ARIZONA ESCAPES UNDEFEATED 🔥 pic.twitter.com/y9CJev1oej
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 27, 2026

“It’s not too often you see a jump ball and then some no calls,” uttered Lloyd, quickly but not angrily. “It’s tough stuff. It felt like everything at the end went against us, but you know what, our guys have competitive character.”

Burries had plenty of that on a night where his fellow five-star freshman, Koa Peat, was held mostly in check with 10 points and only eight shot attempts.

While it was the latter’s matchup with fellow top NBA prospect AJ Dybantsa that was largely the marquee billing coming into the game—Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith led a large contingent from the franchise in attendance to witness the clash—it was Burries who stole the show on both ends of the court. He had 19 before halftime and teamed with Bradley (26 points) in the backcourt to power the team to an even more comfortable perch atop the conference standings on Monday night.

“Bradley was an absolute dog,” Young said. “They exposed us with their guards. I was more worried about their bigs coming in, but I thought we did a good job on them.”

Fresh off setting a school record against Utah on Saturday with 43 points, Dybantsa was a little more down to earth against the Wildcats as he was continually forced into midrange shots to scrape his way to a team-high 24 points. He carried the Cougars for long stretches as they shot just 40% and needed several late flourishes from Richie Saunders (18 points) and Kennard Davis Jr. (17 points) in the final minutes to even have a chance at the end.

“I missed shots,” said Dybantsa of his 6-of-24 night. “They were up big, but we fought back and made it a one-possession game.”

“At some point, it almost becomes irrelevant who you put on him,” added Lloyd, still impressed at what the lengthy lottery pick was able to do.

Maybe more impressive is just what Arizona (21–0) fought through to remain one of just three undefeated teams left in college basketball, along with Nebraska and Miami (Ohio).

Not many could have predicted they would head into February with that kind of claim, but Monday night’s escape at BYU was another reminder that assuming anything in a sport so often decided in the margins by young and inexperienced players is done at one’s own peril.

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