BYU's Last-Minute Rally Comes Up Just Short Against No. 1 Arizona

With 1:22 remaining against no. 1 Arizona, no. 13 BYU trailed 82-71. Up to that point in the game, the Cougars had tried every way to claw back into the game after trailing by 19 points with 11 minutes remaining. The Wildcats had an answer for every BYU micro run - until the final minute.

Trailing by 11, BYU had a four-point possession after a missed free throw created a three for Rob Wright. And just like that, the lead was down to 7 with 0:56 seconds remaining. And that was just the beginning.

On the ensuing possession, Arizona made 1/2 free throws to extend their lead to 8. The Cougars made it a two-possession game when hadKeba Keita had a putback layup to trim the lead to 6. Then, Arizona was called for a flagrant foul after AJ Dybantsa had a steal to give the ball back to BYU.

A pair of Dybantsa free throws later and the Cougars were down four with the ball. Dybantsa missed a three and it looked like Arizona was surely about to put the game away when Brayden Burries went to the free throw line for two free throws. Burries, who had a career high 29 points, was a perfect 10/10 from the free throw line. Then, Burries missed one free throw and Kennard Davis had a dunk on the other end.

Down by three, Arizona was called for an offensive foul with 21 seconds remaining. A putback layup by Keba Keita cut Arizona's lead to one with 16 seconds remaining. Then, BYU forced a jump ball and the possession arrow favored the Cougars.

Against all odds, BYU had a chance to win with 11 seconds remaining.

Rob Wright attacked the room and had a good look, but Brayden Burries came off his assignment and blocked Wright's go-ahead shot. A pair of Brayden Burries free throws ended the game at 86-83.

BRAYDEN BURRIES BLOCKS THE POTENTIAL BYU GAME-WINNER 😳

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

The difference in this game turned out to be the free throw discrepancy, and Arizona's ability to make those free throws. Arizona was 26/32 from the free throw line and BYU was 12/19 from the free throw line.

It was the three-point line that allowed BYU to get back into the game after trailing by 19. Kennard Davis found his shooting stroke after a long shooting drought. Davis was a perfect 5/5 from the three-point line in the second half. Aleksej Kostic chipped in as well, going 2/2 from three in the second half.

The silver lining for BYU in this game is Kennard Davis. Davis elavates BYU to another level when he is knocking down threes.

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