AJ Dybantsa exploded for 40 points, Kennard Davis Jr. heated up in the second half with 15 points, and BYU pulled away for a 105-91 victory over Kansas State in the first round of the Big 12 tournament on Tuesday night in Kansas City, Mo.
Dybantsa also pulled down nine rebounds and dished out six assists. Robert Wright III added 14 points — all in the first half. The 10th-seeded Cougars (22-10) will face seventh-seed West Virginia in the second round on Wednesday night.
Kansas State (12-20), the 15th seed, was led by P.J. Haggerty’s 27 points. Nate Johnson finished with 19 points, including 14 in the first half, and Khamari McGriff added 13 points.
The Cougars closed the first half on a 7-0 run, highlighted by consecutive fastbreak dunks by Dybantsa, to take a 50-49 lead into the locker room. BYU opened the second half with consecutive treys by Aleksej Kostic and Davis to quickly extend its lead to 56-49, and the Cougars never trailed the rest of the way.
Arizona State 83, Baylor 79
Anthony “Pig” Johnson racked up 19 points off the bench as the 12th-seeded Sun Devils downed the 13th-seeded Bears.
The Sun Devils (17-15) advance to play fifth-seeded Iowa State, which is ranked No. 7 nationally, on Wednesday afternoon.
Andrija Grbovic added 14 points for Arizona State, with Santiago Trouet hitting for 13 points and taking nine rebounds. Cameron Carr led Baylor (16-16) with 25 points and seven rebounds. Isaac Williams IV added 15 points, and Tounde Yessoufou hit for 14.
Cincinnati 73, Utah 66
Jalen Celestine scored 19 points and Baba Miller added 11 points, 14 rebounds and six assists as the ninth-seeded Bearcats beat the 16th-seeded Utes.
The Bearcats advance to face eighth-seeded UCF in the second round on Wednesday afternoon. Cincinnati (18-14) is still fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament and took a step toward that goal, with the latest win its seventh in the past nine games. Moustapha Thiam tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Bearcats.
Terrence Brown led all scorers with 22 points as Utah (10-22) finished its season with six straight losses. Keanu Dawes added 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Utes’ 10 wins are their fewest in a campaign since they went 6-25 in 2011-12.
Oklahoma State 92, Colorado 83
Anthony Roy poured in 24 points, Christian Coleman tallied 17 points and 14 rebounds and the 14th-seeded Cowboys went on to beat the 11th-seeded Buffaloes.
Oklahoma State (19-13) advances to face sixth-seeded TCU on Wednesday night. Jaylen Curry added 15 points and five rebounds for the Cowboys, who won the rebounding battle 44-34 and outscored Colorado 40-30 in points in the paint.
The Buffaloes (17-15) were led by Bangot Dak, who had 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Barrington Hargress finished with 18 points and nine assists.
