How much have the BYU Cougars grown since Kevin Young replaced Mark Pope in 2024? Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden gave us the answer. Under the bright lights of the Jimmy V Classic, the No. 10 team faced the Clemson Tigers. And Robert Wright III’s buzzer-beater felt like a moment that could redefine the entire program.

The sophomore guard buried an off-balance three over two Tigers defenders at the horn. It sealed the Cougars’ come-from-behind 67-64 win. This was not any comeback… it was the largest second-half comeback in BYU history!

With 6:59 left in the first half, the two teams were even at 22. Then everything fell apart for coach Kevin Young and his team. The Tigers exploded on a 21-0 run. It meant the Cougars walked into the tunnel at halftime trailing 43-22. They were completely out of rhythm, shooting 28.1% in the first half. And when the Tigers pushed the lead to 22 in the opening minute of the second half, it looked like the game was slipping away for good.

But that’s when the Cougars finally came to life.

Normally, the player who hits the game-winner gets all the glory, and Wright absolutely earned it. But without freshman sensation AJ Dybantsa, who delivered the best half of his college career, the team would have never been in a position for a last-second shot. He quite literally brought them back from the dead.

The 6-foot-9 forward had a quiet first half, scoring just six points. But the second half was a Dybantsa masterclass. He exploded for career highs in points, rebounds, and assists, and he either scored or created 34 of BYU’s 45 points after the break.

Dybantsa pushed his streak of 15-plus-point games to nine to open his career, the second-longest in Big 12 history behind former Oklahoma Sooners star Trae Young (26 games). His 28 points, nine rebounds, and six assists showed how dominant he was and why he’s projected to be a lottery pick in the NBA draft.

But Dybantsa had plenty of help, too. Wright poured in 17 points, and Keba Keita added 10, on four dunks, including one so strong it bent the rim and caused a nearly 20-minute delay with 11:40 remaining, and his team still down by nine.

Interestingly, though, the Cougars held a 62-56 lead with just over a minute left thanks to Dybantsa’s heroic dunk. But then the Tigers drilled back-to-back threes, eventually tying the game at 64 with five seconds remaining. The Cougars got the ball past half-court and called a timeout with barely seconds left. Out of the break, Mihailo Boskovic found Wright 35 feet out… and the rest, as they say, is history.

What’s next for Robert Wright III and the Cougars?

The Cougars are 8-1 to start the season and sit at No. 10 in the latest AP Top 25 poll. The Clemson matchup was their last big nonconference test before Big 12 play begins. Conference games start in January, and until then, Robert Wright III and the rest of the squad have four fairly manageable games on the schedule.

The first of those four games is at home against UC Riverside, and it’s not expected to give Young’s team much trouble. Three Cougars players are averaging over 15 points per game: Dybantsa, Saunders, and Wright, and that firepower should be more than enough to get the job done.

ESPN seems to agree, giving the Cougars a 98.8% chance of winning.

They will then face the Pacific Tigers, Abilene Christian Wildcats, and Eastern Washington Eagles, with ESPN giving them over a 95% probability to win each of those games before conference play begins against Kansas State.

For the foreseeable future, expect Young to lean into his rotation even more. He’ll want to test the depth of this squad, especially after losing Dawson Baker and Nate Pickens to season-ending injuries.