No. 1 Arizona Halts Crazy BYU Comeback To Remain Unbeaten

21-0.

In one of the most anticipated games of the college hoops season, No. 1 Arizona escaped Provo by the skin of its teeth with an 86-83 win over potential top pick AJ Dybantsa and No. 13 BYU on Monday.

(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)

The Wildcats were led by an electric performance by backcourt duo freshman Brayden Burries and senior Jaden Bradley, who combined for 55 of Arizona’s 86-point total. Bradley scored 26 points on an efficient 10-of-15 from the field overall, making 2-of-3 attempts from 3-point range while also grabbing three rebounds and dishing a trio of assists. Burries led the Wildcats with 29 points on 7-of-13 shooting, in addition to making a game-saving block on defense in the closing moments.

Brayden Burries & Jaden Bradley were INSTRUMENTAL in Arizona’s win over BYU

Burries: 29 PTS
Bradley: 26 PTS pic.twitter.com/OCcWLAenBy

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 27, 2026

Trailing by 11 points with 1:22 remaining, BYU went on a 12-2 run to trim Arizona’s lead to a single point with 16 seconds left. With a chance to win on the final possession after a series of Arizona gaffes, BYU guard Robert Wright III’s go-ahead layup attempt was swatted away by Burries with three seconds left.

“I didn’t think it was gonna get to that point, but it did,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “Brayden came up with a big-time defensive play, got the rebound, and made two free throws. We’ve been talking a lot, going back to this summer, about how there’s going to be some games that come down to getting one stop. We haven’t been in a lot of them, so it was great to experience that and have it come out our way.”

Off Night For AJ

It was an interesting decision not to turn to Dybantsa with the chance to beat the best team in the country, especially given the dramatic shift in momentum that had just occurred in the previous 70 seconds. The freshman phenom had a rough night, tallying 24 points on a strugglesome 6-of-24 from the field while making just 1-of-8 of his 3-point attempts. First team All-Big 12 guard Richie Saunders scored 17 points on a much cleaner 7-of-11 overall, making 3-of-7 attempts from deep.

BRAYDEN BURRIES BLOCKS THE POTENTIAL BYU GAME-WINNER

ARIZONA ESCAPES UNDEFEATED pic.twitter.com/y9CJev1oej

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 27, 2026

“Rob just made a good play to get to the rim,” Dybantsa said. “I think Bradley thought he was going to try to bump him and held the ball strong. Ref said it was a clean block. I think it was a good opportunity. I think the way we fought was a little bit better, and I’m just happy the way we fought.”

Despite being held without a field goal for the final 3:04, Arizona keeps its unbeaten record intact on the same day it topped the AP poll for a seventh straight week and did so unanimously for a second straight. The fact the Wildcats were able to hang on late was largely because of the cushion built by Burries and Bradley in the first 38 and a half minutes. Freshman star Koa Peat of Arizona wasn’t all that much of a factor, scoring 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

Arizona has moved up to No. 1 in KenPom and NET. pic.twitter.com/ZpgEuwee37

— Shane Dale (@ShaneDaleAZ) January 25, 2026

With the win, both KenPom and Torvik are projecting Arizona will finish with a 29-2 overall record. KenPom gives the Wildcats a 9.2 percent chance of finishing the regular season undefeated, which is actually quite high given the handful of Big 12 challenges remaining on their schedule, including road games against a red-hot Kansas team and a perennial national title contender in Houston.