How to Watch No. 8 Houston Cougars vs No. 16 BYU
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The No. 8 Houston Cougars are officially halfway through Big 12 conference play, but it’s about to get a whole lot harder the rest of the way.
So far in ranked Big 12 action, Houston has only had to face No. 13 Texas Tech, but the Cougars will now have to go against the rest of the top competition in a loaded conference that is considered the best in college basketball.
It starts on late Saturday night as Houston travels out to Utah to take on the No. 16 BYU Cougars and one of the top freshman talents in the country in AJ Dybantsa. Houston is currently 8-1 in Big 12 play, and this will be just one of the tough road tests coming up. UH has won three games in a row and 14 out of its last 15 overall.
Houston lost their last road game to Texas Tech, but had won a Big 12 and program record 16 in a row prior to that matchup. They’ll look to be road warriors again.
The Cougars are coming off a 79-55 beatdown of a talented UCF team at home on Wednesday where freshman phenom point guard Kingston Flemings was the leading scorer with 18 points and six assists with only one turnover. Freshman big man Chris Cenac Jr. has been on a tear lately, and posted his fourth double-double of the season against UCF.
Here’s more information on Houston’s matchup against BYU.
How to Watch Houston Cougars vs BYU
Who: Houston Cougars (20-2, 8-1) vs BYU Cougars (17-5, 5-4)
What: Big 12 Conference road game
When: Saturday, Feb. 7 at 9:30 p.m. CST
Where: Marriott Center in Provo, Utah
TV/Streaming: ESPN
TV Announcers: Jon Sciambi (play-by-play) and Fran Fraschilla (analyst)
Radio: 950 AM KPRC, the Varsity Network app, and SiriusXM Ch. 84 with Jeremy Branham (play-by-play). The pregame show begins at 9:15 p.m. (CST), Saturday.
Last Season: Houston accomplished arguably its greatest season in program history, as they went 35-5 and reached its first national championship game since 1984. The Cougars made it to their seventh Final Four and won both the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles while going an undefeated 10-0 on the road. UH was 19-1 in the Big 12 overall and won back-to-back regular season trophies.
BYU ended up 26-10 and 14-6 in Big 12 play with five ranked wins, third in the conference. BYU had a final rank of No. 13. The Cougars lost to Houston in the Big 12 tournament semifinals but reached the Sweet 16 for the 1st time since 2011.
Series History: Houston leads the all-time series 8-3, which began in 1965. This is the third straight season where the schools will face off against each other. Houston has won the last three matchups and six out of the last seven. Most recently, Houston won 74-54 in the Big 12 tournament semifinals last season.
UH also owns a 3-1 lead in road games at Provo, thanks to winning the last three matchups there. Houston won 75-58 in the Marriott Center just over two years ago in the first season in the Big 12. BYU is one of just seven teams to win at Fertitta Center. That was done in 2019 and was the last time Houston lost to BYU.
Meet the Coaches
Kelvin Sampson, Houston: This is Sampson’s 12th season leading the Cougars and just crossed the 800 career win mark to start this season. Sampson, 70, currently has an 819-356 all-time record and has over 36 years of experience as a head coach at Houston, Indiana, Oklahoma, Washington State, and Montana Tech.
He is only one of 15 coaches to lead at least four schools to the NCAA tournament. The Cougars have gone to two Final Fours under Sampson and six straight Sweet 16s going back to the 2019 season. Houston has won at least 30 games for four straight seasons, and the program is back to national excellence under him.
Kevin Young, BYU: He is what his last name says. Young. This is just his second season coaching overall, both at BYU. Young has built a 43-15 record so far and led BYU to one of its best seasons in recent memory last year. He earned a long-term extension for that. The 44-year-old is a Salt Lake City native who played college ball before beginning coaching in 2006.
He coached internationally and in the NBA G League before moving into NBA assistant roles. Young helped teams reach the playoffs and developed star players such as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Joel Embiid. Young is 0-2 against Sampson and Houston in his career.
What to Know About BYU
BYU was supposed to be one of the better Big 12 basketball schools this season with their elite recruiting class led by Dybantsa, and have definitely shown that at times. However, the Cougars currently sit eighth in the conference and are coming off three straight losses.
It was against good competition, however, as they lost by just three to No. 1 Arizona at home before coming up short 90-82 in Allen Fieldhouse against No. 11 Kansas.
The Cougs most recently lost to Oklahoma State on the road 99-92 on Wednesday. Dybantsa led all players with 36 points on 13-of-20 shooting and 5-of-8 shooting from behind the arc and added seven rebounds with four assists.
Dybantsa is considered a top five overall pick in the upcoming draft and puts up numbers like that. He currently averages almost 24 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. Senior guard Richie Saunders is second with 19.5 PPG.
BYU is currently 9-1 at home this season, and it won’t be easy for Houston to come out with a win. UH will have to play well to win.
Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.